Category Archives: Bring Our War Dollars Home

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The Spirit of Christmas: Gangjeong Style

December 25, 2013 Regis Tremblay 2 Comments

Christmas in Gangjeong, and still the construction of the massive naval base to accommodate America’s “Pivot to Asia” continues without a break. And, today, as they do everyday, the priests, nuns, villagers and their supporters celebrate mass and pray for peace.

Today, Bishop Peter Kang, the Bishop of Jeju, came to Gangjeong to celebrate Christmas mass at the gate of the base in freezing weather.

Photos by Choe Hye-young and Rom

Grace Kim is a Korean, who went abroad at quite an early age. She went to high school and college in the US and has been living in Berlin for the last 5 years studying Visual and Media Anthropology at Freie University. Grace is in Gangjeong for three months keeping a daily video diary as she conducts her research.

When I went to Gangjeong, I learned that each of us has a voice and that with knowledge comes responsibility. The least we can do is to amplify the voices of Gangjeong and do what we can to bring justice and peace to our world.

I wanted to share this wonderful video Grace posted today, Christmas 2013. It clearly demonstrates the indomitable spirit of the people of Gangjeong in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and yet the villagers and their supporters who come from Jeju, the mainland, and around the world have found their own voices and are doing their part to amplify the message of Gangjeong: Peace on Earth!

Bill of Rights, Bring Our War Dollars Home, Bruce Gagnon, Democracy, Je Ju Island, Jeju, Military Industrial Complex, Pax Tibi Productions, Peace Movement, Regis Tremblay, social justice, The Ghosts of Jeju, War

Korean Priest Speaks Truth to Power – “Enemy of the State”

November 28, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

Reverend Park Chang-shin, a Roman Catholic priest in South Korea is being called an “enemy of the state” for remarks he made during a special mass on November 22, calling on President Park Geun-hye to resign.

A little background is necessary. Park Geun-hye is the daughter of the last ruthless dictator to rule S. Korea. Both her father and mother were assassinated. She rose to power through the Korean National Assembly and ran for president in 2012.

It has since come to light that the Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) rigged the election which Ms. Park won.

The Catholic priests of S. Korea have called for her to resign.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Rather than address the allegations of a rigged election, President Park Geun-hye has turned her wrath on casual remarks Fr. Park Chang-shin made at the end of his homily on November 22 when he asked the assembled faithful, “What is North Korea supposed to do if the US and South Korea continue their military drills around disputed territory?” When the congregation replied, “shoot,” Fr. Park said, “of course they’re going to shoot. That was what the Yeonpyeong Island shelling was about.”

Because of this remark, conservative organizations and President Park’s government are lodging complaints that Fr. Park Chang-shin violated the National Security Law with his comments. President Park Geun-hye said, “we will not tolerate behavior that hurts the public’s trust or divides the people.” Accusations of “communist and North sympathizers” that date back to the April 3rd rebellion on Jeju in 1947-48, and subsequent rebellions and protests against the governments in S.Korea are being leveled again against Fr. Park Chang-shin, and the peaceful, non-violent protesters in Gangjeong Village who are opposing the construction of a large naval base to accommodate Obama’s “pivot to Asia.”

That “National Security Law” has been been used to silence protestors and anyone daring to speak about the atrocities committed on Jeju and in the southwestern part of Korea prior to the Korean conflict, and to this day, Korean people fear government reprisal if they speak out against the government. I have found this to be true even with Korean-Americans and Korean nationals living and working in America today. On my tours screening The Ghosts of Jeju, I have met numerous Korean people who have thanked me for bringing to light the truth about their history, but have indicated how fearful THEY still are about speaking out against the government.

One Korean national told me that the Korean CIA has been know to track down Korean dissidents in other countries who disappear without a trace. Others worry about family members back in South Korea who will be persecuted because they speak out.

Back to Fr. Park Shin-Chang’s comments about the North being provoked and intimidated for decades by annual joint U.S. and Republic of Korea military drills off the coast of North Korea, and the massing of tens of thousands of U.S. military forces, missiles, fighter jets, drones on more than 30 bases along the DMZ and throughout South Korea. He is absolutely correct and had the courage to express this FACT which most in South Korea are afraid to do.

My friend, Bruce Gagnon in a recent blog, asked what would the U.S. do if another country staged war games off the East and West Coasts of the United States, and what would the U.S. do if missiles were stationed on Cuba and the Caribbean islands, and drones, and spy planes were flown up and down our borders? America would declare all-out war immediately.

