Hello all.

I don’t normally post here, but the situation in Burma seems to have gotten more coverage on this end.  Plus everyone here seems to lean more towards my progressive political views anyways.

This is kind of long, but I think it’s worth reading all the way through if you are interested in how the internet is shaping current events and the world around us. 

In my last essay (ironically enough) I touched on the importance of the internet and the power we hold to spread the truth to the world instantly.  There has never been a situation that could prove a more perfect example than the uprising going on in Burma. 

If you ever doubted the power we have, this should change your mind.

To begin with I encourage you to actually click on the links I am going to provide.

If you’re like me you tend to just skim over some links or maybe ignore them all together. 

Although in this case, the point is to show online how to track and influence current events virtually.  Every link will give you a specific point and important information to view as the events unfolded. 

The internet is vast and navigating for obscure information can be a very effective skill.

I will use footnotes to indicate links that provide background information and are not part of the “internet tour” as it were.

Information on interpreting the links or other useful information will be noted in text below the main paragraph.  Burma is about a day ahead of us and reports were in from all over the world, so the time line was pretty difficult to put together.  If you find any error in the order of events email me and let me know.

Currently in Burma (also known as Myanmar) there is an uprising of the populace against a military rule and possible military coup taking place.  Their democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) has been under house arrest since 1990.  She made a brief appearance outside her home during the protests. 

The country is located in southern Asia and has an abundance of natural resources. [1] 

American company Chevron and the French-US company Total both control gas lines running through the region. [2]  The people there live in extreme poverty despite this resource and are ruled by a repressive military regime, where only the government is armed.

In 1988 there was an attempt at an uprising, but once protesters took to the streets the military killed an estimated 3,000 people.  At the time very few people outside the country even knew what happened.  Almost no pictures exist from this time and the death toll has never been confirmed.  Actually, the population of the country itself is suspect to speculation although it’s estimated around 52-55 million. 

The country is about 80-90% Buddhist, and the monks who live there are highly revered by the people, both politically and spiritually. 

After a recent over inflation of gas prices and the starving and malnutrition of the population due to poverty, the civil unrest has been growing.  This last week the monks decided to put their weight behind the cause of freedom and joined with student groups and political dissidents and took to the streets. [3]

This all sounds pretty standard as far as uprisings go. 

But there is one very, very important difference now. 

The students and the internet.

The more tech-savvy student groups have been communicating with exiled pro-democracy groups [4], and blogging about their experiences.

*The question marks are where the text would appear in Burmese.  I have the foreign language character sets installed on my computer, but the language is obscure/repressed and I have yet to find a code to show it.

People from all corners of the world have been reading about individuals lives, hopes and dreams online.  Each one had a story.  And each one had their voices heard around the world. 

*This link shows current internet traffic to the ko-htike blogging site linked above, which is a collection of bloggers communications from Burma.  The list on the left shows how many visitors are from each country and the map pinpoints worldwide locations and traffic.  This is constantly fluctuating.  After the internet had been shut off in Burma the map was filled worldwide with large dense red “hot spots” located mainly in the US and Europe.

Once the protest started growing and the people started feeling more confident to join in the streets, the government started cracking down.

* These links should be read from the bottom up for correct chronological order

The military starting raiding the Monastaries, attacking and killing the civilian protesters, open fired on student protesters, and shot and killed a Japanese reporter. 

Armed with the technology of cameras, cell phones and the internet word of the killings spread quickly around the world.  The most damning of the evidence was a video of the Japanase reporter being shot in the streets and he lay helpless.  His camera still in his hand. 

The Japanese media of course picked up the video and pictures and the public outrage increased.  The word was spreading even faster now.

Eye witness reports that had been coming on the BBC starting telling of the violence on the streets.  Incredible pictures and videos were posted worldwide.  The international community started alerting the UN and human rights organizations of the increasing violence.

The people of Burma started guarding the monk’s Monasteries with sticks and slingshots, banging on pots to warn of the coming military presence.

It was around this time the government there realized that the pictures, videos and information flowing out of the country needed to be stopped if they were to continue to violently quelsh the uprising and discourage the people from turning out en mass.

So what did they do?

They cut off internet access. 

They shut down phone lines, beat anyone they saw with cameras or cell phones and newspapers refusing to report pro-government messages shut down in protest.

And this is when things got really interesting.

I had read a few reports about the protests, and heard some about the violence.  On Friday I read that the internet had been shut down.  An obscure article on the TimesOnline gave a few links to blogging sites from people inside Burma.  I started reading their accounts.  Saw their pictures and was concerned that their voices were silenced by the cut-off of information so that mass killings could occur and no one would know.

I wrote a diary on DailyKos and found a few others had starting at the same time as well.  Most notedly to me, and ironically, CTLiberal had read the same article and composed a much better account.  koNko who has been covering the protests this week here also finally later made the recommended list.

