Saturday, January 9, 2010
Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is the short title of a federal law of the United States passed on September 21, 1996 as Public Law No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419. Its provisions are codified at 1 U.S.C. § 7 and 28 U.S.C. § 1738C. The law has two effects:
-No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
-The federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman.
The bill was passed by Congress by a vote of 85-14 in the Senate[1] and a vote of 342-67 in the House of Representatives, and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996.
-No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
-The federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman.
The bill was passed by Congress by a vote of 85-14 in the Senate[1] and a vote of 342-67 in the House of Representatives, and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996.
In 2008 the Coquille Tribe legalized same-sex marriage, with the law going into effect in May 2009. The law approving same-sex marriage was adopted 5-2 by the Coquille Tribal Council and extends all of the tribal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. To marry under Coquille law, at least one of the spouses must be a member of the tribe. In the 2000 Census, 576 people defined themselves as belonging to the Coquille Nation.
Although the Oregon voters approved an amendment to the Oregon Constitution in 2004 to prohibit same-sex marriages, the Coquille are a federally recognized sovereign nation, and thus not bound by the Oregon Constitution. On May 24, 2009, the first same-sex couple married under the Coquille jurisdiction.
--wiki--
Friday, January 8, 2010
"The largest thing has nothing beyond it; it is called the One of largeness. The smallest thing has nothing within it; it is called the One of smallness."
"That which has no thickness cannot be piled up; yet it is a thousand li in dimension."
"Heaven is as low as earth; mountains and marshes are on the same level."
"The sun at noon is the sun setting. The thing born is the thing dying."
"Great similarities are different from little similarities; these are called the little similarities and differences. The ten thousand things are all similar and are all different; these are called the great similarities and differences."
"The southern region has no limit and yet has a limit."
"I set off for Yueh today and came there yesterday."
"Linked rings can be separated."
"I know the center of the world: it is north of Yen and south of Yueh."
"Let love embrace the ten thousand things; Heaven and earth are a single body."
from Hui Shi's ten paradoxes
from Hui Shi's ten paradoxes
For example, during the early spring, the force of wood was in the ascendant; the sprouting of woody plants and a wide range of other natural and astronomical phenomena were explained by the dominance of the force of wood. As the season progressed, however, the power of fire would grow until it dominated. Then in midsummer, earth would become dominant; in autumn metal; in winter water; in spring wood once again. All of the regular phenomena of the natural world and many of those pertaining to the human world could be explained by the resonant power of the alternating forces.
from Zou Yan's work on the Five Natural Forces
from Zou Yan's work on the Five Natural Forces
The murder of one person is called unrighteous and incurs one death penalty. Following this argument, the murder of ten persons will be ten times as unrighteous and there should be ten death penalties; the murder of a hundred persons will be a hundred times as unrighteous and there should be a hundred death penalties. All the gentlemen of the world know that they should condemn these things, calling them unrighteous. But when it comes to the great unrighteousness of attacking states, they do not know that they should condemn it. On the contrary, they applaud it, calling it righteous. And they are really ignorant of its being unrighteous. Hence they have recorded their judgment to bequeath to their posterity. If they did know that it is unrighteous, then why would they record their false judgment to bequeath to posterity? Now, if there were a man who, upon seeing a little blackness, should say it is black, but, upon seeing much, should say it is white; then we should think he could not tell the difference between black and white. If, upon tasting a little bitterness one should say it is bitter, but, upon tasting much, should say it is sweet; then we should think he could not tell the difference between bitter and sweet. Now, when a little wrong is committed people know that they should condemn it, but when such a great wrong as attacking a state is committed people do not know that they should condemn it. On the contrary, it is applauded, called righteous. Can this be said to be knowing the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous? Hence we know the gentlemen of the world are confused about the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness.
from the book Condemnation of Offensive War I by Mozi
from the book Condemnation of Offensive War I by Mozi
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel peace.