So, how is it that the school-yard bully, America, gets away with doing this to N. Korea? How is it that it is in the interests of freedom, democracy and protecting shipping lanes, the U.S. places missiles, advanced radar, satellite links, and thousands of U.S. troops on over a 1,000 bases to surround China and Russia and it not be considered an act of war?

I stand with Fr. Park and the hundreds of South Korean Catholics, Protestants, and Buddhists who are protesting against the violation of human rights, injustice, and the criminal abuses of a government run by Samsung and the military.

The so-called democratic governments in South Korea and the U.S.A. no longer represent the people so it is up to the people to overturn those tyrannical governments and replace them with governments that reflect the needs and hopes of the people.

That, by the way, is written into our beloved Declaration of Independence.

I am so proud of and indebted to the priests and courageous people of South Korea and Gangjeong Village for being on the front lines against the evils of capitalism, militarism, the violation of human rights, and the destruction of the environment.

Solidarity!

Bring Our War Dollars Home, Bruce Gagnon, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Je Ju Island, Jeju, Military Industrial Complex, Pax Americana, Pax Christi, Pax Tibi Productions, Peace Movement, Regis Tremblay, The Ghosts of Jeju, Veterans For Peace, War

Ghosts of Jeju: The History Behind The Resistance

November 1, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2013/10/27/ghosts-jeju-history-behind-resistance-naval-base-koreas-island-peace

Ghosts of Jeju: The history behind the resistance to a naval base on Korea’s island of peace

By Martha Vickery, Korean Quarterly

October 27, 2013

When Maine-based filmmaker Regis Tremblay started digging into the history of the protest against the South Korean government’s construction of a naval base in the tiny village of Gangjeong on scenic Jeju Island, he interviewed Charles Hanley, former Associated Press reporter and co-author of the war crime expose Bridge at No Gun Ri, who told him “you have no idea the magnitude of the issues you are getting into here.”

And actually, Tremblay admitted, “I didn’t. I thought I was going to go to Korea and do a film on just another anti-base protest.”

Tremblay has filmed and produced his own TV film documentaries on a variety of environmental and social issues, including coverage of Maine’s Occupy Movement, and actions against the Tar Sands Pipeline. Covering the human interest side of a demonstration was not new to him.

He heard about the ongoing activities of villagers on Jeju Island from his friend Bruce Gagnon, who heads up the organization Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, and thought the issue was worthwhile.

The situation on Jeju Island, however, is far from just another demonstration against a military base, Tremblay soon found out. He did, as Hanley predicted, get much more than he bargained for. The film, The Ghosts of Jeju, is the product of a mind-bending, life-changing year of travel and research, and he is now promoting and touring with it.

The film is making the rounds of peace and justice organizations, particularly through the Veterans for Peace, whose experts are quoted in the film. There will be a screening in St. Paul, sponsored by the local chapter of Veterans for Peace, on November 9, and the filmmaker will go on to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington in the same trip.

The Jeju story takes in the historical oppression of the Jeju people, going back to before the Korean War, and details the military manipulations of the Korean and the U.S. government to position a base between China and Japan. It is also about an ancient and sustainable way of life and irreplaceable natural resources that are being literally dynamited out of existence to make way for U.S. military expansion, aided by Korea.

It has all the elements of a great epic drama —- the threat of environmental devastation, the loss of a traditional way of life, a fight by a small and determined group of ordinary people against huge geopolitical forces, the specter of peaceful non-violent resistance against the military machine —- except that it is all true.

In order to understand the tragedy of Jeju, Tremblay decided that the film must describe the history as well as the current situation of the people there. Like most Americans, he said, he knew little about the U.S.’s long military history in Korea, and the many detrimental effects of that influence on Koreans’ lives.

Fortunately, the Jeju Islanders have documented their modern history well; there is even a museum to help visitors interpret it. The film draws from its archives and other documentation.

With careful attention to detail and chronology, Tremblay lays out the case justifying the Gangjeong villagers’ fervent protest against yet another military oppression of their island, highlighting the role of the anti-base activists, including many Korean Catholic priests and nuns, ordinary Korean people, and activists from many other countries. He also explains the endangered marine life on rare coral reefs now being dredged out of existence, and the villagers’ simple and sustainable lifestyle that will be lost once the base is built.

The result is a persuasive film that is shocking and educating audiences in locations world wide. “American audiences are reacting with disillusionment, anger, and disbelief,” he said. “They cry. It has really been amazing.”