I searched online and found that bloggers monitoring the situation had kicked it up into high gear.  From all over the world everyone who  could still tell their stories started writing, and emailing and communicating to anyone they could find the last messages to come out of Burma.

Surviving pictures and news links were passed world wide as groups from LA to Australia to Spain started organizing protests at the Burmese Embassies.  Translators and administrators worked to feed up to date events and eye witness accounts for those still inside Burma and those watching and waiting to help.

This should be read from the bottom up for the correct chronological order.

28 Sep 07, 13:04
Ko Hla: Most people believe that the junta is trying to cut all possible communication to control news and media about violence in Myanmar. Myanmar people in abroad are worrying that there will be more violence crackdown on peaceful protesters.
28 Sep 07, 13:02
Admin: some mobile lines and landlines in yangon r still working (confirmed) but the networks seem to be down.
28 Sep 07, 12:59
Ko Hla: I cannot call to Yangon Mobiles now. Until last 10 minutes, I can make a call to landline.
28 Sep 07, 12:58
Ko Hla: Message from Myanmar People to International community is simple: Help Us.
28 Sep 07, 12:49
Ko Hla: I still can call Yangon but the internet is very very slow to access website. They have to wait more than 1/2 hr to see a page.. need to refresh again and again..
28 Sep 07, 12:40
Ko Hla: Currently, all my friends in Yangon cannot connection to the Internet. They all are offline in Google Talk now.
28 Sep 07, 12:27
translator: Most of the connection from Burma seem to be down at the moment. Only some r available.
28 Sep 07, 12:24
translator: test
28 Sep 07, 12:16
Admin: We r getting further confirmation on this.
28 Sep 07, 12:16
Admin: Latest confirmed news : All connections from Burma seem to be cut off
28 Sep 07, 12:15
Admin: Registered Users : Pls only post the news from ko nick’s cobx
28 Sep 07, 12:12
forthecountry: test
28 Sep 07, 12:11
Ko Hla: Please Sing here to support Peaceful Protest in Burma http://www.avaaz.org…
28 Sep 07, 12:06
nyi nyi: 09:15AM: (YGN) There are 2 military trucks fully loaded with anti-riot police, 1 hilux and 3 dyna light trucks are waiting at the bus-stop near Ngwe-Kyar-Yan Monastry located at South Okkalapa .
28 Sep 07, 11:57
Admin: Registered users: Pls indicate whether the news is confirmed or not.
28 Sep 07, 11:56
Admin: Registered users: Pls click on “profile” below the box and log in and translate all the msgs from Ko Nik’s cbox
28 Sep 07, 11:53
Admin: test

* This chatbox would be posted on many different sites as the number of users steadily increased.  Here is the link to the direct chatbox.  

In my opinion this should be required reading for anyone who has ever used the internet. 

After you finish the essay I would strongly urge you to read from the beginning the entirety of the chatbox.  It is heartbreaking, uplifting and a perfect example of how the internet can, and should, be used.

This started a flood of emails and concerned groups to put immediate pressures on their own governments.  Most notably Japan because one of their reporters had been seen by the whole world (and is currently #2 highest viewed video on youtube) being gunned down in cold blood on the streets.

There were reports filtering in of a growing military coup and stronger resistance.  Once again please read bottom to top.

28 Sep 07, 15:02
translator: crowds gathering at San-Pya Market , Yangon, estimated 10,000 civilians
28 Sep 07, 15:01
Ko Hla: ** Sorry: Please read SanPya Market (instead of SanPay Market)
28 Sep 07, 14:59
Ko Hla: Now, there are 10,000 peopel are gathering near SanPay Market (ThinGyanKyun Township), Yangon
28 Sep 07, 14:57
Ko Hla: Offices of Quarter-PDCs are not open today and some officials run away. The based of government system is start falling apart. Keep it up.
28 Sep 07, 14:51
translator: from reliable source – there are a lot of monks are cuptured in Government Technical Institude at Insein, Yangon.
28 Sep 07, 14:43
Admin: there are civilians gathering at Thein-gyi Market at yangon – esitimated 50,000 civilians.
28 Sep 07, 14:41
Admin: batallion 66 has stood by the civilian’s side at North Oakkalar
28 Sep 07, 14:30
Admin: Reliable Source : Army Division 33 did not follow orders and hence, Army Division 99 was sent in by plan to fight them.
28 Sep 07, 14:27
Admin: There is high chance that Army Division 33 and 99 are fighting against each other. Still following the news.
28 Sep 07, 14:22
Admin: Unconfirmed reports say that there is heavy shooting in North Oakkalar are in Yangon
28 Sep 07, 14:19
translator: They will rage the war on people today before UN has arrived tomorrow!!!!
28 Sep 07, 14:06
Admin: reliable source – Army Division 22 (which was used during 1988 uprising) has been called back to Yangon
28 Sep 07, 13:52
Ko Hla: Please go and visit http://www.ko-htike…. for photos and an email from a Singaporean who is working in Yangon.
28 Sep 07, 13:45
Admin: we heard that around 10 thousand ppl have gathered near traders hotel now
28 Sep 07, 13:43
Ko Hla: Myanmar army is start shotting in North Oakkalapa
28 Sep 07, 13:42
Ko Hla: From a reliable source: Commander of Army Division 33, B. General Tin Htun Aung refused to shoot monks and people in Mandalay. There are many soldiers in the army who are willing to join the peaceful protest.
28 Sep 07, 13:42
forthecountry: just received an email from Yangon.

