December 2010 Blizzard in New Jersey

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. Nine subfossil figs of a parthenocarpic type dating to about 9400–9200 BC were found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I (in the Jordan Valley, 13 km north of Jericho). The find predates the domestication of wheat, barley, and legumes, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture. It is proposed that they may have been planted and cultivated intentionally, one thousand years before the next crops were domesticated (wheat and rye).

“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:43-45

Obama to Philadelphia Eagles: Thanks for hiring Michael Vick
President Obama praised the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving Michael Vick a second chance, a media report says. For Michael Vick, the comments add to a charmed season.
--christiansciencemoniter--
By Mark Sappenfield, Staff writer / December 27, 2010

What has been a fairy tale year for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has now apparently received a presidential seal of approval.

In a National Football League season that has repeatedly intrigued with the unexpected, perhaps nothing has been so astonishing as Vick’s rehabilitation both as a person and a football player.

He is on the short list of most valuable player candidates, and he has been equally lauded for what is by all reports earnest contrition for his part in running an illegal dog-fighting ring.

Are you smarter than an NFL quarterback? Take the quiz.

Now, Vick has received indirect praise from President Obama. In his column on Sports Illustrated’s website Monday, Peter King reports that Mr. Obama called Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to thank the team for giving Vick a chance.

Obama was "passionate about it," Mr. Lurie told Mr. King, adding that the president said "it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail. And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.''

Vick served 18 months in federal prison, and there was only tepid interest among NFL teams when he was released before last season. When the Eagles signed him in 2009, it was to backup to starting quarterback Donovan McNabb, who vowed to mentor Vick.

Even this year, when McNabb left for Washington, promising youngster Kevin Kolb was named the Eagles' starting quarterback, but Vick did not complain. To the contrary, he and Kolb reportedly struck up a cordial friendship, and all Vick's comments about the situation were unequivocal in their support for Kolb.

It was not until Kolb was injured early in the season that Vick got his chance, and his performances have turned the Eagles from a team scrapping to make the playoffs into a legitimate threat to reach the Super Bowl.

Vick credits his ordeal with making him a better player. Arguably the best running quarterback in the history of the NFL, Vick has now added patience and better passing to his repertoire, making him a complete pro quarterback for the first time in his career.

Obama’s comments come at a time when Vick is stressing the sincerity of his reformation. He recently said he would like to own a dog. He is currently prohibited form owning a dog, given that dogs in his fighting ring were maimed and killed.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Soft Shock

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cheated Heart

Rape rampant in US military
Statistics and soldiers' testimonies reveal a harrowing epidemic of sexual assault in the US military.
Dahr Jamail 21 Dec 2010 13:22 GMT
--aljazeera--

Sexual assault within the ranks of the military is not a new problem. It is a systemic problem that has necessitated that the military conduct its own annual reporting on the crisis.

A 2003 Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal prompted the department of defense to include a provision in the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act that required investigations and reports of sexual harassment and assaults within US military academies to be filed. The personal toll is, nevertheless, devastating.

Military sexual trauma (MST) survivor Susan Avila-Smith is director of the veteran’s advocacy group Women Organizing Women. She has been serving female and scores of male clients in various stages of recovery from MST for 15 years and knows of its devastating effects up close.

“People cannot conceive how badly wounded these people are,” she told Al Jazeera, “Of the 3,000 I’ve worked with, only one is employed. Combat trauma is bad enough, but with MST it’s not the enemy, it’s our guys who are doing it. You’re fighting your friends, your peers, people you’ve been told have your back. That betrayal, then the betrayal from the command is, they say, worse than the sexual assault itself.”

On December 13, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking Pentagon records in order to get the real facts about the incidence of sexual assault in the ranks.

The Pentagon has consistently refused to release records that fully document the problem and how it is handled. Sexual assaults on women in the US military have claimed some degree of visibility, but about male victims there is absolute silence.

Pack Parachute, a non-profit in Seattle, assists veterans who are sexual assault survivors. Its founder Kira Mountjoy-Pepka, was raped as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. In July 2003 she was member of a team of female cadets handpicked by Donald Rumsfeld, at the time the secretary of defense, to tell their stories of having been sexually assaulted. The ensuing media coverage and a Pentagon investigation forced the academy to make the aforementioned major policy changes.

Report reveals alarming statistics

Mountjoy-Pepka often works with male survivors of MST. She stated in a telephone interview that four per cent of men in the military experience MST. “Most choose not to talk about it until after their discharge from the military, largely because the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in over 60 percent of MST cases is too overwhelming,” she informed Al Jazeera.

Last week the Pentagon released its “annual report on sexual harassment and violence at the military service academies”. At its three academies, the number of reports of sexual assault and harassment has risen a staggering 64 percent from last year.

The report attributes the huge increase to better reporting of incidents due to increased training and education about sexual assault and harassment. Veteran’s Administration (VA) statistics show that more than 50 percent of the veterans who screen positive for MST are men.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are roughly 22 million male veterans compared to less than two million female vets.

In Congressional testimony in the summer of 2008, Lt. Gen. Rochelle, the army chief of personnel, reported the little known statistic that 12 percent (approximately 260) of the 2,200 reported rapes in the military in 2007 were reported by military male victims.

Due to their sheer numbers in the military, more men (at a rough estimate one in twenty), have experienced MST than women.

Shamed into silence

Billy Capshaw was 17 when he joined the Army in 1977. After being trained as a medic he was transferred to Baumholder, Germany. His roommate, Jeffrey Dahmer, by virtue of his seniority ensured that Capshaw had no formal assignment, no mail, and no pay. Having completely isolated the young medic, Dahmer regularly sexually assaulted, raped, and tortured him.

Dahmer went on to become the infamous serial killer and sex offender who murdered 17 boys and men before being beaten to death by an inmate at Columbia Correction Institution in 1994.

Capshaw reflects back, “At that young age I didn’t know how to deal with it. My commander did not believe me. Nobody helped me, even though I begged and begged and begged.”

The debilitating lifelong struggle Capshaw has had to face is common among survivors of military sexual assault.

Later during therapy he needed to go public. Since then he says, “I’ve talked to a lot of men, many of them soldiers, who are raped but who won’t go public with their story. The shame alone is overwhelming.”

In 1985 Michael Warren enlisted in the navy and for three years worked as a submarine machinist mate on a nuclear submarine. One day he awoke to find another soldier performing fellatio on him.

He recollects with horror, “I was paralyzed with fear. I was in disbelief... shame. When I reported it to the commander he said it was better for me to deal with it after being discharged. Nobody helped me, not even the chaplain. The commander at the processing centre wouldn’t look me in the face. When I filled out my claim later they didn’t believe me. It’s so frustrating.”

Armando Javier was an active duty Marine from 1990 to 1994. He was a Lance Corporal at Camp Lejeune in 1993 when he was raped.

Five Marines jumped Javier and beat him until he was nearly unconscious, before taking turns raping him. His sexual victimization narrative reads, “One of them, a corporal, pulled down my shorts and instructed the others to ‘Get the grease’. Another corporal instructed someone to bring the stick. They began to insert the stick inside my anus. The people present during this sadistic and ritual-like ceremony started to cajole, cheer, and laugh, saying “stick em’ – stick-em’.”

Extreme shame and trauma compelled him not to disclose the crime to anyone except a friend in his unit. He wrote in his account, “My experience left me torn apart physically, mentally, and spiritually. I was dehumanized and treated with ultimate cruelty, by my perpetrators… I was embarrassed and ashamed and didn’t know what to do. I was young at that time. And being part of an elite organization that values brotherhood, integrity and faithfulness made it hard to come forward and reveal what happened.”

The reality of being less equal

Women in America were first allowed into the military during the Revolutionary War in 1775 and their travails are as old. Drill instructors indoctrinate new recruits into it at the outset by routinely referring to them as “girl,” “pussy,” “bitch,” and “dyke.”

A Command Sergeant Major told Catherine Jayne West of the Mississippi National Guard, “There aren’t but two places for women - in the kitchen or in the bedroom. Women have no place in the military.”