In August, the film was screened in Madison, Wisconsin for the Veterans for Peace conference. “About 60 people crammed into a small room, standing room only, and when it was over, we had to go right into the banquet.” There was so much buzz about it after the screening, and demand by others to see it, that they scheduled a second screening the next day.

Grassroots activists in this country and more than a dozen foreign countries have been spreading the film from one city to the next, Tremblay said. Gagnon took the film to the annual meeting of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space in Sweden this summer. From there, the international members brought the film back to their countries, which began an informal international distribution that is widening the film’s reach. Gagnon also went to Hawaii, the Philippines, and Australia with the film. In addition to the Vets for Peace chapters, the film has been distributed by some Christian activist groups, Quaker organizations, the womens’ activist group Code Pink, and others.

Some volunteers have committed to hosting multiple screenings. Tremblay said one activist in Ireland “has five different screenings scheduled, and one will be held when the Gangjeong mayor Dong Kyun Kang will be visiting there.”

Other more traditional routes of distribution have not been as fruitful. Tremblay said he has entered the film into 17 film festivals, but and it was accepted by only two. So far, he has found no commercial distributor for the film. For the time being, he said, he is powering down these more expensive methods, and concentrating on a person-to-person and group-to-group method. He will also appear this fall at several New England colleges, including Boston University and at an event held by the Korean student organization of Boston College, to which writer/activist Noam Chomsky has been invited.

Tremblay was still in the early stages of learning about Jeju history when he was on the island to film the protests in 2012. He described how he was told by several people how he would not really understand the history until he visited the “April 3 Museum,” which documents a massacre that took the lives of thousands of Jeju Islanders. The massacre occurred starting on that date in 1948, in response to an uprising of the people there, and the oppression and genocide continued in several incidents until 1950. The uprising was then characterized by the government as a Communist plot; it is now seen as simply a peasant rebellion.

The cruelty of that massacre, during which over 30,000 women, children, and elderly people were shot down and villages were burned, is seared into the cultural memory of that place. The leadership of the Korean military by the U.S. military at that time is documented in detail in the museum exhibits.

During his trip to Gangjeong village, he said, the atmosphere was informal and welcoming. He hung out with the activists and the people of the village who are farmers and fishermen. As a former Catholic priest, Tremblay was welcomed by the protesting priests there as one of their own. He was up close and personal with demonstrators, who are students, executives taking a leave of absence from their jobs, foreign activists of every stripe, journalists, elderly people, and many Christian and some Buddhist peace activists.

Certain American celebrity activists and writers have taken up the cause, including Gloria Steinem, writer Noam Chomsky, and film director Oliver Stone. Tremblay was able to interview Stone for the film. He took a lot of video documenting the struggles and brave persistence of the demonstrators, some of whom have been on the site for years. The story was compelling on its own, but he still did not have a clear idea of the agenda behind the present predicament.

“The elders of the village would have me to their homes, or would come out at night and they’d bring makkoli and beer, at 10 or 11 o’clock at night. And I didn’t realize it then —- because I only went to the museum on my way off the island —- that these people were survivors of that massacre. They are in their 70s and 80s now.”

His trip to the artistically-striking April 3rd (Sa-sam or 4-3) Museum, in the company of artist Gil-chun Koh, who created sculptural installations there depicting the dead and dying Jeju people, was illuminating for the filmmaker. “I went in there and started reading the stuff on the walls and watching a couple of the videos they had, and it was a chronological story of what the Americans had done, even what their names were.” The Jeju Islanders’ reality became clearer to him, he said. “I started getting angry, and then started getting very emotional.”

During the flight on the way home, he said “I felt very conflicted,” he said. He suddenly did not know how to tell the story of the protest apart from its historical context, and he knew that integrating the complex history of the place would be difficult to do in the film. He talked to author and journalist Charles Hanley at that time, as well as to Korean history scholar and author Bruce Cumings. “I went down to the National Archives, and found a lot of information, and some horrible pictures of what happened there. They are not even classified any more. And I then

started to realize I had an idea how I was going to tell it.”

The filmmaker also requested information from the museum’s curator through Gil-chun Koh. “The curator ended up sending me eight DVDs of footage and photographs and interviews with survivors of the massacre,” he said. Some of that footage is included in the film.

In addition to the modern history of Jeju Island, the film also delves into the geopolitical importance of that area between China and Japan, where the U.S. could potentially cut off China’s oil shipments in a war. It discusses evidence that the U.S. has decided to dominate space in violation of international law; using the type of missiles carried by the submarines to be docked at the Jeju base.

It also talks about the irony of Jeju Island’s recent designation as an “Island of Peace” by the Korean government, in light of the government’s complete reversal of its pledge to keep Jeju peaceful, negated by the building of a naval installation there.