Chain shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
-- O Holy Night from the Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877) --
His law is love and His Gospel peace.
Chain shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
-- O Holy Night from the Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877) --
--Hatewatch Blog--SPLC.org--
A new website purports to expose the machinations of “extremist” organizations that supposedly are trying to stifle debate about immigration. These groups represent “the well-funded far-left anti-enforcement mob that is ‘the other side’ of the majority of Americans,” states the website, Center for Immigration Truth.
What Center for Immigration Truth doesn’t say is that the website is another project of John Tanton, a retired Michigan ophthalmologist who in many ways has been primary architect of the contemporary nativist movement. Tanton, who has a long history of bigotry and racist associations that has been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is the registrant and administrator of the website, according to the Public Interest Registry database. The address in the registry is that of Tanton’s Social Contract Press, which publishes a quarterly journal featuring articles by prominent white supremacists. (The Social Contract Press is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC.)
The website launched several months ago with the motto “monitoring the subversive La Raza open borders network.” (The National Council of La Raza is a major Latino advocacy group that actually has supported several recent immigration enforcement measures.) The Center for Immigration Truth asserts that “the radical La Raza open borders lobby distorts facts and truth in order to promote their ethnic agenda.” The website cites more than a dozen other so-called members of this lobby, including prominent civil, human and workers’ rights groups such as the SPLC, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF), the Anti-Defamation League and the Service Employees International Union. (For the record, the SPLC doesn’t advocate for open borders, but instead aims to expose bigotry as it occurs in the immigration debate.) The Center for Immigration Truth provides links to several organizations founded by Tanton, including NumbersUSA, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Center for Immigration Studies and Pro-English.
Though the website is designed to appeal to mainstream immigration restrictionists, Tanton’s views are far from mainstream. For years, he has described contemporary immigrants as inferior. He has questioned the “educability” of Latinos and written that “for European-American culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.” In a letter to Roy Beck, head of NumbersUSA, Tanton wondered “whether the minorities who are going to inherit California … can run an advanced society?” He has also corresponded with Holocaust deniers, former Klan lawyers and white nationalist thinkers. In an infamous 1986 memo, he wrote: “As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?”
A new website purports to expose the machinations of “extremist” organizations that supposedly are trying to stifle debate about immigration. These groups represent “the well-funded far-left anti-enforcement mob that is ‘the other side’ of the majority of Americans,” states the website, Center for Immigration Truth.
What Center for Immigration Truth doesn’t say is that the website is another project of John Tanton, a retired Michigan ophthalmologist who in many ways has been primary architect of the contemporary nativist movement. Tanton, who has a long history of bigotry and racist associations that has been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is the registrant and administrator of the website, according to the Public Interest Registry database. The address in the registry is that of Tanton’s Social Contract Press, which publishes a quarterly journal featuring articles by prominent white supremacists. (The Social Contract Press is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC.)
The website launched several months ago with the motto “monitoring the subversive La Raza open borders network.” (The National Council of La Raza is a major Latino advocacy group that actually has supported several recent immigration enforcement measures.) The Center for Immigration Truth asserts that “the radical La Raza open borders lobby distorts facts and truth in order to promote their ethnic agenda.” The website cites more than a dozen other so-called members of this lobby, including prominent civil, human and workers’ rights groups such as the SPLC, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF), the Anti-Defamation League and the Service Employees International Union. (For the record, the SPLC doesn’t advocate for open borders, but instead aims to expose bigotry as it occurs in the immigration debate.) The Center for Immigration Truth provides links to several organizations founded by Tanton, including NumbersUSA, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Center for Immigration Studies and Pro-English.
Though the website is designed to appeal to mainstream immigration restrictionists, Tanton’s views are far from mainstream. For years, he has described contemporary immigrants as inferior. He has questioned the “educability” of Latinos and written that “for European-American culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.” In a letter to Roy Beck, head of NumbersUSA, Tanton wondered “whether the minorities who are going to inherit California … can run an advanced society?” He has also corresponded with Holocaust deniers, former Klan lawyers and white nationalist thinkers. In an infamous 1986 memo, he wrote: “As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?”