She was raped by fellow soldier Private First Class Kevin Lemeiux, at the sprawling Camp Anaconda, north of Baghdad. The defense lawyer in court merely wanted to know why, as a member of the army, she had not fought back.

The morning after the rape, an army doctor gave her a thorough examination. The army’s criminal investigation team concluded her story was true. Moreover, Lemeiux had bragged about the incident to his buddies and they had turned him in. It seemed like a closed case, but in court the defense claimed that the fact that West had not fought back during the rape was what incriminated her. In addition, her commanding officer and 1st Sergeant declared, in court, that she was a “promiscuous female.”

In contrast, Lemeiux, after the third court hearing of the trial, was promoted to a Specialist. Meanwhile his lawyer entered a plea of insanity.

He was later found guilty of kidnapping but not rape, despite his own admission of the crime. He was given three years for kidnapping, half of which was knocked off.

The long term affects of MST

Jasmine Black, a human resources specialist in the Army National Guard from June 2006 to September 2008 was raped by another soldier in her battalion when she was stationed in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She reported it to her Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) and the Military Police, but the culprit was not brought to book.

After an early discharge due to MST and treatment at a PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PRRTP) facility, she was raped again by a higher-ranking member of the air force in February 2009.

Administrator for a combat engineering instruction unit in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tracey Harmon has no illusions. “For women in the military, you are either a bitch, a dyke, or a whore. If you sleep with one person in your unit you are a whore. If you are a lesbian you are a dyke, and if you don’t sleep with other soldiers you are a bitch.”

Maricela Guzman served in the navy from 1998 to 2002 as a computer technician on the island of Diego Garcia. She was raped while in boot camp, but fear of consequences kept her from talking about it for the rest of her time in the military. “I survived by becoming a workaholic and was much awarded as a soldier for my work ethic.”

On witnessing the way it treated the native population in Diego Garcia, she chose to dissociate from the military. Post discharge, her life became unmanageable. She underwent a divorce, survived a failed suicide attempt and became homeless before deciding to move in with her parents. A chance encounter with a female veteran at a political event in Los Angeles prompted her to contact the VA for help. Her therapist there diagnosed her with PTSD from her rape.

The VA denied her claim nevertheless, “Because they said I couldn’t prove it … since I had not brought it up when it happened and also because I had not shown any deviant behavior while in the service. I was outraged and felt compelled to talk about what happened.”

While it will go to any length to maintain public silence over the issue, the military machine has no such qualms within its own corridors. Guzman discloses, “Through the gossip mill we would hear of women who had reported being raped. No confidentiality was maintained nor any protection given to victims. The boys’ club culture is strong and the competition exclusive. That forces many not to report rape, because it is a blemish and can ruin your career.”

The department of defence reported that in fiscal year 2009, there were 3,230 reports of sexual assault, an increase of 11 percent over the prior year.

However, as high as the military’s own figures are of rape and sexual assault, victims and advocates Al Jazeera spoke with believe the real figures are sure to be higher.

Veteran April Fitzsimmons, another victim of sexual assault, knows what an uphill battle it is for women to take on the military system. “When victims come forward, they are ostracized and isolated from their communities. Many of the perpetrators are officers who use their ranks to coerce women to sleep with them. It’s a closely interwoven community, so they are safe and move fearlessly amongst their victims.”

Her advice to women considering joining the US military?

“The crisis is so severe that I’m telling women to simply not join the military because it’s completely unsafe and puts them at risk. Until something changes at the top, no woman should join the military.”

This is the first in a two part series on sexual harassment in the US military. The second part in the series will be published in the coming week.



Research support was provided by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.

Silent Night, Weezer

Silent Night, Weezer

Activation of Striatal Dopamine Receptors by Psychostimulants: Chemical Anatomy, Autonomic and Behavioural Effects
Vol. 52, No. 3, Aug, 2005 Danish Medical Bulletin

Author E-mail : pedro@pet.auh.dk
Author(s) : Pedro Rosa Neto
Author Address : Building 10, Aarhus University Hospital, Noerrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Keyword(s) : Psychostimulants;Striatal Dopamine;Behavioural Effects;Anatomy;Dopamine Receptors;Radioligands;D-amphetamine;Butyrophenones
Abstract

Pharmacological activation of dopamine neurotransmission can be
assessed by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies of changes in the binding
of radioligands for dopamine D 2 receptors. The present
thesis focuses on the use of this activation method to study receptor mapping,
receptor pharmacology and behavioural aspects related to perturbation of
dopamine neurotransmission in humans and animal models.


This thesis first describes the use of
PET to map the distributions of dopamine D 2/3 and D 1 receptors in pigs and in monkeys, frequently used models for
dopamine activation studies. As in humans, pigs and monkeys had a negative
rostro-caudal gradient in the t -maps calculated from
the statistical contrast between the normalized binding maps for D 1 and D 2/3 receptors. A positive
rostro-caudal gradient for D 2/3 binding was observed
only in monkeys. These results suggest a relative predominance of D 1 over D 2/3 receptors in the limbic
striatum in mammals. In monkeys, D 2/3 receptors were
more predominant in the motor striatum; the apparent lack of gradients in 11 C-raclopride binding in pig striatum might be attributed to
their less sophisticated associative and motor circuits as compared to primates.

The effects of the psychostimulant
3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") on cerebral blood flow
(CBF) and dopamine receptor availability were tested. Unlike most previous
studies of d-amphetamine, MDMA evoked a progressive decline of butyrophenone
( 11 C-NMSP) binding. MDMA-evoked hyperthermia correlated
with increased CBF brain structures linked to central regulation of body
temperature. These results suggest that the co-release of dopamine and serotonin
by MDMA may influence the patterns of binding changes in living striatum.

ADHD is a highly prevalent pediatric
neuropsychiatric disorder which is presently treated with psychostimulants. The
effects of methylphenidate (0.3 mg/kg, p.o.) on the binding of 11 C-raclopride was measured by PET in
nine young ADHD patients. There was a negative correlation between the magnitude
of methylphenidate-evoked decline in 11 C-raclopride
binding and the severity of inattention and impulsivity, measured by a
continuous performance test. Thus, the dopamine activation paradigm was
successfully used as a tool to link behavioural disturbance with reduced
dopamine neurotransmission in patients with ADHD.

Together, these findings highlight PET
as a method for linking behavioural, autonomic and pharmacological aspects of
dopaminergic activation with segregated striatal circuits. (more at Psych Central...)

The Quiet Voices: Southern Rabbis and Black Civil Rights, 1880s to 1990s

Edited by
Mark K. Bauman
and Berkley Kalin

Max Heller

Born in Europe and educated in Cincinnati, Max Heller served in a pulpit
previously held by a rabbi who epitomized loyalty to the Confederacy. Bobbie
Malone's carefully nuanced study shows how and why Heller's ideas gradu-
ally diverged from those of his predecessor. Heller epitomized in many ways
the marginal man: a Classical Reform Jew and a Zionist; rabbi of an as-
similationist congregation and an advocate of cultural pluralism; an outsider
and a member of the upper strata; a proponent of the ideas of W. E. B. Du
Bois and Booker T. Washington; a man of thought and of action. His vari-
ous identities as a Jew influenced his attitude toward African Americans
and, conversely, were influenced by them to the extent that it is almost im-
possible to separate the evolution of the two. Heller's is the story of a man
struggling with definitions of race and their impact on people's lives.

Morris Newfield

Like Heller an immigrant, social activist, and rabbi with a degree from He-
brew Union College, Morris Newfield was nonetheless far more circumspect
in his actions. Birmingham was a city that limited Social Gospel advocates
who wished to remain within the community. Yet questions arise: What if
Heller and Newfield had switched locations? Might the differences in their
temperaments and personalities have resulted in divergent responses?
Morris Newfield was rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Ala-
bama, from 1895-1940, and in his tenure he played a variety of roles,
including serving as chief Jewish spokesman in the larger Birmingham
and Alabama communities. His authority lay in the power bestowed
upon him by Jews as their spokesperson and by Gentiles who perceived
him similarly. These factors are important as we consider this particular
rabbi's actions and attitudes toward blacks. As was the case with many
rabbis, Newfield's relationship with blacks was a complex one because of
the anomalous position of Jews in the South of his time.