Bruce Gagnon, who lives nearby in Maine, came in towards the end of the editing. “At that point, it was going to end on a very depressing note, and he said ‘you cannot do that. You have got to leave the audience with some sense of hope and inspiration.’ I knew he was right.”

He ultimately used some photos of a colorful “Grand March for Peace” in Jeju during which supporters walked around the whole island. For music, he ended with an inspiring alleluia chorus from a piece he heard at a concert at the nearby Bowdoin College. “It was amazing how it all came together.”

Tremblay is always asked if the Jeju site can be saved from development as a naval base. The harbor has now been dredged, and the famous landmark Gangjeong Rock has been dynamited to make way for submarine bays. “At this point, my answer is no,” the filmmaker said. “The base is going to be constructed, and the villagers are going to have to move, and they are going to build housing for 8,000 marines, which will envelop the village.”

In discussions after a screening, the filmmaker said, people often ask what they can do. “My response is that with knowledge comes responsibility. And that the least we can do is to amplify the voices of the people of Gangjeong village, and that people can share the film with as many people as they can reach out to. And that is exactly what I see happening now with the film,” he said.

Additionally, the villagers still need support for their efforts to defend their civil rights, Tremblay reflected, and it helps them to know there is support coming from the outside. “They are so beaten down and depressed now, that any support from outside gives them a real boost of energy,” he said.

Looking at the issue more broadly, Tremblay said “If you or I or maybe this film can do anything, it may be to slow down or stop this militarism and the advance of the empire. People get that. That is my real hope. And this film is not going to be one of these one-and-done type feature films, where people see it and forget about it. This thing has taken on a life of its own. It is somehow connecting.”

Ghosts of Jeju documentary film

11/09/2013 – 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Bill of Rights, Bring Our War Dollars Home, Capitalism: A Love Story, Citizens United, Democracy, George Carlin, Government shutdown, JFK, John F. Kennedy, March Against Fiscal Madness, Military Industrial Complex, Money in politics, Obama, Regis Tremblay, War

The Invisible Cartel Is Coming After the Real Prize

October 23, 2013 Regis Tremblay 3 Comments

JFK was perhaps the last authentic U.S. President. He was murdered because he went against the ruling elite, the military industrial complex, the FBI, and the CIA. He was a threat to their power so they killed him. (JFK the Unspeakable by James Douglass)

Ever since 1963, every U.S. president has been a puppet in the hands of this oligarchy. Eisenhower’s warning to the American people about the danger of the military industrial complex and their partners in the world banks taking over the country has come to pass.

After 9/11, lets check back on what has happened to the American people, our Constitution, and our civil liberties. “W” signed the Patriot Act and the NDAA effectively stripping Americans of our freedoms and protections under the Constitution. Obama has further trampled on the Constitution by embracing the Patriot Act and the NDAA, by extending and expanding them.

Then came Citizens United, making corporations “people” and allowing the wealthy to buy elections at all levels of government effectively crushing democracy and nullifying our votes.

What is going on in Washington is merely theater to frighten and distract us from what is really going on. The recession and the subsequent bailout of those banks too big to fail was orchestrated by the sinister cartel of oligarchs to steal our money, force millions out of their homes, and drive millions more into poverty.

Every financial crisis over the budget and the debt ceiling is a fraud designed to distract attention from what is really the big prize: entitlement programs. The mainstream papers are already beginning to report “conversations” on capital hill about cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and social uplift programs. These sources report that both Democrats and Republicans are finding “common ground” and agreement.

No mention of the bloated “Defense” budget, or insanely expensive wars that were funded off the books, or the obscene tax breaks for wealthy people and corporations, or the Wall Street criminals who stole our future. The cartel is blaming it on poor Americans and those of us who EARNED Social Security and Medicare throughout our working lives.

Lest anyone forget, most on Congress is on the payroll of the ruling elite. It should be obvious they don’t represent the American people. The latest polls, one after another, indicate that Americans have no faith in the Congress….Democrats and Republicans alike. Really, they are expressing their dissatisfaction with government and that includes the presidency and the Supreme Court as well.

So, what we have now is a Congress full of puppets controlled by the cartel, the shadow government that nobody sees.

Back to the presidents. The cartel builds them up and sells them to the American public as the saviors, only to abandon them when it suits their agenda. “W,” Cheney, Rice and that gang of criminals took it all to another level.