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Sri Lanka execution video authentic - UN envoy
19:17 GMT, Thursday, 7 January 2010
--bbc.co.uk--
Video apparently showing extra-judicial killings by Sri Lankan troops is genuine, a UN envoy has said. UN special rapporteur Philip Alston said three independent experts had confirmed the video was authentic, renewing calls for a war crime inquiry. The footage - which Sri Lanka says is fabricated - shows a man dressed as a soldier shooting a man in the head. It was allegedly filmed in January during the final stages of the bloody conflict with Tamil Tigers rebels. The government in Colombo said it concluded the video was fake after conducting its own investigation.
Bodies on ground
But Mr Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, told reporters: "The conclusion clearly is that the video is authentic." He said the video had been examined by three US-based independent investigators. He named them as Peter Diaczuk, an expert in firearms evidence, Daniel Spitz, a prominent forensic pathologist, and Jeff Spivack, an expert in forensic video analysis. At the same time he noted that there were "a small number of characteristics of the video which the experts were unable to explain". "Each of these characteristics can, however, be explained in a manner entirely consistent with the conclusion that the videotape appears to be authentic," he added. The UN official also called on the Sri Lankan government to hold an independent inquiry into possible war crimes committed by both sides of the conflict. It is not clear where the footage, which also shows other bodies on the ground, was taken. The video was provided to the BBC and other media organisations by a group called Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, which said it showed "the reality of the behaviour of the government forces during the war". Government troops finally defeated the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) last May after months of fierce fighting. Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka said the video had been taken in January 2009 using a mobile phone. Sri Lankan troops finally defeated the Tamil Tigers last May - after nearly 40 years of ethnic bloodshed that left more than 70,000 people dead.
Colonel Theodore S. Westhusing (November 17, 1960 – June 5, 2005)a West Point professor of English and Philosophy, volunteered to serve in Iraq in late 2004 and died in Baghdad from an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound in June 2005. West Point Memorial Website: "Col. Theodore S. Westhusing, 44, of Dallas, Texas, died June 5 in Baghdad, Iraq, from non-combat related injuries. Westhusing was serving with the Multi-national Security Transition Command-Iraq and was assigned to the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. as a professor. He is the highest-ranking officer to die in the Iraq war"
At the time he was the highest ranked American to die violently in Iraq since the start of the March 2003 United States-led invasion. He was 44 years old, married with three young children.
Westhusing served with what the U.S. Department of Defense calls the "Multi-national Security Transition Command - Iraq". His primary duty was to oversee the training of Iraqis for civilian police duty, in collaboration with USIS, a private military company. In mid-May 2005 he received an anonymous letter alleging fraud, waste and abuse by USIS. He also witnessed many of the following charges as well. The accusations included the following:
-forged employees' résumés claiming elite forces background
-inadequate skills and competence of trainers
-insufficient numbers of trainers in order to maximize profits
-disappearance of large quantities of weapons, radios, and other equipment
-employees boasting of killing Iraqis
Although Westhusing initially wrote to his commanders only seven days before his death that the allegations in the letter were false, many have determined that he was forced to write to his commanding officers, General Petraeus and General Fil, in order to keep his position and his commanding officers and USIS's cover on their activities, or perhaps until he could get the information to a source that would not cover up the illegalities. According to documentation, Colonel Westhusing then decided to go forward with the allegations about the illegalities to his commanders and the management of USIS, feeling that his life was now threatened and that he needed to get the information to outside sources before something happened to him. He did this regardless of the consequences to himself, to confront the injustices and to have the allegations exposed. He had also planned on returning to the U.S. to bring these allegations forward, but now feared for his life. This decision led to a subsequent, final confrontation and to his untimely death. There is evidence that something happened in those remaining seven days that caused him to turn angrily upon the management of USIS because of threats, referring to them with intense disgust as "money grubbing" and to their participation in illegal activities with members of the Iraqi police and others.