William Fineshriber

Fineshriber, unlike other rabbis presented in this anthology, mixed
the social justice message of Classical Reform with socialist inclinations. He
pressed for action with the support of key elements of the Memphis power
structure. Fineshriber's story again raises the question of the intertwining of
events and movements. Although a dramatic lynching served as a catalyst,
the rabbi's advocacy of black civil rights was linked inexorably with his con-
cern for the rights of women and others who faced discrimination.



(cont...)

Beastie Boys, Shambhala

The Human Amygdala and the Induction and Experience of Fear
Current Biology, 16 December 2010
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
10.1016/j.cub.2010.11.042

Authors
Justin S. Feinstein, Ralph Adolphs, Antonio Damasio, Daniel TranelSee Affiliations

Highlights

-Case study of patient SM, a rare human patient with focal bilateral amygdala lesions
-First investigation of the induction and experience of fear in such a patient
-SM failed to exhibit fear behaviors, and her fear experience was highly impoverished
-The human amygdala plays a pivotal role in triggering a state of fear

Summary

Although clinical observations suggest that humans with amygdala damage have abnormal fear reactions and a reduced experience of fear [1,2,3], these impressions have not been systematically investigated. To address this gap, we conducted a new study in a rare human patient, SM, who has focal bilateral amygdala lesions [4]. To provoke fear in SM, we exposed her to live snakes and spiders, took her on a tour of a haunted house, and showed her emotionally evocative films. On no occasion did SM exhibit fear, and she never endorsed feeling more than minimal levels of fear. Likewise, across a large battery of self-report questionnaires, 3 months of real-life experience sampling, and a life history replete with traumatic events, SM repeatedly demonstrated an absence of overt fear manifestations and an overall impoverished experience of fear. Despite her lack of fear, SM is able to exhibit other basic emotions and experience the respective feelings. The findings support the conclusion that the human amygdala plays a pivotal role in triggering a state of fear and that the absence of such a state precludes the experience of fear itself. (cont...)

-Urbach-Wiethe disease
-Article on Wired about lack of fear contributed to loss of amygdala function

A new approach to diplomacy: honesty and transparency
Mark LeVine Last Modified: 09 Dec 2010 15:40 GMT
--alJazeera.net--


For professional historians the publication of the vast trove of diplomatic cables is a bittersweet affair.

No one outside of the Washington establishment and the myriad foreign leaders shamed by revelations of their penchant for hatred, hubris and pedestrian peccadillos can seriously argue that the release of these classified documents has done anything but good for the cause of peace and political transparency.

Whether about Iraq, Afghanistan, or the minuate of American diplomacy, they have shed crucial light on some of the most important issues of the day and will make it much harder for Western or Middle Eastern governments to lie to their people about so many aspects of the various wars on/of terror in the future.

Indeed, if there's anyone who deserves the next Nobel Peace Prize more than the courageous American soldier, Bradley Manning, who is alleged to have given the documents to Wikileaks in the first place, I'd like to know.

At the very least, given what a mockery President Obama has made of the principles for which the prize is supposed to stand - evidence of which, like pressuring Spain to drop criminal investigations into Bush administration torture, have only come to light thanks to the latest WikiLeaks release - the Nobel Committee should demand his medal back and give it to Manning or whoever the leaker is.

A new approach to diplomacy-honesty and transparency

Already, thanks to WikiLeaks, citizens in the West and Middle East know more than they were ever supposed to about how corrupt, misguided, incompetent and mendacious, are their leaders and the policies pursued in their name.

As each new revelation comes to light, I can't help thinking, why was this secret in the first place? Wouldn't it be better if American and other diplomats shared their concerns openly rather than hiding them from the public?

How about everyone telling the truth for once and letting the people decide? Aren't Italians better off knowing that the American Ambassador thinks Berlusconi is too old to party like a rock star and too corrupt to be trusted with his country's leadership? Shouldn't Americans know that the Saudis continue to funnel huge sums of money to militants and that Pakistanis are refusing to hand over nuclear fuel they long ago promised to give up?

Wouldn't Mexicans be better off knowing just what the US thinks of their anti-drug efforts, and Americans better off knowing just how badly the drug war is proceeding? And certainly the news that Saudi Arabia, at least, supports attacking Iran has already led Iran to tone down its rhetoric and seek to reassure its neighbors of its peaceable intentions.

As far as I can see, the best development that could come out of Wikigate would be that diplomats around the world begin tweeting their previously secret observations on a daily basis, so that everyone knows where everyone else stands and governments can no longer hide behind diplomatic courtesy to continue with the all-too-often reprehensible "business as usual". The world has never needed honesty more than it does today.

Looking for shelter in an increasingly dangerous world

If there's anyone who doesn't think the world - and particularly the United States - desperately needs WikiLeaks, I offer you "Exhibit A" of why this is the case: the star-studded official trailer for the "Call of Duty: Black Ops" first person shooter video game. Regular readers of this column might recall my November 16 article, "Nowhere Left to Run," where I discussed the cultural implications of "Black Ops" after spotting a poster for the game in a Berlin subway around the time of its release.

Since then I have seen the trailer, whose slogan is "There's a soldier in all of us" and features both ordinary people - a secretary, fry cook, hotel concierge, and the like - along with celebrities like Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, and late night American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

After watching the trailer I was so exasperated I emailed a colleague at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies here at Lund and asked him, "Where is Ice Cube when you need him?" His reply stunned me: "LoL you don't know where Ice Cube is? He's doing the voice of Bowman in 'Black Ops'..."

In case you're not a hiphop fan, once upon a time Ice Cube was the terror of law abiding white citizens across America as a member of the highly political gangsta rap group NWA. In fact, their song "F*** Da Police" almost got them into as much trouble with the US government as is Julian Assange today.

But those days are long forgotten. Today Mr. Cube spends his time, when not playing secret service agents in movies, providing the voice for one of the lead characters in "Black Ops."

But it's not just hiphop that's prostituted itself to violence and big corporations. The rock n' roll establishment has equally shamed itself, as none other than the Rolling Stones allowed their song "Gimme Shelter," one of the most important anti-war songs of the Vietnam era, to be used as the soundtrack for the trailer, which shows Kobe Bryant smiling widely as he and innumerable other "ordinary" people blast away an unseen enemy in a clearly Middle Eastern landscape (not surprisingly, digital sales of the song and other Stones hits spiked in the wake of the trailer's release).

A chilling view of american culture and values

The "Black Ops" trailer makes for chilling viewing, as it tells viewers - successfully, apparently, given the record - breaking sales of the game - that they can derive great pleasure from taking a break from life to pretend to kills people half way around the world.

Perhaps most troubling, the colours and landscape of the trailer are eerily reminiscent of the infamous killing of a dozen Iraqis by a US helicopter crew, some of whom are laughing as they fire missiles at their targets. Not surprisingly, the only reason we know of this event is because WikiLeaks put the classified video, dubbed "collateral murder," into the public domain last April, in one of the releases that first made the organisation (in)famous.

Apparently Bryant, Kimmel, Cube, the Stones and the designers of "Black Ops" are all either ignorant of, or more likely unmoved, by the reality that ordinary Americans - fry cooks, secretaries, concierges and other working class people - have been forced to answer the "call of duty" for extended tours in Iraq and now Afghanistan during the last decade, where many have been forced into precisely the life and death situations of extreme violence that Bryant and his famous friends were no doubt paid handsomely to pretend so thoroughly to enjoy.

This is the mindset, at all levels of American society, against which the truths revealed by the hundreds of thousands of WikiLeak documents must stand. And the potential for changing peoples' minds is clearly disturbing enough to the US government that it has begun, when not calling for Assange's arrest and worse to warn students at elite institutions like Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs that they risk never being hired by the State Department if they even mention the WikiLeaks documents on any social media sites in which they participate.