Along came Obama streaking across the skies, out of nowhere. He was sold to America and the world as the savior with Madison Avenue slogans like Change you can believe in, Hope, and Yes We Can. During his first campaign, he made promises to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to bring all of the troops home. He promised to shut down Guantanamo and put an end to “rendition” and torture. Obama promised to prosecute the evil bankers who had defrauded the country. And, Obama promised the most transparent government in history.

The fact is, he lied about all of it, and he continues to lie about the budget, the deficit, that he won’t let them touch Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, and Head Start. Nearly all of his appointments have come from Wall Street. He has prosecuted and hunted down “whistle blowers.” He has his own “kill list” and uses drones everywhere to do it. As for transparency, this administration is the most secretive of all time.

What we have is a government run by Wall Street bankers, the very people behind the recession, the debt crisis, the military industrial complex, and the dismantling of the social safety net.

Obama, in fact, was hand-picked and groomed since his college days by the cartel. The Crown family of Chicago, owners of General Dynamics, a major profiteer from war, along with their partners in the cartel, funded Obama, schooled him in the ways of power, and created the persona who effectively deceived the American public.

The cartel owned the financial pillars, the media and the marketing behind this deception. I went to the polls believing that a vote for Obama was a vote for peace, but Obama and both major parties were committed to endless war, targeted killings, record war budgets, and the systematic destruction of the United States Constitution, as well as U.S. and international law.

And the cartel has used the basic psychological tools of fear mongering, false flag events, and lies to make the American public fall in line. They have also corrupted our educational system with the ridiculous emphasis on testing that every teacher knows if heresy, effectively dumbing down and creating a culture of obedient and subservient slaves. They are attempting to privatize education and our prisons…already well underway.

Look around! Just as in ancient Rome, they entertain us with outrageous and insulting to our intelligence reality TV shows; Ultimate Cage fighting; insidious and endless commercials creating an insatiable appetite to consume; 24/7 sporting events; and an endless cycle of movies that for the most part are destructive to our culture.

None of this has happened by chance. It has all been very carefully orchestrated for many, many years by the cartel of wealthy, elitist oligarchs. Their goal is to consolidate all of the wealth creating the greatest disparity of wealth ever, and power into their own hands and to force the populations of the entire world into subservience. This isn’t new. Every empire, every autocrat, every brutal dictator from time immemorial has done this. And when the pain was so severe, when the oppression became so unbearable and felt by the masses, there were revolutions that overthrew the powerful.

Throughout America’s own history there have been countless revolutions against those who have attempted to control and subjugate the people. There were those who rose up and died opposing slavery. There were those who died and were persecuted for demanding a woman’s right to vote. There were those who died fighting the corporate barons of industry for just wages, safety, the 40 hour workweek, paid vacations, health benefits and the abolition of child labor. More died fighting for civil rights and protesting the Vietnam War.

In the next few weeks, let’s see if Obama apologizes for cutting Social Security and Medicare. He’ll say “we all have to make sacrifices.” Let’s see if Obama approves the XL Pipeline. Let’s see if he puts and end to the NSA spying, to his personal kill list. Let’s see if he continues to try to take away American’s right to own guns. Let’s see if Obama continues to trample on the Constitution, taking away what’s left of our civil liberties.

Let’s see if Obama cuts the war budget, brings all of our troops home, and pours the $1 Trillion annually spent on wars into making America and Americans healthy and hopeful again.

And the really big one…let’s see if he sneaks through the TPP which will effectively be the end-game and the end of democracy, the rule of law, and the sovereign rights of nation states.

Obama and Congress are just pimps, prostitutes, and puppets of the evil, hidden cartel of the oligarchy. Obama and Congress are not in charge. They don’t make policy. They just do what they are told.

So, my guess is we will see all of this begin to unfold in the next few months, and then, let the revolution begin!

Bring Our War Dollars Home, Capitalism: A Love Story, Citizens United, Michael Moore

The Corporations are Not People Lie

October 9, 2013 Regis Tremblay 1 Comment

Last week I interviewed several activists who are objecting to the Nestle corporation of Switzerland, AKA Poland Spring Water, taking millions and millions of gallons of our water, bottling it and shipping it out-of-state….for a profit.

In my mind, this is immoral. Water is the most basic natural resource required for all life. How can it belong to corporations? But that’s beside the point of this blog.

During the interview, one of the activists said he doesn’t blame corporations because they are legal entities that don’t bleed, don’t die, don’t need food, etc. He said they are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing: making a profit for their investors.

But that’s a crock because corporations were created by people in the first place to do what they do, and corporations are owned by people and managed by people. They are the ones who pull the strings and make all the decisions.