And this is how you use the internet to help overthrow an oppressive military regime. 

Impressive right?

It was announced that Japan had condemned the killings and that the Deputy Foreign Minister was on his way to Burma to demand an explanation for killing the reporter.  The UN planned an emergency meeting and scrambled an envoy. 

The comments during this time on ko-htike blog come from all the world.  People offer assistance, recent information and contact information.

News is almost at a standstill and stays silent for about 5 or 6 hours over the night.

MoveOn.org sent out a mass email informing it’s 3 million + members of the violence, communication shut down and urgency to stand, worldwide behind the people of Burma.

I spend the time searching Goggle blogs tagged with Burma and sorting my the most recent to see if I can find anything new.  A few unconfirmed reports filter in until it is daytime in Burma and the internet had been back up for about an hour or two.

A worldwide Facebook group posted the news feeds out of Burma as links to any information flowing out of the country were encouraged to be emailed to major news media outlets. 

Word of the UN envoy (and the time it would be arriving) and worldwide support got back to the people in Burma in time for them to plan accordingly and spread the news.

Once again, bottom to top.

29 Sep 07, 17:10
Ko Hla: From a reliable source: Due to the UN special envoy visiting, the military forces are orderd for only warning shoot and not to crack down brutally as before. The forces only shoot to warn the protesters in Yangon’s Chinatown.
29 Sep 07, 16:53
Ko Hla: Please try to pass this message to the people. Request them to participate the protests.
29 Sep 07, 16:50
Ko Hla: According a reliable source, the military force is not given order to shoot the protesters.
29 Sep 07, 16:42
Ko Hla: Now, more than ten thousands of people are protesting near Iron Market (ThanZay) in downtown Yangon. We can hear slogans shouted by protesters. The military force arrived but there is not shooting until now.
29 Sep 07, 16:39
Ko Hla: People assume that the military force will not shoot today due to the visit of the UN special envoy and disagreements among junta’s generals. Protesters are urging more people to participate to grasp this opportunity to keep the momentum of the peaceful protest.
29 Sep 07, 16:28
Ko Hla: People’s protests are continued today. People are disciplined and peacefully protesting now.
29 Sep 07, 16:25
Ko Hla: In Mandalay, monks have requested people to watch out for own security due to military and thugs raids in monasteries. Monks suggested fellow-monks and people make warning sound by hitting hollow-wood-gongs or tin-containers when soldiers, police or stranger com in to quarters. This kind of arrangement should be announced in Yangon city as well.
29 Sep 07, 16:11
Ko Hla: We request all government employees, private companies’ employee and all workers not to go to work and participate in General Strike. Everyone is suffering from absolute poverty. This is the time to participate to overthrow Brutal Military Regime. So everyone please participate to show our unity, to get our freedom, to get out from the poverty. THIS IS THE TIME TO ACT.
29 Sep 07, 16:11
Ko Hla: Special Announcement: Everyone has known and seen how the military is brutal now. They have brutally beaten and shot Buddhist Monks and people who have been peacefully protested. We urge to start countrywide General Strike from coming Monday.
29 Sep 07, 15:46
Ko Hla: Myanmar military helicopters are patrolling around 42nd street and 45th street in Mandalay where protests started yesterday. Schools in Mandalay are closed but teachers are forced to stay in school offices.
29 Sep 07, 15:26
Ko Hla: The military force blocks all 4 roads leading to Sule Pagoda. Peaceful protest starts in Yangon now.
29 Sep 07, 15:05
Ko Hla: We hear from Yangon that the military regime will arrange Trader hotel as place to stay for Ibrahim Gambari , the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, during his visit. Then the regime will show him faked protest by government backed USDA members near that hotel.
29 Sep 07, 14:42
Ko Hla: A peaceful protest in Yangon also starts in ShweBonTha Street in downtown.
29 Sep 07, 14:41
Ko Hla: Today peaceful protest starts in YayNanChaung Township of Magwe Division, and also in TaungGoke and Sittwe Township of Rakkhine State.