Like the corrupt law firm that hired innocent newbie attorney Tom Cruise in the movie "The Firm," the last thing the Government wants is for prospective employees to understand what it's really up to until they're sucked in too deep to change it.

Truths that must Be learned-the sooner the better

Chances are, if your government is telling you not to read something, you should be reading it twice as closely.

The detailing of all the problems the Bush and Obama administrations have had in executing policies in the Muslim world have done an invaluable service to any citizen who wants to understand whether the government's claims as well as aims in the war on terror are both reasonable and feasible on the ground (sadly, it seems more often than not, the answer is they are not).

Certainly, I will urge my own students to read the various WikiLeak documents and compare them with documents we have from wars past, to gain greater insight into the continuities and changes in war-making, diplomacy, and the motivations behind both over the course of modern history.

But if the release of over countless classified documents has given the world a "banquet of secrets" to feast upon (as Timothy Garton Ash put it in The Guardian), historians might be tempted to wonder what scraps we will be left to scrounge over when it comes time to write histories of the events covered by the various WikiLeaks documents with the nuance and perspective that only comes from a certain amount of historical distance from the events in question.

And it's not merely professional jealousy by people used to having largely exclusive access to the historical record-- after all, who but historians is willing to sit in dusty archives for years searching through hundreds of thousands of documents for a few gems that can advance the state of knowledge on a topic? With easily searchable data bases, now - Heaven forbid! - anyone can be an historian, rendering judgment on events and motivations that members of the previously closed historians' guild normally have to wait decades to get access to.

Or can they?

Despite the huge volume of cables and documents released by WikiLeaks, they only offer a very partial account of the realities they discussed. The often unguarded and even eloquent language of the writers of the dispatches does not change the fact that they were written by US government employees (whether soldiers or diplomats) for their superiors, addressing issues from an American perspective and a set of interests that can't be assumed to match those of the myriad other actors in the dramas these documents reflect.

History's lesson: multiple perspectives provide the best view

No matter how much we think we can learn about the realities of the Afpak, Iraqi or larger Middle Eastern conflicts from WikiLeaks, the limited perspective of the documents WikiLeaks has been able to obtain reveals that there is still an incredible amount to learn before we come close to having the full picture of the history-making events of the last decade.

And unless there are British, French, Iraqi, Afghan and other soldiers with a similar access to classified documents and a reckless disregard for their own future, it is likely that the full accounting of the "Wikiwars" will likely wait until the historians of tomorrow are finally allowed to peruse the far larger volume of documents that governments will work even harder than before to keep out of the public domain. (cont...)

Mark LeVine is a professor of history at UC Irvine and senior visiting researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden. His most recent books are Heavy Metal Islam (Random House) and Impossible Peace: Israel/Palestine Since 1989 (Zed Books).

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Republicans stymie 9/11 First Responder Benefits

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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!propaganda par la fait!

Perhaps the greatest attack on the image of consumerism happens in these frenzied moments when a tsunami of euphoric looting bursts through the windows of megacorporate stores. In a blitz, property is communized – and all take freely what each desires. Local, independent and mom-and-pop stores are conspicuously spared in these times of calculated plundering because what is happening here is an intentional strategy of expropriating the expropriators, of overthrowing the law of scarcity with the creed of surplus and, as Sotirios Bahtsetzis observes, of “rendering visible the emptiness and random replaceability of consumerist goods.” It is on this last point, that acts of looting become like sophisticated image attacks. Elated pillagers present the megacorporations with a lose-lose conundrum: either stand by while pictures of their ransacked stores show the world how they are despised; or renovate their premises, restock their shelves, pretend as if nothing happened and admit to the farce of consumerism by demonstrating that consumer goods are worthless because they are not unique, because they may be identically replaced with ease.

--adbusters.com--

According to the Buddhist tradition, the spiritual path is
the process of cutting through our confusion, of uncovering the
awakened state of mind. When the awakened state of mind is crowded
in by ego and its attendant paranoia, it takes on the character of
an underlying instinct. So it is not a matter of building up the
awakened state of mind, but rather of burning out the confusions
which obstruct it. In the process of burning out these confusions,
we discover enlightenment. If the process were otherwise, the
awakened state of mind would be a product, dependent upon cause and
effect and therefore liable to dissolution. Anything which is
created must, sooner or later, die. If enlightenment were created
in such a way, there would always be the possibility of ego
reasserting itself, causing a return to the confused state.
Enlightenment is permanent because we have not produced it; we have
merely discovered it. In the Buddhist tradition the analogy of the
sun appearing from behind the clouds is often used to explain the
discovery of enlightenment. In the meditation practice we clear
away the confusion of ego in order to glimpse the awakened state.
The absence of ignorance, of being crowded in, of paranoia, opens up
a tremendous view of life. One discovers a different way of being.

Trungpa, Chogyam; Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism; Shambhala
Publications, Inc.; Boston, Massachusetts; 1973.

In Japan, the Niō guardian figures are named Misshaku Kongō 密遮金剛 (aka Agyō 阿形) and Naraen Kongō 那羅延金剛 (aka Ungyō 吽形). They represent the use of overt power and latent power, respectively. Naraen is also called Narayana (Sanskrit). Conceived as a pair, the Niō complement each other. Misshaku represents overt power, baring his teeth and raising his fist in action, the open mouth represents "AH" the primordial sound. Naraen symbolizing latent might, holding his mouth tightly closed and waiting with both arms tensed but lowered, the closed mouth represents the primordial sound "OM"

- Protectors
- Nio
- nice site on cultural pluralism

espontáneo- in bullfighting, a spectator that jumps into a ring, attempting to impersonate the matador

Liu Xiaobo

Charter 08, Human Rights in China

Charter 08

Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link

The document below, signed by over three hundred prominent Chinese citizens,
was conceived and written in conscious admiration of the founding of Charter
77 in Czechoslovakia, where, in January 1977, more than two hundred Czech
and Slovak intellectuals formed a loose, informal, and open association of
people... united by the will to strive individually and collectively for
respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world.

The Chinese document calls not for ameliorative reform of the current
political system but for an end to some of its essential features, including
one-party rule, and their replacement with a system based on human rights
and democracy.

The prominent citizens who have signed the document are from both outside
and inside the government, and include not only well-known dissidents and
intellectuals, but also middle-level officials and rural leaders. They have
chosen December 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, as the day on which to express their political ideas and to outline
their vision of a constitutional, democratic China. They intend "Charter 08"
to serve as a blueprint for fundamental political change in China in the
years to come. The signers of the document will form an informal group,
open-ended in size but united by a determination to promote democratization
and protection of human rights in China and beyond.

On December 8 two prominent signers of the Charter, Zhang Zuhua and Liu
Xiaobo, were detained by the police. Zhang Zuhua has since been released; as
of December 9, Liu Xiabo remains in custody.

I. Foreword

A hundred years have passed since the writing of China's first constitution.
2008 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth anniversary of the
appearance of Democracy Wall in Beijing, and the tenth of China's signing of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are approaching
the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy
student protesters. The Chinese people, who have endured human rights
disasters and uncountable struggles across these same years, now include
many who see clearly that freedom, equality, and human rights are universal
values of humankind and that democracy and constitutional government are the
fundamental framework for protecting these values.

By departing from these values, the Chinese government's approach to
"modernization" has proven disastrous. It has stripped people of their
rights, destroyed their dignity, and corrupted normal human intercourse. So
we ask: Where is China headed in the twenty-first century? Will it continue
with "modernization" under authoritarian rule, or will it embrace universal
human values, join the mainstream of civilized nations, and build a
democratic system? There can be no avoiding these questions.

The shock of the Western impact upon China in the nineteenth century laid
bare a decadent authoritarian system and marked the beginning of what is
often called "the greatest changes in thousands of years" for China. A
"self-strengthening movement" followed, but this aimed simply at
appropriating the technology to build gunboats and other Western material
objects. China's humiliating naval defeat at the hands of Japan in 1895 only
confirmed the obsolescence of China's system of government. The first
attempts at modern political change came with the ill-fated summer of
reforms in 1898, but these were cruelly crushed by ultraconservatives at
China's imperial court. With the revolution of 1911, which inaugurated
Asia's first republic, the authoritarian imperial system that had lasted for
centuries was finally supposed to have been laid to rest. But social
conflict inside our country and external pressures were to prevent it; China
fell into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms and the new republic became a
fleeting dream.