These decision-makers are the ones who buy politicians. They are the ones who create the false advertising. They are the ones working to rollback environmental protections. They are the ones processing foods with poisonous contents. They are the ones addicting us to food and drugs that make us sick. They are the ones who make and sell weapons for war. They are the ones who lie and cheat.

These professional managers and everyone who works for them are responsible to their shareholders to make more and greater returns on their investments. So, by my way of thinking, people who invest in corporations that destroy the environment, enslave the poor, turn their heads from the abuses in third world countries where their profits are really made, and fund the war machine have an even greater responsibility for these crimes against humanity.

Right now in S. Portland, Maine, big Oil is doing everything in its power to hoodwink local politicians, small businesses and the citizens to achieve their goal of reversing the Portland to Montreal pipeline in order to bring tar sands from Canada to Portland where it will be refined and off-loaded onto ships transporting it around the world. The people who run these companies are spending tons of money on false advertising. They send in lawyers – who are people with a conscience – to twist the meaning of local laws and ordinances. The send the same people to browbeat and deceive each of the 260 small businesses that have opposed this plan.

If successful, large smokestacks will be erected in a popular recreational area spewing toxic chemicals over schools, neighborhoods, the City of Portland and Portland Harbor. An oil spill in Casco Bay would be catastrophic.

Furthermore, they are willing to risk running tar sands – the most corrosive, dirty oil on the planet and prone to leaks and spills – all along Sebago Lake which supplies most of the drinking water for Portland and Southern Maine.

Yes, these are corporations, but the people running them, working for them, and investing in them are people who have consciences. Are those who invest in fossil fuels, bottled water, mountain-top and open pit mining, the war machine…anything that destroys the environment, kills millions of people, makes us sick and makes life on earth unsustainable…really making a good investment?

Bradley Manning, Bring Our War Dollars Home, Capitalism: A Love Story, Citizens United, Climate Rally, Democracy, DPRK, Economic Bill of Rights, Edward Snowden, Evo Morales, George Carlin, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Government shutdown, Military Industrial Complex, Obama, Pax Americana, Regis Tremblay, social justice, United Nations, War

Who is the Evil One on the Korean Peninsula?

October 4, 2013 Regis Tremblay 6 Comments

Deputy Foreign Minister of North Korea, Park Gilyeon gave a speech at the United Nations this week that Neo-Cons, warmongers, and the United States government will ridicule just as they did when the new president of Iran held out an olive branch last week. They will say that it is just a propaganda stunt and disingenuous. The U.S. has used that tagline against everyone that opposes it…forever!

Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, in his speech at the United Nations, focused on respecting the rights of Mother Earth and said that the rights of Mother Earth in the 21st Century will be more important that human rights.

Pres. Morales, said “the origin of this crisis (Climate) is the exaggerated accumulation of capital in far too few hands. It is the permanent removal of natural resources and the commercialization of Mother Earth. The origins come from the system and an economic model of Capitalism. If we don’t share the truth of this crisis with one another nor the international community, we will disseminate a lie to our people whom expect more from their presidents, governments and these kinds of forums.”

Not a word from Obama about protecting Mother Earth, global warming, or climate change.

And prior to speaking at the United Nations, President Morales said in a press conference in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, “I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity.”

Morales has filed a lawsuit against the US government for crimes against humanity wherein he decries the US for its ‘intimidation tactics’ and ‘fear-mongering’ after the Venezuelan presidential jet was blocked from entering US airspace.

As if this US bashing wasn’t enough, President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil castigated the U.S. for violating Brazil’s sovereignty with what she called a “grave violation of human rights and of civil liberties.” She was referring the the NSA spying on governments and people in her country and the world.

In contrast, President Barack Obama gave an embarrassing, hostile speech filled with lies and innuendo. (David Swanson http://warisacrime.org/content/top-45-lies-obamas-speech-un). Nothing new for the United States to lie and continuously abuse the United Nations. It has been going on for more than 60 years!

But, back to what North Korea’s, Park Gilyeon had to say. First, he said the UN is being abused by high-handedness and arbitrariness where infringement of sovereignty, interference into internal affairs and regime change continue to go unabated under the pretexts of “non-proliferation and human rights protection. Wonder who he’s referring to? Iraq, Afghanistan, Lybia, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Columbia, etc etc etc

Second, he stated that it is the unanimous demand of the international society to completely eliminate all nuclear weapons and to build a nuclear weapon free world through disarmament. Again, no surprise here who wants it both ways. Holding that “BOMB” over everyone’s head is the most egregious act of terrorism ever.