Excerpt reported from Westhusing's suicided not in The Texas Observer written by Robert Bryce, March 09, 2007 titled "I am sullied no-more."
"At about 1:15 in the afternoon, Westhusing was discovered in trailer 602A. Near his body was a note addressed to his commanders, Petraeus and Fil. Written in large, block letters, it read:
Thanks for telling me it was a good day until I briefed you. [Redacted name]—You are only interested in your career and provide no support to your staff—no msn [mission] support and you don’t care. I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no more. I didn’t volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my family, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust you only. Death before being dishonored any more. Trust is essential—I don’t know who trust anymore. [sic] Why serve when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and breath to succeed meets with lies, lack of support, and selfishness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and I know it.
COL Ted Westhusing
Life needs trust. Trust is no more for me here in Iraq."
At the time he was the highest ranked American to die violently in Iraq since the start of the March 2003 United States-led invasion. He was 44 years old, married with three young children.
Westhusing served with what the U.S. Department of Defense calls the "Multi-national Security Transition Command - Iraq". His primary duty was to oversee the training of Iraqis for civilian police duty, in collaboration with USIS, a private military company. In mid-May 2005 he received an anonymous letter alleging fraud, waste and abuse by USIS. He also witnessed many of the following charges as well. The accusations included the following:
-forged employees' résumés claiming elite forces background
-inadequate skills and competence of trainers
-insufficient numbers of trainers in order to maximize profits
-disappearance of large quantities of weapons, radios, and other equipment
-employees boasting of killing Iraqis
Although Westhusing initially wrote to his commanders only seven days before his death that the allegations in the letter were false, many have determined that he was forced to write to his commanding officers, General Petraeus and General Fil, in order to keep his position and his commanding officers and USIS's cover on their activities, or perhaps until he could get the information to a source that would not cover up the illegalities. According to documentation, Colonel Westhusing then decided to go forward with the allegations about the illegalities to his commanders and the management of USIS, feeling that his life was now threatened and that he needed to get the information to outside sources before something happened to him. He did this regardless of the consequences to himself, to confront the injustices and to have the allegations exposed. He had also planned on returning to the U.S. to bring these allegations forward, but now feared for his life. This decision led to a subsequent, final confrontation and to his untimely death. There is evidence that something happened in those remaining seven days that caused him to turn angrily upon the management of USIS because of threats, referring to them with intense disgust as "money grubbing" and to their participation in illegal activities with members of the Iraqi police and others.
Excerpt reported from Westhusing's suicided not in The Texas Observer written by Robert Bryce, March 09, 2007 titled "I am sullied no-more."
"At about 1:15 in the afternoon, Westhusing was discovered in trailer 602A. Near his body was a note addressed to his commanders, Petraeus and Fil. Written in large, block letters, it read:
Thanks for telling me it was a good day until I briefed you. [Redacted name]—You are only interested in your career and provide no support to your staff—no msn [mission] support and you don’t care. I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no more. I didn’t volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my family, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust you only. Death before being dishonored any more. Trust is essential—I don’t know who trust anymore. [sic] Why serve when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and breath to succeed meets with lies, lack of support, and selfishness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and I know it.
COL Ted Westhusing
Life needs trust. Trust is no more for me here in Iraq."
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
One cannot make bargains for blisses
Or catch them like fishes in nets
And sometimes the things that life misses
Help more than the things that it gets...
--Alice Cary--
Or catch them like fishes in nets
And sometimes the things that life misses
Help more than the things that it gets...