The failure of both "self-strengthening" and political renovation caused
many of our forebears to reflect deeply on whether a "cultural illness" was
afflicting our country. This mood gave rise, during the May Fourth Movement
of the late 1910s, to the championing of "science and democracy." Yet that
effort, too, foundered as warlord chaos persisted and the Japanese invasion
[beginning in Manchuria in 1931] brought national crisis.

Victory over Japan in 1945 offered one more chance for China to move toward
modern government, but the Communist defeat of the Nationalists in the civil
war thrust the nation into the abyss of totalitarianism. The "new China"
that emerged in 1949 proclaimed that "the people are sovereign" but in fact
set up a system in which "the Party is all-powerful." The Communist Party of
China seized control of all organs of the state and all political, economic,
and social resources, and, using these, has produced a long trail of human
rights disasters, including, among many others, the Anti-Rightist Campaign
(1957), the Great Leap Forward (1958ˆ1960), the Cultural Revolution
(1966ˆ1969), the June Fourth (Tiananmen Square) Massacre (1989), and the
current repression of all unauthorized religions and the suppression of the
weiquan rights movement [a movement that aims to defend citizens' rights
promulgated in the Chinese Constitution and to fight for human rights
recognized by international conventions that the Chinese government has
signed]. During all this, the Chinese people have paid a gargantuan price.
Tens of millions have lost their lives, and several generations have seen
their freedom, their happiness, and their human dignity cruelly trampled.

During the last two decades of the twentieth century the government policy
of "Reform and Opening" gave the Chinese people relief from the pervasive
poverty and totalitarianism of the Mao Zedong era and brought substantial
increases in the wealth and living standards of many Chinese as well as a
partial restoration of economic freedom and economic rights. Civil society
began to grow, and popular calls for more rights and more political freedom
have grown apace. As the ruling elite itself moved toward private ownership
and the market economy, it began to shift from an outright rejection of
"rights" to a partial acknowledgment of them.

In 1998 the Chinese government signed two important international human
rights conventions; in 2004 it amended its constitution to include the
phrase "respect and protect human rights"; and this year, 2008, it has
promised to promote a "national human rights action plan." Unfortunately
most of this political progress has extended no further than the paper on
which it is written. The political reality, which is plain for anyone to
see, is that China has many laws but no rule of law; it has a constitution
but no constitutional government. The ruling elite continues to cling to its
authoritarian power and fights off any move toward political change.

The stultifying results are endemic official corruption, an undermining of
the rule of law, weak human rights, decay in public ethics, crony
capitalism, growing inequality between the wealthy and the poor, pillage of
the natural environment as well as of the human and historical environments,
and the exacerbation of a long list of social conflicts, especially, in
recent times, a sharpening animosity between officials and ordinary people.

As these conflicts and crises grow ever more intense, and as the ruling
elite continues with impunity to crush and to strip away the rights of
citizens to freedom, to property, and to the pursuit of happiness, we see
the powerless in our society˜the vulnerable groups, the people who have been
suppressed and monitored, who have suffered cruelty and even torture, and
who have had no adequate avenues for their protests, no courts to hear their
pleas˜becoming more militant and raising the possibility of a violent
conflict of disastrous proportions. The decline of the current system has
reached the point where change is no longer optional.

II. Our Fundamental Principles

This is a historic moment for China, and our future hangs in the balance. In
reviewing the political modernization process of the past hundred years or
more, we reiterate and endorse basic universal values as follows:

Freedom. Freedom is at the core of universal human values. Freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association,
freedom in where to live, and the freedoms to strike, to demonstrate, and to
protest, among others, are the forms that freedom takes. Without freedom,
China will always remain far from civilized ideals.

Human rights. Human rights are not bestowed by a state. Every person is born
with inherent rights to dignity and freedom. The government exists for the
protection of the human rights of its citizens. The exercise of state power
must be authorized by the people. The succession of political disasters in
China's recent history is a direct consequence of the ruling regime's
disregard for human rights.

Equality. The integrity, dignity, and freedom of every person˜regardless of
social station, occupation, sex, economic condition, ethnicity, skin color,
religion, or political belief˜are the same as those of any other. Principles
of equality before the law and equality of social, economic, cultural,
civil, and political rights must be upheld.

Republicanism. Republicanism, which holds that power should be balanced
among different branches of government and competing interests should be
served, resembles the traditional Chinese political ideal of "fairness in
all under heaven." It allows different interest groups and social
assemblies, and people with a variety of cultures and beliefs, to exercise
democratic self-government and to deliberate in order to reach peaceful
resolution of public questions on a basis of equal access to government and
free and fair competition.

Democracy. The most fundamental principles of democracy are that the people
are sovereign and the people select their government. Democracy has these
characteristics: (1) Political power begins with the people and the
legitimacy of a regime derives from the people. (2) Political power is
exercised through choices that the people make. (3) The holders of major
official posts in government at all levels are determined through periodic
competitive elections. (4) While honoring the will of the majority, the
fundamental dignity, freedom, and human rights of minorities are protected.
In short, democracy is a modern means for achieving government truly "of the
people, by the people, and for the people."

Constitutional rule. Constitutional rule is rule through a legal system and
legal regulations to implement principles that are spelled out in a
constitution. It means protecting the freedom and the rights of citizens,
limiting and defining the scope of legitimate government power, and
providing the administrative apparatus necessary to serve these ends.

III. What We Advocate

Authoritarianism is in general decline throughout the world; in China, too,
the era of emperors and overlords is on the way out. The time is arriving
everywhere for citizens to be masters of states. For China the path that
leads out of our current predicament is to divest ourselves of the
authoritarian notion of reliance on an "enlightened overlord" or an "honest
official" and to turn instead toward a system of liberties, democracy, and
the rule of law, and toward fostering the consciousness of modern citizens
who see rights as fundamental and participation as a duty. Accordingly, and
in a spirit of this duty as responsible and constructive citizens, we offer
the following recommendations on national governance, citizens' rights, and
social development:

1. A New Constitution. We should recast our present constitution, rescinding
its provisions that contradict the principle that sovereignty resides with
the people and turning it into a document that genuinely guarantees human
rights, authorizes the exercise of public power, and serves as the legal
underpinning of China's democratization. The constitution must be the
highest law in the land, beyond violation by any individual, group, or
political party.

2. Separation of powers. We should construct a modern government in which
the separation of legislative, judicial, and executive power is guaranteed.
We need an Administrative Law that defines the scope of government
responsibility and prevents abuse of administrative power. Government should
be responsible to taxpayers. Division of power between provincial
governments and the central government should adhere to the principle that
central powers are only those specifically granted by the constitution and
all other powers belong to the local governments.

3. Legislative democracy. Members of legislative bodies at all levels should
be chosen by direct election, and legislative democracy should observe just
and impartial principles.

4. An Independent Judiciary. The rule of law must be above the interests of
any particular political party and judges must be independent. We need to
establish a constitutional supreme court and institute procedures for
constitutional review. As soon as possible, we should abolish all of the
Committees on Political and Legal Affairs that now allow Communist Party
officials at every level to decide politically-sensitive cases in advance
and out of court. We should strictly forbid the use of public offices for
private purposes.

5. Public Control of Public Servants. The military should be made answerable
to the national government, not to a political party, and should be made
more professional. Military personnel should swear allegiance to the
constitution and remain nonpartisan. Political party organizations shall be
prohibited in the military. All public officials including police should
serve as nonpartisans, and the current practice of favoring one political
party in the hiring of public servants must end.

6. Guarantee of Human Rights. There shall be strict guarantees of human
rights and respect for human dignity. There should be a Human Rights
Committee, responsible to the highest legislative body, that will prevent
the government from abusing public power in violation of human rights. A
democratic and constitutional China especially must guarantee the personal
freedom of citizens. No one shall suffer illegal arrest, detention,
arraignment, interrogation, or punishment. The system of "Reeducation
through Labor" must be abolished.