The wide ranging support of the global community and word of arriving diplomatic help gave hope to the protesters.  When the news feed came through to get the word out to the people, I watched the number of users in the chatbox drop from about 950 down to 454. 

The combination of messaging, calls and the internet allowed the people in Burma to plan for mass peace protests while the UN envoy was present and they would be relatively safe.

29 Sep 07, 17:49
Ko Hla: Democratic Voice of Burma has just aired the interview with an activist – Ms. Su Su Nway. She is about to leave her home for protesting.
29 Sep 07, 17:47
Ko Hla: New Delhi, Sept. 29 (PTI): Scores of Myanmarese refugees today took out a march here to protest the violent response of the military junta against pro-democracy rallies in their homeland, and asked India to intervene to stop bloodshed in its neighbourhood. Details: http://www.hindu.com…
29 Sep 07, 17:44
Ko Hla: Protesting starts in Pakokku Township (In where the military force shots were fired over protesting monks on September 5.)
29 Sep 07, 17:36
Ko Hla: Current News: There is protesting going on at Phone-Gyi Road. Most of the protesters are high school students, estimated about 70,000 protesters.
29 Sep 07, 17:36
Ko Hla: Please read full in http://www.channelne…
29 Sep 07, 17:35
Ko Hla: United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari flew out of Singapore to Myanmar at about 2:50 pm (0650 GMT) on Silk Air flight MI 518 which is expected to reach Myanmar’s main city of Yangon two hours 45 minutes later.

The internet should be mandatory.

Being able to immediately counter their own governments lies and gather millions of devoted people to spread the truth saved thousands of peoples lives, brought hope to democracy in the country and united hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

29 Sep 07, 19:31
Ko Hla: Mr. Gambari MUST GO TO Yangon. People are dying and protesting at Yangon. Naypyidaw is a ghost town where only government officials and generals reside. Please… if someone from UN reading this message, contact Mr. Gambri NOW and insist that he must see Yangon. Help us!! Help Myanmar (Burma).
29 Sep 07, 19:29
Ko Hla: YANGON : United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Myanmar on Saturday and was headed straight to the capital, Naypyidaw, for talks with government leaders, diplomatic sources said. Details: http://www.channelne…
29 Sep 07, 19:21
Ko Hla: We have received photos of patriot Myanmar and people around the world wearing red-shirt showing our hour to those who sacrifice their lives and stand strongly behind the people who are brave protesting even thought the junta crackdown brutally. Thank You for the support.
29 Sep 07, 18:50
Ko Hla: There will be a special news about Myanmar Military on DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) tonight. Not only the people but also military personnel should listen to that news.

Because we could read their story they became our friends.  We heard of their struggles and wanted to help.  I think if internet access was available to everyone we could prevent genocide.  Imagine what the world would be like if Anne Frank would have had a blog.

If as soon as it started those with no voice in their own country could be heard around the world and the same type of response elicited, quicker action could be taken politically to intervene before they got out of hand. 

They were no longer voiceless people who died while no one noticed.  The people in Bruma who died were mourned worldwide regardless of how much money they had, their circumstances in life, or government intimidation and tactics.  They were loved and mourned on every corner of the Earth.  Instantly.

I’m actually surprised the front page of DailyKos did not have a community call to aid in spreading their message.  For a community of bloggers, this should be our purpose.

This indicates a very crucial turning point in the role of the internet. 

With a free exchange of thought there can be true democracy.  When the most oppressed can speak the truth and learn the truth, then we really can all be equal and free. 

You find out that we all want the same things.  We all want to live our lives without fear, with freedom and with happiness. 

Multinational Corporations have their grubby little fingers in every region of the world, oppressing the people and stealing their resources.  There are millions and millions of people suffering because of this.  And now we can all band together online and tell each other about it. 

The trick to ruling over people is to convince them that they do not hold power. 

That is very hard to do when you can gather the support of the whole world in a day and a half by writing a blog. 

Comment sections of the blogs were filled worldwide with people who had previously lived in oppressive regimes and political uprising who voiced their support.

I truly admire the Burmese’s bravery and sacrifice in the aim for democracy, it is definitely not something we see everyday. DOn’t give up, the rest of the world is praying for you guys!

Grace from Taipei, Taiwan.

28 September 2007 16:35

Dear Ko Hitke,

Those of us who fight despotic regimes have so much in common with each other. As an Iranian who opposes the theocracy in Iran I am 100% with your people. Your victory will be our victory and your defeat will be ours.

Long live freedom!