--Alice Cary--
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Susanna Maiolo (born 1984 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland) is a woman with Italian and Swiss citizenship, who attacked Pope Benedict XVI at Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, 24 December 2009, inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. French cardinal Roger Etchegaray was injured. She previously tried to attack the Pope in December 2008. Authorities said that Maiolo is mentally unstable; she is currently being held
Aboriginal Canadians divided over Vancouver Olympics
01:08 GMT, Friday, 1 January 2010
By Brandy Yanchyk
Vancouver
The start of the torch relay involved traditional ceremonies. Photo: Tom Ryan
The Canadian city of Vancouver is gearing up to host nearly four weeks of Winter Olympic and Paralympic sporting action in February and March.
The Games, set to attract international attention, have a particular importance for Canada's aboriginal peoples, as many of the sporting events will take place on their ancestral land. The peoples involved - the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations - who live on and share the land, have joined forces.
Together with the Vancouver Olympic Committee (Vanoc), they will be hosting the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games in a partnership that is making Olympic history.
This is the first time that aboriginals have been official partners in the Olympics and have been involved in every aspect of the Games starting from the bidding process.
'Stolen land'
For some aboriginals, this partnership is seen as a unique opportunity for Canada's indigenous peoples to show their culture to the world.
For others, the Vancouver Olympics are a waste of money and resources that could be better spent on serious issues facing aboriginals in Canada.
Many of our community members are paying with their lives with the inadequate housing and healthcare
Canada's indigenous peoples have suffered a long history of poverty, unemployment, and problems with addiction and high rates of suicide.
Tewanee Joseph, head of the umbrella group known as the Four Host First Nations, sees the Vancouver Winter Olympics as a great time for aboriginals to rebrand themselves in a positive way.
"What people will learn is that we're business people, we're entrepreneurs, we're visual artists and we're performing artists. You know our culture is really living and thriving today and it's been through challenges," says Mr Joseph.
"We no longer want to be seen as just Dime Store Indians, just beads and feathers. I think for us those stereotypes are very important for us to break."
Despite all the potential positive attention on their culture, many of British Columbia's aboriginals still feel that the decision to hold the Olympics in Vancouver (and the resort town of Whistler) was wrong.
"A lot of First Nations considered the land to be stolen," says Josh Anderson from the Lil'wat Nation.
"Our people were actually there to watch the construction of the facilities for the Olympics just in case the lands were desecrated or disrespected in any way."
A number of First Nations continue to be concerned about how the expansion of Whistler for the Olympics is affecting their land and the environment.
'No teepees'
Despite the opposition by some of his people, Mr Anderson welcomes the arrival of the Olympic Games and intends to use the exposure as an opportunity to educate the world about his culture.
He will be teaching Lil'wat history to visitors at the new Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, built with provincial and federal government funding.
There are aims to bring the aboriginal culture to a wider audience
"A lot of people think that we, the Lil'wat and the Squamish, are Eskimos and that we live in igloos and that we have teepees here. We don't have teepees and we are not Eskimos," Mr Anderson says.
"We do have cold winters and we used to live in underground dwellings in pit houses. We call them istkens."
For aboriginals like Rose Henry, of Sliammon heritage, and Jayson Fleury, who is Saulteaux-Cree, the idea that Vanoc is spending C$1.7bn ($1.6bn;£1bn) on the Games is upsetting. They both belong to the Olympic Resistance Network (ORN) whose motto is "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land."
They believe that some of that money should be spent on issues like homelessness and addiction.
"If you go to Vancouver's downtown eastside, you will see that most of the homeless are First Nations people and they are from this area," says Mr Fleury. "So their rights, their livelihood are not being honoured in any fashion." "It is costing us a lot more than just the dollars," adds Ms Henry. "Many of our community members are paying with their lives with the inadequate housing and healthcare and so the rippling effects go beyond the 17-day party that's going to be happening here that we can't afford."
Snowboarding success
The province of British Columbia, Vanoc, and the Four Host First Nations still believe that the Olympics will have a lasting positive impact on Canada's aboriginals and have set up economic, art and sporting legacy programmes. One fund has helped to create the First Nations snowboard team which started with 10 members and now has 200 from 13 First Nations across British Columbia.