Third, he said despite international efforts for human rights protection and promotion, high-handedness and double standards are becoming ever more undisguised in the UN human rights fora, targeting developing countries selectively as before. I wonder, who could he be referring to with this swipe?

Fourth, he suggested that the UN General Assembly (not the Security Council) should be empowered to have the final say as it represents the general will of the entire membership and UN Security Council resolutions affecting peace and security such as sanctions and use of force should be made effective only under the authority and approval of the UN General Assembly. “The instances of the UN Security Council being abused by a certain state as a tool of its strategic interests should never go unchallenged.” Hmmmmmmm Can’t imagine which state that might be.

Continuing in the same vein, he said “The UN Security Council reform which is the key component of UN reform should be undertaken on the basis of principles of ensuring accountability, transparency and impartiality in its activities and ensuring full representation of developing countries in its composition.” And, why not?

Fifth, he states emphatically, “nothing is more precious than a stable and peaceful environment for the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Korean people….as the general objective of the government.” What? They want peace and stability and not war?

Sixth, “60 years have passed since the end of the ….3-year-long war and the singing of the Armistice Agreement….Yet, a mechanism that guarantees peace fails to be in place, as a result of which the unstable situation neither of war nor peace continues on the Korean peninsula.” This is because the U.S., not Russia and China wanted it so. Only the USA did not remove its forces after the Armistice as did both Russia and China.

Then he blasts the U.S. directly and unequivocably…”With an aim of militarily dominating the northeast Asia with the Korean peninsula as a stepping stone, the United States, having designated the DPRK as its first attack target, beefs up its military presence in South Korea and its vicinity and on the other hand, stages a series of war exercises against the DPRK every year with massive builds up of hundreds of thousands of troops and modern military equipment, thus aggravating confrontation and tension without letup.” He must be talking about Obama’s “Pivot to Asia” committing 60% of America’s naval might to the region….not a secret operation, but a bold pronouncement. (The Ghosts of Jeju)

Mr. Park, reminds us that “The United Nations Command,” is the illegal manipulation and bullying of the U.S. and has nothing to do with the United Nations, and that “UN Command” claimed by the U.S. is the outdated legacy of the Korean War and continues to serve the U.S. military strategy by abusing the name of the United Nations even today.

He then moves in with the knockout punch when he states, “the repeated vicious cycle of mounting tension on the Korean peninsula has its roots in the hostile policy of the U.S. on the DPRK. He goes on to say, “the United States designated the DPRK…as its enemy from the very first day of its foundation and has been refusing to recognize its sovereignty and imposing all sorts of sanctions, pressures and military threats on the DPRK for more than a half a century. The only way to ensure lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula is to bring the U.S. hostile policy to and end.” AMEN to that!

We don’t see Russia or China, Iran or N. Korea staging war games off Manhattan, L.A. and in the Gulf of Mexico. We don’t see anyone placing missiles and radar installations on our borders. Why is it that America’s strategic military efforts always seem to be on other sovereign nations’ borders?

But Park concludes with a plea for a peace mechanism dismantling the “UN Command” and the lifting of all sanctions and military threats without delay, and for the reunification of the country.” That’s precisely what the Korean people….I say, people want! Unlike the puppet S. Korean government which is controlled and held hostage by the USA. But, the people want unification and peace.

Was any of this reported in the American media? Think again! These are hardly threatening words coming from a rogue state threatening the security of the United States. In contrast, Obama continues to threaten anyone who doesn’t go along. He threatens with drones and his own personal “kill list.” He threatens with over 1,000 bases in more than 130 countries. He threatens with sanctions and military threats everywhere on the planet.

Here at home, in “the land of the free” he imprisons whistle blowers like Bradley (Chelsea) Manning, and hunts down others like Julian Assange and Eward Snowden, even trying to intimidate China and Russia in the process. Furthermore, he extends the Patriot Act and the NDAA whereby he can detain anyone indefinitely without charges for protesting the illegal and immoral behavior of his administration, and he funds and empowers the militarization of local law enforcement to beat down popular uprisings like Occupy.

As if this isn’t enough to prove who is the “evil” in the world, he refuses to shut down Guantanamo and approves of torture and rendition for suspected “terrorists.”

President Morales put his finger on the root cause of all the problems facing human existence: “the exaggerated accumulation of capital in far too few hands. It is the permanent removal of natural resources and the commercialization of Mother Earth. The origins come from the system and an economic model of Capitalism.”