28 September 2007 16:58

Is there any way to help?
I’ve been to Burma in January. My heart is broken.
I know what you’re going through as I’m a Romanian and I experienced dictatorship. (the bloody Romanian revolution in ’89).
Solidarity is the solution!
I hope Burma will be a free country soon.
Thank you!
From Bucharest, Romania

28 September 2007 17:55

dear ko htike !

please let your people know that we are urging our goverment and china to act.

resist!
democracy for burma!

sophee from austria

28 September 2007 18:29

Imagine reading that when the days are darkest for you.  When you are poor, hungry, and scared.  When your friends and family are being gunned down in the streets, when those in your community are rounded up and taken off in trucks.  To know that in every corner of the world there are people watching, praying and hoping for you.

Businesses always talk about globalization and how great it is for them and making money.  Globalization will not lead to strong ruling corporations.  It will lead to people all over the globe uniting for the common cause of hope.  We have always outnumbered them.  We just couldn’t unite before this because we didn’t have billions of dollars in resources to do so.  Now all you need is an internet connection.

This story of resistance and hope will spread to those who need to hear it in other countries.  They would have learned from Burma how to communicate globally to assist them in their own revolutions.  The world will stand by them as the true horrors of oppressive rule and corporate greed spread around the world.  Voices will not be lost.  They will be preserved and their message spread.

The events are still unfolding, so follow along and put pressure where it’s needed.

There is a tool written by human rights advocates that lets people in repressed countries access the web through your connection.

* Edited to change the term oil lines to gas lines.  I had originally confused the two.

The sheer bonk-on-the-head idiocy of leaks put out by the Bush Administration are occassionally useful for the White House, in that they get the reporter and the reader to miss the one really salient fact being conveyed.

For example, in the midst of all of the mind-numbingly stupid leaks put out by the State Department over the past few days about Blackwater, no one seems to have noticed that State has put John D. (“The ‘D’ stands for ‘Death Squad'”) Negroponte in charge of Blackwater oversight. 

New York Times Sept. 29:

— big snip —

The Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has asked Mr Negroponte to oversee the department’s response to problems with security contractors.

— big snip —

As the Blackwater story unfolds, the State Department has been leaking the most outlandish tales.  It is not conceivable that these leaks are meant to do more than distract the reporter for as long as it takes for the State official to high-tail it to the nearest Cadillac and speed off.

State is surprised . . .

New York Times, Sept 29:

Reports on Thursday showed that Blackwater’s rate of shootings was at least twice as high as those for other companies providing similar services to the State Department.

The Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has asked Mr Negroponte to oversee the department’s response to problems with security contractors. A government official who was briefed on an hour-long meeting involving State Department officials said Dr Rice seemed surprised by the report.

“She needs to be convinced that Blackwater’s hands are clean,” the government official said. Dr Rice was also reportedly taken aback by pressure from Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House of Representatives oversight committee, who wrote an angry letter this week complaining about the State Department’s efforts to block his panel’s investigation into Blackwater.

State is petulant . . .

Washington Post, Sept 28:

A State Department official asked why the military is shifting the question to State “since the DOD has more Blackwater contractors than we do, including people doing PSD [personal security detail] for them. . . . They’ve [Blackwater] basically got contracts with DOD that are larger than the contracts with State.”

According to federal spending data compiled by the independent Web site FedSpending.org, however, the State Department’s Blackwater contracts vastly exceed those of the Pentagon. Since 2004, State has paid Blackwater $833,673,316, compared with Defense Department contracts of $101,219,261.

State is incoherent . . .

Washington Post, Sept 29:

Both the State Department and the Defense Department have maintained they have no choice but to contract out security and other functions in an era of downsized government and increased international danger.

(We can’t afford our own security details because we’ve slashed our own budget and so we have to shell out $833,673,316 to Blackwater.)

None of this can possibly be meant seriously.  It’s just meant to distract, to obfuscate; it’s even okay if it’s laughed at.  Just so long as no one pays much attention to that other little thing that got mentioned.

The Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has asked Mr Negroponte to oversee the department’s response to problems with security contractors.

John D. Negroponte.  You know, this guy:

Substantial evidence subsequently emerged to support the contention that Negroponte was aware that serious violations of human rights were carried out by the Honduran government, but despite this did not recommend ending U.S. military aid to the country. Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, on September 14, 2001, as reported in the Congressional Record, aired his suspicions on the occasion of Negroponte’s nomination to the position of UN ambassador:

Based upon the Committee’s review of State Department and CIA documents, it would seem that Ambassador Negroponte knew far more about government perpetrated human rights abuses than he chose to share with the committee in 1989 or in Embassy contributions at the time to annual State Department Human Rights reports.

This ought to be enough, all by itself, to make one wonder exactly what Blackwater is doing in Iraq.  It can’t be the cost-effective, reliable, security-with-a-smile services they offer.  Maybe it’s something else.