Olympic organisers have also given C$54m of contracts to more than 100 aboriginal businesses - roughly 10% of the construction contracts worth a total of C$580m. In central Vancouver there will also be a C$3.5m Aboriginal Pavilion, a multi-media centre displaying aboriginal art, business, culture and sport to visitors throughout the Games.
"Every venue that you go to, you will be welcomed by an aboriginal figure. Every one of the venues you go to will have aboriginal art in it," says Dan Doyle, Vanoc's executive vice president. An aboriginal artist was also chosen to design the Olympic and Paralympic medals: Corrine Hunt, of First Nations Komoyue and Tlingit heritage.
"The fact that an aboriginal person was given the opportunity to make the Olympic and the Paralympic medals I think is really important," says Ms Hunt. "It shows the recognition that we have as a people and that we continue to live on this land." Chief Gibby Jacob from the Squamish Nation agrees that the recent recognition of native culture is an important milestone after years of suppression by the Canadian establishment.
He took part in the start of the torch relay, helping to bring the Olympic flame to the shores of Victoria in British Columbia by canoe and performing a traditional aboriginal welcoming ceremony. "The significance of doing our ceremonies on the water in our canoes, that was important for us to have those things recognised," Chief Jacob says.
"In the history of this country there was legislation created by the governments wherein we couldn't practice our culture, our traditions. They thought it was not right." For many aboriginals artists, businesses and athletes the real test of the Vancouver Olympics will be if the inclusion and celebration of their cultures continue long after the Games are over.
01:08 GMT, Friday, 1 January 2010
By Brandy Yanchyk
Vancouver
The start of the torch relay involved traditional ceremonies. Photo: Tom Ryan
The Canadian city of Vancouver is gearing up to host nearly four weeks of Winter Olympic and Paralympic sporting action in February and March.
The Games, set to attract international attention, have a particular importance for Canada's aboriginal peoples, as many of the sporting events will take place on their ancestral land. The peoples involved - the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations - who live on and share the land, have joined forces.
Together with the Vancouver Olympic Committee (Vanoc), they will be hosting the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games in a partnership that is making Olympic history.
This is the first time that aboriginals have been official partners in the Olympics and have been involved in every aspect of the Games starting from the bidding process.
'Stolen land'
For some aboriginals, this partnership is seen as a unique opportunity for Canada's indigenous peoples to show their culture to the world.
For others, the Vancouver Olympics are a waste of money and resources that could be better spent on serious issues facing aboriginals in Canada.
Many of our community members are paying with their lives with the inadequate housing and healthcare
Canada's indigenous peoples have suffered a long history of poverty, unemployment, and problems with addiction and high rates of suicide.
Tewanee Joseph, head of the umbrella group known as the Four Host First Nations, sees the Vancouver Winter Olympics as a great time for aboriginals to rebrand themselves in a positive way.
"What people will learn is that we're business people, we're entrepreneurs, we're visual artists and we're performing artists. You know our culture is really living and thriving today and it's been through challenges," says Mr Joseph.
"We no longer want to be seen as just Dime Store Indians, just beads and feathers. I think for us those stereotypes are very important for us to break."
Despite all the potential positive attention on their culture, many of British Columbia's aboriginals still feel that the decision to hold the Olympics in Vancouver (and the resort town of Whistler) was wrong.
"A lot of First Nations considered the land to be stolen," says Josh Anderson from the Lil'wat Nation.
"Our people were actually there to watch the construction of the facilities for the Olympics just in case the lands were desecrated or disrespected in any way."
A number of First Nations continue to be concerned about how the expansion of Whistler for the Olympics is affecting their land and the environment.
'No teepees'
Despite the opposition by some of his people, Mr Anderson welcomes the arrival of the Olympic Games and intends to use the exposure as an opportunity to educate the world about his culture.