7. Election of Public Officials. There shall be a comprehensive system of
democratic elections based on "one person, one vote." The direct election of
administrative heads at the levels of county, city, province, and nation
should be systematically implemented. The rights to hold periodic free
elections and to participate in them as a citizen are inalienable.

8. RuralˆUrban Equality. The two-tier household registry system must be
abolished. This system favors urban residents and harms rural residents. We
should establish instead a system that gives every citizen the same
constitutional rights and the same freedom to choose where to live.

9. Freedom to Form Groups. The right of citizens to form groups must be
guaranteed. The current system for registering nongovernment groups, which
requires a group to be "approved," should be replaced by a system in which a
group simply registers itself. The formation of political parties should be
governed by the constitution and the laws, which means that we must abolish
the special privilege of one party to monopolize power and must guarantee
principles of free and fair competition among political parties.

10. Freedom to Assemble. The constitution provides that peaceful assembly,
demonstration, protest, and freedom of expression are fundamental rights of
a citizen. The ruling party and the government must not be permitted to
subject these to illegal interference or unconstitutional obstruction.

11. Freedom of Expression. We should make freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, and academic freedom universal, thereby guaranteeing that citizens
can be informed and can exercise their right of political supervision. These
freedoms should be upheld by a Press Law that abolishes political
restrictions on the press. The provision in the current Criminal Law that
refers to "the crime of incitement to subvert state power" must be
abolished. We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes.

12. Freedom of Religion. We must guarantee freedom of religion and belief
and institute a separation of religion and state. There must be no
governmental interference in peaceful religious activities. We should
abolish any laws, regulations, or local rules that limit or suppress the
religious freedom of citizens. We should abolish the current system that
requires religious groups (and their places of worship) to get official
approval in advance and substitute for it a system in which registry is
optional and, for those who choose to register, automatic.

13. Civic Education. In our schools we should abolish political curriculums
and examinations that are designed to indoctrinate students in state
ideology and to instill support for the rule of one party. We should replace
them with civic education that advances universal values and citizens'
rights, fosters civic consciousness, and promotes civic virtues that serve
society.

14. Protection of Private Property. We should establish and protect the
right to private property and promote an economic system of free and fair
markets. We should do away with government monopolies in commerce and
industry and guarantee the freedom to start new enterprises. We should
establish a Committee on State-Owned Property, reporting to the national
legislature, that will monitor the transfer of state-owned enterprises to
private ownership in a fair, competitive, and orderly manner. We should
institute a land reform that promotes private ownership of land, guarantees
the right to buy and sell land, and allows the true value of private
property to be adequately reflected in the market.

15. Financial and Tax Reform. We should establish a democratically regulated
and accountable system of public finance that ensures the protection of
taxpayer rights and that operates through legal procedures. We need a system
by which public revenues that belong to a certain level of
government˜central, provincial, county or local˜are controlled at that
level. We need major tax reform that will abolish any unfair taxes, simplify
the tax system, and spread the tax burden fairly. Government officials
should not be able to raise taxes, or institute new ones, without public
deliberation and the approval of a democratic assembly. We should reform the
ownership system in order to encourage competition among a wider variety of
market participants.

16. Social Security. We should establish a fair and adequate social security
system that covers all citizens and ensures basic access to education,
health care, retirement security, and employment.

17. Protection of the Environment. We need to protect the natural
environment and to promote development in a way that is sustainable and
responsible to our descendents and to the rest of humanity. This means
insisting that the state and its officials at all levels not only do what
they must do to achieve these goals, but also accept the supervision and
participation of non-governmental organizations.

18. A Federated Republic. A democratic China should seek to act as a
responsible major power contributing toward peace and development in the
Asian Pacific region by approaching others in a spirit of equality and
fairness. In Hong Kong and Macao, we should support the freedoms that
already exist. With respect to Taiwan, we should declare our commitment to
the principles of freedom and democracy and then, negotiating as equals, and
ready to compromise, seek a formula for peaceful unification. We should
approach disputes in the national-minority areas of China with an open mind,
seeking ways to find a workable framework within which all ethnic and
religious groups can flourish. We should aim ultimately at a federation of
democratic communities of China.

19. Truth in Reconciliation. We should restore the reputations of all
people, including their family members, who suffered political stigma in the
political campaigns of the past or who have been labeled as criminals
because of their thought, speech, or faith. The state should pay reparations
to these people. All political prisoners and prisoners of conscience must be
released. There should be a Truth Investigation Commission charged with
finding the facts about past injustices and atrocities, determining
responsibility for them, upholding justice, and, on these bases, seeking
social reconciliation.

China, as a major nation of the world, as one of five permanent members of
the United Nations Security Council, and as a member of the UN Council on
Human Rights, should be contributing to peace for humankind and progress
toward human rights. Unfortunately, we stand today as the only country among
the major nations that remains mired in authoritarian politics. Our
political system continues to produce human rights disasters and social
crises, thereby not only constricting China's own development but also
limiting the progress of all of human civilization. This must change, truly
it must. The democratization of Chinese politics can be put off no longer.

Accordingly, we dare to put civic spirit into practice by announcing Charter
08. We hope that our fellow citizens who feel a similar sense of crisis,
responsibility, and mission, whether they are inside the government or not,
and regardless of their social status, will set aside small differences to
embrace the broad goals of this citizens' movement. Together we can work for
major changes in Chinese society and for the rapid establishment of a free,
democratic, and constitutional country. We can bring to reality the goals
and ideals that our people have incessantly been seeking for more than a
hundred years, and can bring a brilliant new chapter to Chinese
civilization.


signed by:

Yu Haocheng(Beijing, Jurist)

Zhang Sizhi(Beijing, Lawyer)

Mao Yushi(Beijing, Economist)

(Du Guang(Beijing, Political Scientist)

Li Pu(Beijing, Ex Vice-director Xinhua News Agency)

Liu Shahe( Sichuan, Poet)

Sha Yexin(Shanghai, Dramatist)

Wu Maohua(Sichuan, Writer)

Zhang Xianyang(Beijing, Thinker)

Sun Wenguang( Shandong, Professor)

Bao Tong(Beijing, Citizen)

Ding Zilin(Beijing, Professor)

Zhang Xianling(Beijing, Engineer)

Xu Jue(Beijing, Researcher)

Jiang Peikun( Beijing, Professor)

Liu Xiaobo(Beijing, Writer)

Zhang Zuhua(Beijing, Scholar)

Gao Yu(Beijing, Journalist)

Dai Qing(Beijing, Writer)

Jiang Qisheng(Beijing, Scholar)

Ai Xiaoming(Guangzhou, Professor)

Liu Junning(Beijing, Political Scientist)

Zhang Xukun(Zhejiang, Professor)

Xu Youyu(Beijing, Philosopher)

He Weifang( Beijing, Jurist)

Mo Shaoping(Beijing, Lawyer)

Chen Ziming(Beijing, Scholar)

Zhang Boshu(Beijing, Political Scientist)

Cui Weiping(Beijing, Scholar)

He Guanghu(Beijing, Religion Scholar)

Hao Jian(Beijing, Scholar)

Shen Minhua( Zhejiang, Professor)

Li Datong(Beijing, Journalist)

Su Xianting(Beijing, Art Critic)

Zhang Ming(Beijing, Professor)

Yu Jie(Beijing, Writer)

Yu Shicun(Beijing, Writer)

Qin Geng(Hainan, Writer)

Zhou Duo(Beijing, Scholar)

Pu Zhiqiang(Beijing, Lawyer)

Zhao Dagong(Beijing, Writer)

Yao Lifa( Hubei, Election expert)

Feng Zhenghu(Shanghai, Scholar)

Zhou Qing(Beijing, Writer)

Yang Hengjun(Guangzhou, Writer)

Teng Biao( Beijing, Lecturer)

Jiang Danwen(Shanghai, Writer)

Wei SeTibet, Writer

Ma Bo( Beijing, Writer)