Ahram Weekly via BooMan Tribune:

“Most of the laws passed by Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator of Iraq under US occupation, remain in force. Some of these laws violate Iraqi sovereignty, including a law that prevents Iraqis from prosecuting any American or any individual who cooperates with America or the coalition authorities, whether civilian or military,” Abu Abdullah, an Iraqi lawyer, told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Following the recent incident in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki threatened to revoke Blackwater’s licence. What he later discovered was that the company was working in Iraq without a licence. The Americans weren’t impressed by Al-Maliki’s uncharacteristic boldness. “We’ll revoke Al-Maliki’s licence before he revokes Blackwater’s licence,” a US official quipped.

We need some real investigative reporting on this.  We can’t let Rice’s clowning distract from the fact that a man with a history of suborning death squads is now overseeing Blackwater — an organization with a history of, well, making people dead.

What is Blackwater really doing in Iraq? 

Just got back from the show at The Egg in Albany, NY.  The show started off with a piece written by Al, then one by Jean Luc, and one by Stanley, they also did a John Coltrane number then Al walked off stage and Jean Luc and Stanley did an amazing piece together.  Al then came back on stage and began the solo section where each musician played 4 or 5 pieces of their choosing.

After an intense percussive groove that saw Stanley literally punching his instrument to achieve the sound he wanted he looked up at the audience and said:

“The pain in my right hand is for you.”

We all got to sing Happy Birthday to Jean Luc and he said he was glad that we were at least in key.

Al’s performance on the classical guitar was not without flaws but I was thankful for the occasional slip as it made him appear human, even more human was his own acknowledgment of the mistakes and a slightly embarrassed shrug that was to follow.

For those of you wondering what Jean Luc sounds like acoustic instead of plugged in, his acoustic performance was on par with his electric.  It made more of an impact on the listener however because somehow he was still coming up with sounds that appeared synthesized, morphed, phasered, etc. 

This was my first time seeing Stanley live and he is as big in real life as he was in my brain.  He cracked a few jokes about how they all used to look in the 70’s saying he himself had two afros at once because of the large part in the middle of his head.  His solo set was well worth recording and I hope there will soon be a copy up on http://archive.org or from their own soundboard.

The ethereal waterfall of sound that is Jean Luc fell across the broad steep cliff that is Stanley and bounced on the perfectly placed rocks of Al.  An elemental performance from some of the world’s best musicians.

http://www.aldimeola…
http://www.stanleycl…
http://www.ponty.com…

First of all, I’d like to say that the graphic here and the title of this essay are taken from Nezua over at The Unapologetic Mexican with his permission.

After seeing his diary, I spent some time this afternoon trying to understand why I haven’t engaged more with the Jena 6 issue. While I have been aware of the situation for several months now, I haven’t really spent a lot of energy on it or gotten involved at all. Part of me thinks that’s wrong and I’m sorry.

But I just saw something on Fox News (yeah, can you believe that one!!!) that helped me understand why. In a roundtable discussion about several issues related to race that have happened this week, one of the commentators talked about a case where a white boy had been beaten up by a group of black boys, but had gotten no media attention. This is the problem with advocacy by anectdote. If we are going to rely on one case to make our point – the other side is more than capable of coming up with a case in counterpoint. But we all know what a lie that turns out to be, don’t we?

I really feel for these particular 6 young men who are being handed a complete dose of injustice based on our deep seeded racism in this country. And I do think we need to organize to fight for justice for them. But lets all remember that for every one of these boys, there are thousands of others who are being treated just as unfairly in our so-called justice system.

I just saw figures this week for the county I live in. African Americans make up 14% of the population of children in this county. And yet, they make up 45% of those in the juvenile justice system. Numbers like that make my blood boil. There is no simplistic answer to this – the causes are complex threads of historical racism coupled with our own brand of it in the present. As a result of our inattention to this, we are loosing hundreds if not thousands of lives daily to a system that eats them up and destroys their souls.

Recently I have been witness to the beginning stages of how this inequity happens. First of all, we have seen our local middle schools institute a policy where any student who displays what school staff interpret as “gang symbols” can be expelled from school. Anyone who’s paying attention to urban youth culture will know that this immediately criminalizes how kids (mostly kids of color) dress, who they associate with and how they talk. And it all stems from the (mostly white) staff who have developed a palpable fear of kids who act, dress and talk differently from them. This fear is then used to justify draconian tactics that fuel the criminalization of kids.

In another case, we have a neighborhood up in arms lately because 30-50 kids are hanging out in the library every day because the local recreation center is closed due to construction. First of all, can you imagine that people are upset because kids are going to the library!!! But if you look deeper, the library staff are all white and are scared to death of these kids, once again, because of the way they dress, act and talk. So, what is their solution…they want a full-time ARMED policeman in the library!!! If they get their wish, you can bet that many of these kids – who mostly just need someone to notice them, provide structure and hold them accountable – will wind up getting arrested for petty kinds of things (the catch-all around here these days is disorderly conduct). And research has shown that the justice system behaves mostly like quicksand; once you’re in it, you tend to sink deeper. 