He will be teaching Lil'wat history to visitors at the new Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, built with provincial and federal government funding.
There are aims to bring the aboriginal culture to a wider audience
"A lot of people think that we, the Lil'wat and the Squamish, are Eskimos and that we live in igloos and that we have teepees here. We don't have teepees and we are not Eskimos," Mr Anderson says.
"We do have cold winters and we used to live in underground dwellings in pit houses. We call them istkens."
For aboriginals like Rose Henry, of Sliammon heritage, and Jayson Fleury, who is Saulteaux-Cree, the idea that Vanoc is spending C$1.7bn ($1.6bn;£1bn) on the Games is upsetting. They both belong to the Olympic Resistance Network (ORN) whose motto is "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land."
They believe that some of that money should be spent on issues like homelessness and addiction.
"If you go to Vancouver's downtown eastside, you will see that most of the homeless are First Nations people and they are from this area," says Mr Fleury. "So their rights, their livelihood are not being honoured in any fashion." "It is costing us a lot more than just the dollars," adds Ms Henry. "Many of our community members are paying with their lives with the inadequate housing and healthcare and so the rippling effects go beyond the 17-day party that's going to be happening here that we can't afford."
Snowboarding success
The province of British Columbia, Vanoc, and the Four Host First Nations still believe that the Olympics will have a lasting positive impact on Canada's aboriginals and have set up economic, art and sporting legacy programmes. One fund has helped to create the First Nations snowboard team which started with 10 members and now has 200 from 13 First Nations across British Columbia.
Olympic organisers have also given C$54m of contracts to more than 100 aboriginal businesses - roughly 10% of the construction contracts worth a total of C$580m. In central Vancouver there will also be a C$3.5m Aboriginal Pavilion, a multi-media centre displaying aboriginal art, business, culture and sport to visitors throughout the Games.
"Every venue that you go to, you will be welcomed by an aboriginal figure. Every one of the venues you go to will have aboriginal art in it," says Dan Doyle, Vanoc's executive vice president. An aboriginal artist was also chosen to design the Olympic and Paralympic medals: Corrine Hunt, of First Nations Komoyue and Tlingit heritage.
"The fact that an aboriginal person was given the opportunity to make the Olympic and the Paralympic medals I think is really important," says Ms Hunt. "It shows the recognition that we have as a people and that we continue to live on this land." Chief Gibby Jacob from the Squamish Nation agrees that the recent recognition of native culture is an important milestone after years of suppression by the Canadian establishment.
He took part in the start of the torch relay, helping to bring the Olympic flame to the shores of Victoria in British Columbia by canoe and performing a traditional aboriginal welcoming ceremony. "The significance of doing our ceremonies on the water in our canoes, that was important for us to have those things recognised," Chief Jacob says.
"In the history of this country there was legislation created by the governments wherein we couldn't practice our culture, our traditions. They thought it was not right." For many aboriginals artists, businesses and athletes the real test of the Vancouver Olympics will be if the inclusion and celebration of their cultures continue long after the Games are over.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Tewahedo (Te-wa-hido) (Ge'ez ተዋሕዶ tawāhidō, modern pronunciation tewāhidō) is a Ge'ez word meaning "being made one" or "unified"; it is cognate with the Arabic term توحيد tawḥīd, used in discussions of Islam to mean "monotheism." Tewahedo refers to the Oriental Orthodox belief in the one single unified Nature of Christ.
Orthodox Christianity became the established church of the Ethiopian Axumite Kingdom under king Ezana in the 4th century through the efforts of a Syrian Greek named Frumentius, known in Ethiopia as Abba Selama, Kesaté Birhan ("Father of Peace, Revealer of Light"). As a youth, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast. The brothers managed to be brought to the royal court, where they rose to positions of influence and converted Emperor Ezana to Christianity, causing him to be baptised. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria to ask the Patriarch, St. Athanasius, to appoint a bishop for Ethiopia. Athanasius appointed Frumentius himself, who returned to Ethiopia as Bishop with the name of Abune Selama.