Cha Jianying(Beijing, Writer)

Hu Fayun(Hubei, Writer)

Jiao Guobiao(Beijing, Scholar)

Li Gongming(Guangdong, Professor)

Zhao Hui(Beijing, Critic)

Li Baiguang(Beijing, Lawyer)

Fu Guoyong(Zhejiang, Writer)

Ma Shaofang(Guangdong, Businessman)

Zhang Hong (Shanghai, Professor)

Xia Yeliang(Beijing, Economist)

Ran Yunfei(Sichuan, Scholar)

Liao Yiwu(Sichuan, Writer)

Wang Yi( Sichuan, Scholar)

Wang Xiaoyu(Shanghai, Scholar)

Su Yuanzhen(Zhejiang, Professor)

Qiang Jianzhong(Nanjing, Senior Journalist)

Ouyang Xiaorong(Yunnan, Poet)

Liu Di(Beijing, Self-empolyed)

Zan Aizong(Zhejiang, Journalist)

Zhou Hongling(Beijing, Social Activist)

( ) Feng Gang (Zhejiang, Professor)

Chen Lin( Guangzhou, Scholar)

Yin Xian(Gansu, Poet)

Zhou Ming(Zhejiang, Professor)

Ling Cangzhou(Beijing, Journalist)

Tie Liu(Beijing, Writer)

Chen Fengxiao (Shandong, Rightist )

Yao Bo( Beijing, Critic)

Zhang Jinjun(Guangdong, Professional manager)

Li Jianhong( Shanghai, Writer)

Zhang Shanguang(Hunan, Human rights Defender)

Li Deming(Hunan Media Worker)

Liu Jianan (Hunan, Teacher)

Wang Xiaoshan(Beijing, Media worker)

Fan Yafeng(Beijing, Scholar)

Zhou Mingchu( Zhejiang, Professor)

Liang Xiaoyan(Beijing, Enviromental Volunteer)

Xu Xiao(Beijing, Writer)

Chen Xi(Guizhou, Human rights Defender)

Zhao Cheng(Shanxi, Scholar)

Li Yuanlong(Guizhou, Freelance Writer)

Shen Youlian(Guizhou, Human rights Defender)

Jiang Suimin(Beijing, Engineer)

Lu Zhongming(Shanxi, Scholar)

Meng Huang(Beijing, Painter)

Lin Fuwu(Fujian, Human rights Defender)

Liao Shuangyuan(Guizhou, Human rights Defender)

Lu Xuesong(Jilin, Teacher)

Guo Yushan( Beijing, Scholar)

Chen Huanhui(Fujian, Human rights Defender)

Zhu Jiuhu(Beijing, Lawyer)

Jin GuangHong(Beijing, Lawyer)

Gao Chaoqun(Beijing, Editor)

Bai Feng(Jilin, Poet)

Zheng Xuguang(Beijing, Scholar)

Zeng Jinyan(Beijing, Rights Defender)

Wu Yuqin(Guizhou, Human rights Defender)

Du Yilong(Shanxi, Writer)

Li Hai(Beijing, Human Rights Defender)

Zhang Hui(Shanxi, Democratic Activist)

Jiangshan( Guangdong, Rights Defender)

Xu Guoqing(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Wu Yu(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Zhang Mingzhen(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Zeng Ning(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Quan Linzhi(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Ye Hang(Zhejiang, Professor)

Ma YunlongHenan, Scholar

Zhu Jianguo(Guangdong, Writer)

Li Tie( Guangdong, Democratic Activist)

Mo Jiangang(Guizhou, Freelance writer)

Zhang Yaojie(Beijing, Scholar)

Wu Baojian(Zhejiang, Lawyer)

Yang Guang(Guangxi, Scholar)

Yu Meisun( Beijing,Legal worker)

Xing Jian(Beijing, Legal Worker)

Wang Guangze(Beijing, Social Activist)

Chen Shaohua(Guangdong, Designer)

Liu Yiming(Hubei, Freelance Writer)

Wu Zuolai(Beijing, Researcher)

Gao Zhen(Shandong, Artist)

Gao Qiang(Shandong, Artist)

Tang Jingling(Guangzhou, Lawyer)

Li Xiaolong(Guangxi, Rights Defender)

Jing Chu(Guangxi, Freelance Writer)

Li Biao(Anhui, Businessman)

Guo Yan(Guangzhou, Lawyer)

Yang ShiyuanZhejiang, Rightist

Yang Kuanxing(Shandong, Writer)

Li Jinfang(Hebei, Democratic Activist)

Wang Yuwen(Guizhou, Poet)

Yang Zhongyi(Anhui, Worker)

Wu Xinyuan (Hebei, Farmer)

Du Heping(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Feng Ling(Hubei, Democratic Activist)

Zhang Xianzhong(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

( ) Cai Jingzhong(Guangdong, Farmer)

Wang DianbinHubei, Entrepreneur

( ) Cai Jincai(Guangdong, Farmer)

Gao Aiguo(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

( ) Chen Zhanyao(Guangdong,Farmer)

He Wenkai(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Wu Dangying(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

( ) Zeng Qingbin(Guangdong,Worker)

Mao Haixiu(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Zhuang DaoheHangzhou, Lawyer

Li Xiongbing (Beijing, Lawyer)

Li Renke(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Zuo Li (Hebei, Lawyer)

Dong Dez(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Tao Yuping(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

ITWang Junxiu(Beijing, IT Professional)

Huang Xiaomin(Sichuan, Rights Defender)

Zheng Enchong(Shanghai,Lawyer)

Zhang Junling(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Yang Hai( Shanxi, Scholar)

Ai Furong(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Yang Huaren(Hubei, Legal Worker)

Wei Qin(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Su Zuxiang(Hubei, Teacher)

Shen Yulian(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Guan Hongshan(Hubei, Human Rights Defender)

Song Xianke(Guangdong, Businessman)

Wang Guoqiang(Hubei, Human Rights Defender)

Wang Debang(Beijing, Writer)

Chen Enjuan(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Li Yong(Beijing, Media worker)

Chang Xiongfa(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Wang Jinglong(Beijing, Scholar)

Xu Zhengqing(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Gao Junsheng(Shanxi, Editor)

Zheng Beibei(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Wang Dinghua(Hubei, Lawyer)

Tan Lanying(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Fan Yanqiong(Fujian, Human Rights Defender)

Lin Hui(Zhejiang, Poet)

Wu Huaying(Fujian, Human Rights Defender)

Xue Zhenbiao(Zhejiang, Democratic Activist)

Dong Guoqing(Shanghai, Human Rights Defender)

Chen Yufeng(Hubei, Legal Worker)

Duan Ruofei(Shanghai, Human Rights Defender)

Wang Zhongling(Shanxi, Teacher)

Dong Chunhua(Shanghai, Human Rights Defender)

Chen Xiuqin(Shanghai, Human Rights Defender)

Gu Chuan(Beijing, Journalist)

Liu Zhengyou(Sichuan, Rights Defender)

Ma Xiao(Beijing, Writer)

Wan Yanhai(Beijing, Public Health Expert)

Shen Peilan Shanghai, Rights Defender

Ye Xiaogang(Zhejiang, retired Lecturer)

Zhang Jingsong(Anhui, Worker)

Zhang Jinfa(Zhejiang, Rightist)

Wang liqing(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Zhao Changqing( Shanxi, Writer)

Jin Yuehua(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Yu Zhangfa(Guangxi, Writer)

Chen Qiyong(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Liu Xianbin(Sichuan, Democratic Activist)

Ouyang Yi (Sichuan, Human Rights Defender)

Deng Huanwu(Chongqing, Businessman)

He Weihua(Hunan, Democratic Activist)

ITLi Dongzhuo(Hunan, IT professional)

Tian Yongde(Inner Mongolia, Human Rights Defender)

Zhi Xiaomin(Shanxi, Scholar)

Li Changyu(Shandong, Teacher)

Zhu Jianguo(Guangdong, Freelance Writer)

Guo Weidong(Zhejiang, Clerk)

Chen Wei(Sichuan, Democratic Activist)