So I can only hope that the Jena 6 case starts to open up that whole can of worms and goes beyond just a fight for these boys to encompass ALL of our children who are suffering because of this illness in our culture. That’s why I liked Nezua’s graphic and the title of his diary, we DO all live in Jena.

(Because we need to talk about progressive immigration reform. 9:17 Big Apple time. – promoted by srkp23)

This past week we witnessed the responses of two local law enforcement agencies to increasing political pressure to rely upon them to enforce federal immigration policy:

In Irving Texas, a suburb in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 2000 protester marched this week to highlight that city’s participation in a Federal program that has caused deportations to increase 500% from that city in the last year alone.

In Nassau County NY, a suburb in Metro NYC, the county’s highest ranking police official announced this week that his department would no longer assist federal authorities with the apprehension of undocumented immigrants.

Across the country, municipalities large and small are now being forced to examine exactly what their rights and responsibilities are when it comes to enforcing federal immigration policy.

In a heated political climate where incendiary speech and inflammatory rhetoric often pass for public discourse, too many local leaders have chosen to make political hay by claiming it is now their responsibility to take on the burden of enforcing Federal law.

Others have taken a much wiser approach.

Whether passing local zoning ordinances to limit housing in immigrant communities, or empowering local law enforcement to enforce laws beyond their constitutional jurisdiction, some municipal leaders around the country clearly appear to be using the “immigration issue” as a way to garner support within certain segments of their constituency or further their political ambitions.

Most of these local initiatives have been challenged in court, and many, after wasting precious taxpayer resources, have been struck down as unconstitutional. 

In other municipalities, officials have taken a much more enlightened and practical approach to the Federal Government’s unwillingness to repair its fatally flawed immigration policy and decided to do what is not only best for their residents, but prescribed by the Constitution. 

In Irving, the protests were sparked by that city’s participation in a federal program that allows local law enforcement to screen the immigration status of all people arrested.  With a Latino population that exceeds 30%, many see the huge increase in arrests that end up with deportation as evidence that the local police are targeting the Latino community. Evidence coming from the Mexican Consul in Dallas who interviews Mexicans being deported, seems to back up this assertion. With jurisdiction over a huge area from East Texas all the way to the Texas Panhandle, Consulate officials say that half of the deportation cases it reviewed in the last few weeks originated from Irving. They have advised all Mexican nationals to stay away from the area for fear of arrest.

Organizers of the demonstration called on people to boycott Irving businesses and flood the mayor’s office with phone calls demanding an end to the Criminal Alien Program. Officials have denied accusations of racial profiling and said everyone arrested in the city is screened for a possible referral to immigration officials.

Irving police have been screening arrested people and have turned over 1,373 to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this year. Data from the city show that the number of prisoners turned over to ICE is increasing.

About four illegal immigrants a month were identified among people arrested in Irving before police began the Criminal Alien Program, according to police data.

About 50 a month were identified after police started the program in September 2006.

About 130 a month were being identified by April.

Up to 300 a month are being identified now, according to the mayor

Star-Telegram

Clearly the numbers look suspicious. A six-fold increase in the number of deportations since the program’s inception would lead one to wonder whether police are searching out those who they suspect are here without documents, and then targeting them for arrest on even the most minor of charges. 

Latino advocates accuse police officers of racial profiling and overzealously arresting suspected illegal immigrants so they can be deported, a claim the Mexican Consulate takes so seriously it’s advising people to avoid driving through this Dallas suburb.

Police Chief Larry Boyd, however, says he’s merely providing information to immigration agents as part of a national program designed to streamline the deportation of illegal immigrants who have been incarcerated.

“In terms of immigration enforcement, we’re not doing anything on that,” said Boyd, whose city joined the program last year. “The officers are arresting people for offenses like they always have.”

Houston Chronicle

In Nassau, NY,  the situation seems to be the polar opposite.

The Nassau County Police Department has a long history of working with Federal law enforcement agencies on various sorts of criminal maters. Yet, after assisting in a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids earlier in the week, that they were informed would target gang members, Nassau’s top cop announced an end to all inter-agency cooperation when only three out of the 82 people apprehended turned out to be gang members.

A top police official on Long Island said Friday he has “no desire to cooperate any further” with federal immigration agents after his department was kept in the dark about many of the details of raids and arrests conducted earlier this week.

“We withdrew from any involvement in any further operations,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said following the arrest of 82 people. “There will be no further cooperation unless these issues are ironed out.”