Ethiopian and Eritrean
--wiki--
Orthodox Christianity became the established church of the Ethiopian Axumite Kingdom under king Ezana in the 4th century through the efforts of a Syrian Greek named Frumentius, known in Ethiopia as Abba Selama, Kesaté Birhan ("Father of Peace, Revealer of Light"). As a youth, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast. The brothers managed to be brought to the royal court, where they rose to positions of influence and converted Emperor Ezana to Christianity, causing him to be baptised. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria to ask the Patriarch, St. Athanasius, to appoint a bishop for Ethiopia. Athanasius appointed Frumentius himself, who returned to Ethiopia as Bishop with the name of Abune Selama.
Ethiopian and Eritrean
--wiki--
Friday, January 1, 2010
“A labor force in significant economic distress:” In January 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) sent a letter to members of the United States Congress reporting on the stark realities facing agricultural workers. Entitled The Agricultural Labor Market - Status and Recommendations, the letter described farmworkers as “a labor force in significant economic distress.” The report cited farmworkers’ “low wages, sub-poverty annual earnings, (and) significant periods of un- and underemployment” to support its conclusions.
Facts and Figures on Florida Farmworkers
--Coalition of Immokalee Workers--
Facts and Figures on Florida Farmworkers
--Coalition of Immokalee Workers--
Anti-Mining Activists Killed in El Salvador
For the second time in a week, a prominent anti-mining activist has been assassinated in El Salvador. On Saturday, thirty-two-year-old Dora “Alicia” Recinos Sorto was shot dead near her home. One of her children was also injured in the shooting. Sorto was an active member of the Cabañas Environment Committee, which has campaigned against the reopening of a gold mine owned by the Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Company.
--democracynow.org--
For the second time in a week, a prominent anti-mining activist has been assassinated in El Salvador. On Saturday, thirty-two-year-old Dora “Alicia” Recinos Sorto was shot dead near her home. One of her children was also injured in the shooting. Sorto was an active member of the Cabañas Environment Committee, which has campaigned against the reopening of a gold mine owned by the Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Company.
--democracynow.org--
GERMANY: Disturbing Rise of Right-Wing Violence
The Federal Criminal Police Office (or BKA) said in a report released last week that politically and racially motivated crimes by the far right hit a record high of more than 20,000 in 2008. Figures for 2009 won't be released until early next year, but the BKA expects them also to be above normal. 'On average, two to three far-right motivated violent crimes are committed in Germany each day. And there are around three to four anti-Semitic violent crimes each month,' says Jörg Ziercke, the president of the BKA. 'There's a real danger to people's lives because far-right attacks tend to be very spontaneous, brutal and violent.' Right-wing radicals have become increasingly brazen, too, carrying out attacks in public places, such as train stations, bus stops and outside bars and restaurants. In addition to el-Sherbini's murder, Ziercke says there were five politically or racially motivated attempted murders by the far right in 2009.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (or BKA) said in a report released last week that politically and racially motivated crimes by the far right hit a record high of more than 20,000 in 2008. Figures for 2009 won't be released until early next year, but the BKA expects them also to be above normal. 'On average, two to three far-right motivated violent crimes are committed in Germany each day. And there are around three to four anti-Semitic violent crimes each month,' says Jörg Ziercke, the president of the BKA. 'There's a real danger to people's lives because far-right attacks tend to be very spontaneous, brutal and violent.' Right-wing radicals have become increasingly brazen, too, carrying out attacks in public places, such as train stations, bus stops and outside bars and restaurants. In addition to el-Sherbini's murder, Ziercke says there were five politically or racially motivated attempted murders by the far right in 2009.
"When we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly."
-- passage from an essay in the book The Education of a British Protected Child, by Chinua Achebe
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