Wang Jinan(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Cha Wenjun(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

Hou Shuming(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Liu Hannan(Hubei, Human Rights Defender)

Shi Ruoping(Shandong, Professor)

Zhang renxiang(Hubei, Human Rights Defender)

Ye Du(Guangdong, Editor)

Xia Gang(Hubei, Human Rights Defender)

Zhao Guoliang(Hunan,Democratic Activist)

Li Zhiying(Beijing, Social Activist)

Zhang Chongfa(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Chen Yongmiao(Beijing, Lawyer)

Jiang Ying(Tianjin, Poet)

Tian Zuxiang(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Huang Zhijia(Hubei,Public Servant)

Guan Yebo(Hubei, Public Servant)

Wang Wangming(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Gao Xinrui(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Song Shuiquan(Hubei, Legal Worker)

Zhao Jingzhou(Heilongjiang, Human Rights Defender)

Wen Kejian(Zhejiang, Scholar)

Wei Wenying(Yunan, Teacher)

Chen Huijuan(Heilongjiang, Human Rights Defender)

Chen Yanxiong(Hubei, Teacher)

Duan Chunfang(Shanghai, Human Rights Defender)

Liu Zhengshan(Yunnan, Engineer)

Guan Min(Hubei, Lecturer)

Dai Yuanlong(Fujian, Entrepreneur)

Yu Yiwei(Guangdong, Freelance Writer)

) Han Zurong(Fujian, Entrepreneur)

Wang Dingliang( Hubei, Lawyer)

Chen Qinglin(Beijing, Human Rights Defender)

Qian Shishun(Guangdong, Entrepreneur)

Zeng Boyan(Sichuan, Writer)

Ma Yalian(Shanghai, Human Rights Defender)

Che Hongnian(Shandong, Freelance Writer)

Qin Zhigang(Shandong, Engineer)

Song Xiangfeng(Hubei, Teacher)

Deng Fuhua(Hubei, Writer)

Xu Kang(Hubei, Public servant)

Li Jianqiang( Shandong, Lawyer)

Li Renbing(Beijing, Lawyer)

Qiu Meili(Shanghai, Rights Defender)

) Lan Zhixue(Beijing, Lawyer)

Zhou Jinchang(Zhejiang, Rightist)

Huang YanmingGuizhou, Democratic Activist

Liu Wei(Beijing, Lawyer)

Yan Liehan(Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Chen Defu(Guizhou, Democratic Activist)

Guo Yongxin(Hubei, Doctor)

Guo Yongfeng(Guangdong,Rights Defender)

Yuan Xinting(Guangzhou, Editor)

Qi Huimin(Zhejiang, Democratic Activist)

Li Yu(Sichuan, Editor)

Xie Fulin(Hunan, Human Rights Defender)

Xu Guang(Zhejiang, Entrepreneur)

Ye Huo(Guangdong, Freelance Writer)

Zou Wei(Zhejiang, Rights Defender)

Xiao Linbin(Zhejiang, Engineer)

Gao Haibing(Zhejiang, Democratic Activist)

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Tang Jitian(Beijing, Lawyer)

Liu Rongchao( Anhui, Farmer)

Li Tianxiang(Henan,worker)

Cui Yuzhen(Hebei, Lawyer)

Xu Maolian(Anhui, Farmer)

Zhai Linhua(Anhui, Teacher)

Tao Xiaoxia(Anhui, Farmer)

Zhang Wang(Fujian, Worker)

Huang Dachuan(Liaoning, Clerk)

Chen Xiaoyuan (Hainan, Clerk)

Zhang Jiankang (Shaanxi, Law worker)

Zhang Xingshui (Beijing, Lawyer)

Ma Gangquan (Beijing, Lawyer)

Wang Jinxiang (Hubei, Rights Defender)

Wang Jiaying (Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Yan Laiyun (Hubei, Entrepreneur)

Li Xiaoming (Hubei, Rights Defender)

Xiao Shuixiang (Hubei, Rights Defender)

Yan Yuxiang (Hubei, Rights Defender)

Liu Yi (Beijing, Painter)

Zhang Zhengxiang (Yunnan, Environmentalist)

European Austerity

Tuition hike protesters attack car carrying Prince Charles, Camilla

By the CNN Wire Staff -cnn.com-

10 officers, 38 protesters injured in scuffles
London police decry "wanton vandalism"
Protesters attack car carrying Prince Charles and Camilla
Riot police called to quell violence after British parliament approves tuition cap hike

London (CNN) -- Protesters enraged by a Parliament vote to triple university tuition rate caps, attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Thursday night.

The demonstrators broke a window and tossed paint on the car, however neither royal family member was injured in the attack.

'We can confirm that their Royal Highnesses' car was attacked by protesters on the way to their engagement at the London Palladium this evening," a spokesman for the prince said. "Their Royal Highnesses are unharmed."

The high-profile incident came late in day of violent protests that left at least 10 officers and 38 demonstrators hurt.

The attack followed a vote in the House of Commons to approve a plan to raise the existing cap on tuition rates charged by universities from �3,000 to �9,000. In U.S. dollars, that's a nearly $10,000 increase -- from roughly $4,700 to $14,000. Lawmakers approved the plan in a 323-302 vote.

The measure awaits approval by the House of Lords and a signature by the queen before it can become law.

The vote ended hours of debate inside Parliament and an all-day protest by thousands of demonstrators outside who said the plan will price many students out of a university education. Supporters say the tuition cap hike is needed to cut the government's massive deficit.

Parliament Square was relatively quiet late Thursday as mounted police pushed back the last knot of protesters.

"Extreme violence currently being directed towards officers is hindering attempts to allow nonviolent protesters to leave the containment area," police said.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the level of violence was unacceptable.

In recent weeks, the proposal has spawned multiple public protests, set off tremors within the nation's coalition government and prompted a back-seat revolt among some Liberal Democrats in Parliament.

Liberal Democrats are lesser partners in a coalition government ruled by Conservatives.

The London protest started out peacefully Thursday, but grew more tense with the winding down of debate in the House of Commons. By late afternoon, police on horseback attempted to push back throngs of protesters moving on Parliament.

Students reacted by throwing sticks and setting off fireworks. After the vote, riot police were called out to quell disturbances in Trafalgar Square, including the setting afire of a Christmas tree. Before the fire was set, a demonstrator was seen climbing the tree.

One officer was hospitalized after falling from his horse and another suffered a serious neck injury after being knocked unconscious, the Metropolitan Police said. Four other officers required unspecified hospital treatment.

The police service announced the arrest of 22 protesters on charges ranging from arson and assaulting a police officer to drunk and disorderly conduct.

London's Metropolitan Police condemned many of the protesters.

"This has nothing to do with peaceful protest. Students are involved in wanton vandalism, including smashing windows in Oxford and Regent Streets," the department said late Thursday on its website. "Innocent Christmas shoppers are being caught up in the violence and disruption.

Protest organizers had urged demonstrators to show restraint. Earlier this month, police arrested a total of 153 people following another protest at Trafalgar Square during which students damaged a police van, set small fires and spray painted and smashed government building windows.

One final-year student, standing in front of police lines outside Parliamen on Thursday, told CNN he was there out of solidarity with students who may be priced out of a place at university. "We're all here because we're passionate about this. We feel betrayed," he said.

Prior to vote, another protester screamed, "Nick Clegg ... you're a sellout! You have betrayed us!"

The protester was referring to the British deputy prime minister and Liberal Democratic Party architect of the coalition government. The government is headed by Prime Minister David Cameron, a conservative.

Clegg supports the tuition increase plan. At least a dozen other party members, including deputy party leader Simon Hughes, said they oppose it.

Supporters say the tuition cap hike is needed to help pay down the government's massive debt. They argue the increase is not mandatory, that universities would not be bound to charge university students the full �9,000.

Under the new plan, students wouldn't have to start paying off their school loans until they begin earning at least �21,000, about $32,600, a year.

Students currently must start paying off their loans once they reach a �15,000 (roughly $23,300) threshold.

CNN's senior international correspondent Dan River contributed to this report.