Mulvey said agents from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were repeatedly asked to supply a list of suspected gang members targeted with arrest warrants to the local police department, but the request was only granted on Thursday afternoon _ four days after the raids commenced.

“We had asked for a list of the targets on the warrants because we have a very accurate and up-to-date database on gangs in Nassau County,” Mulvey said. “It was promised and not delivered.”

…

Only three of those taken into custody, Mulvey said, were actually suspected gang members; most were undocumented immigrants. He said the ICE agents appeared to have outdated intelligence on where some of the suspects were located.

…

“They pick up and leave town and we’re left to deal with the missing persons reports from families whose relatives were taken,” Mulvey complained. “I have no desire to cooperate any further.”

He said he has shared his complaints in a letter to ICE officials, but has yet to receive a response.

Mulvey also said if he had known that ICE had sought to arrest undocumented immigrants, the department would not have assisted. “This sets us back” with the Latino community, Mulvey said. “We suffer the consequences of the mistrust that develops.”

Newsday

It’s obvious that the officials of these two suburban municipalities are separated by more than mere geography.

Chief Larry Boyd, with the apparent full support of the Irving City Council, has decided to utilize the power of the Federal government to engage in a systematic program that would rid his city of those that are deemed “undesirables.”

Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, on the other hand, has taken a defiant and courageous stance to do the right thing for his entire community, and not allow Federal authorities to use local law enforcement, and divide his community against itself.

Let the Federal government do their job and enact legislation that will finally fix an immigration system that all can see is clearly broken. Their lack of leadership on this issue only perpetuates situations ripe with abuse like that in Irving, or tries to force local officials to act in a matter that runs contrary to their community’s own best interests.

Immigration policy needs to be set in Washington, as prescribed by the Constitution, not in the chambers of City Councils or County Legislatures.

cross posted at/adapted from my blog

It’s been a rough week.  Work has been very busy and Mr. D (my live-in boyfriend) and I single-handedly planned and executed a Young Democrats event on Thursday night.

This event, which had been talked about and conceptualized for about two months, literally came together in less than two weeks.  With some (read: minimal) help from the Board President and other members, we created and mailed about 1100 post card invites, learned “constant contact” and sent email invites to current members with its email marketing application, spruced up the website and myspace page to advertise the event, shopped for and prepared all the food and drink for about 70 guests, set-up and broke-down the day of the event…I am totally shocked it went off (seemingly) without a hitch.

In the midst of putting together 100 antipasti skewers for the event (this is after I’d spent 3 hours shopping, turned 4 baguettes into crostini, made two different crostini toppings, prepped the goodies for the skewers and downed a half a bottle of wine) I thought, “I haven’t had dinner in three goddamn days!”

For real!  I told Mr. D on Wednesday that I felt like poo and that I was pissed that planning this event was making me sick.  I am not the kind of person who can go without significant sleep and regular meals.  I get dehydrated and bitchy and am reminded that I have hypothyroidism – something I hate being reminded of.

I am still recouping two days out – getting back to regular eating and sleeping and water consumption – but ultimately I think it was worth it.  I mean, come on, this is the first time in my life, aside from when I was in school, that I’ve spent more hours in my day on something other than work and personal stuff like watching TV and having sex.  Along with feeling like shit I also feel a great sense of accomplishment.

I had never done anything like this before, ostensibly planning a fairly upscale event (I would later learn that the venue was super posh) from start to finish for upwards of 50 people.  I had no idea how to work within a budget, how much food to buy, how much wine people would drink, whether the venue hostess would supply anything, should I get approval from the Board President or just GO!  Shit, I didn’t even see the venue until two days prior.  And jeebus was I sweating bullets when the woman who showed me the space said it would be a good idea to check with the concierge to make sure the room was booked and the $500 deposit paid.  Wait a minute.  Concierge???  Five Hundred Dollar Deposit!!!  We’re a bunch of Young Democrats for chrissake!!

Thankfully it all worked out and I learned big lessons in time management and delegation/control.  Hopefully I can take what I’ve learned and apply it to other events and, more importantly, to my own personal life.  I’ve mentioned here that I have a hard time saying “no” and honestly, even more difficult is saying “can you help me”.

I am fiercely independent. I get it from both sides.  My mother and my grandmother were/are very independent financially, mentally and emotionally and my father was extremely private, almost secretive when it came to his personal life.  I am slowly starting to realize that this personality trait isn’t a help, it’s a hindrance.  In planning this event in particular I would have been much better off if I had taken the offers of assistance I was given and reached out to those who didn’t explicitly offer help but who I knew would have helped but were simply waiting to be asked.

So my take-away is: Ask For Help If You Need It.  Let people in and don’t be ashamed or feel guilty if you can’t do it all on your own.  If a task is making you sick you need help but if you ask and people say “no”, so be it.  Life goes on.