Capitalism, the military industrial complex, and a government of puppets bought and paid for by big money and large corporate interests. Far from being “exceptional,” the defender of freedom and human rights, America today looks more like fascism than a force for good in the world.

And as all of this plays out in the United Nations, this corrupt government is shut down and threatening to default on its debt payments which will throw the entire global economy into chaos. But fear not! Essential services like the War Department are exempt.

What an example of democracy, freedom, and exceptionalism!

Bring Our War Dollars Home, Economic Bill of Rights, Government shutdown, Military Industrial Complex, Money in politics, Obama, Occupy Wall Street, Pax Americana, Pax Tibi Productions, Peace Movement, Regis Tremblay, War

Proof Washington Doesn’t Work For US

October 1, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

I’m not outraged at the government shutdown. Actually, I think it might be one more important step in the meltdown of the entire system which does not represent the people. In my opinion, it can’t come soon enough!

For as long as anyone can remember, Congress and the White House have been co-opted by Wall St, corporations, and the military industrial complex. Since the Wall St. bailout, income disparity between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of us is the largest since the 1920’s. The middle class is disappearing, and the ranks of the poor are expanding. The unemployed and under-employed are struggling and will never catch up in this environment.

The people in Washington, and that includes all the lobbyists and special interests groups, have kept the focus on greed and deception. They’ve succeeded in dividing Americans on everything from guns and immigration, and from healthcare to voting rights, all the while ignoring the most serious problems facing the U.S. and the planet.

So, while the planet continues to warm at a pace that will make life as we know it unsustainable in the next fifty years; while we do nothing to rid the planet of fossil fuels much less invest in renewable energy; while our educational system lags far behind the rest of the world; while college education is unaffordable; while our infrastructure is in disrepair; while states and municipalities are strapped and unable to provide basic services; and while those people in Washington continue to spend $1 Trillion a year on the business and export of war, they shut down the entire system that should be focusing on everything but Obamacare.

In two weeks, Washington will again play this ugly game of brinkmanship over raising the debt ceiling which will throw the entire U.S. and world economies into chaos, and will really put the hurt on everyone, including the 1% who risk losing their fortunes. Not even the greedy plutocrats want to see that happen. Maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe the order of the world would be transformed.

The answer to all of this is quite simple in my mind. A fundamental change is taking place, a natural, evolutionary demise of “the great American Way of Life” is underway. Claims of “exceptionalism” ring hollow. The belief that unlimited power and full-spectrum dominance can create a Pax Americana is falling apart. Perpetual war and an ever-increasing War Department budget not only has bankrupt the country economically, but morally.

The country that invented the atomic bomb, used it twice and continues to use it as a weapon of domination is on a march to destroy the planet either by its use, or by its inability to convert those war dollars into saving the planet.

With just $1 Trillion spent on the war machine every year, just about every problem in the world could be solved: poverty, hunger, clean water, clean renewable energy for everyone, education for everyone….Naive? I think it is naive to believe that Washington can solve any of these or do anything that is good for America and mankind. So, maybe, just maybe this meltdown is a good thing. From my point of view, that’s optimistic. Thinking that the present cast of thieves in Washington can do any good provides little hope for anything but more of the same.

Bring Our War Dollars Home, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Military Industrial Complex, Obama, Pax Americana, Peace Movement, Regis Tremblay, Veterans For Peace, War

Vladimir Putin Was Right

September 12, 2013 Regis Tremblay 1 Comment

I posted this in the comment section of the NY Times re the OP ED Valdimir Putin penned today. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html

Putin was dead on! America is no more “exceptional” than any other nation, tribe, or people. That is one of the biggest myths-lies ever perpetrated on the American people.

It is shameful and ironic that the Peace Prize president couldn’t and didn’t pen this op ed!

Kudos to Vladimir Putin for this Op Ed….America has demonized EVERYONE who has disagreed with her….and America has used that demonization to justify murdering millions of people of color all over the world. Russia certainly has not done that.

America is the only country to have used chemical weapons, napalm, white phosphorous, depleted Uranium, nerve gas, and the Atomic Bomb, not once, but twice.

Putin doesn’t have his own personal “kill list” that he reviews each week in his situation room. Putin isn’t ordering drone strikes that kill innocent men, women, and children. Putin isn’t attacking and destabilizing countries. Putin isn’t ratcheting up an arms race in space. Putin hasn’t shifted 60% of his military might to the Atlantic and Pacific. Putin is not placing a missile defense system on America’s borders. Putin doesn’t have a Guantanamo. Putin isn’t guilty of a rogue NSA and CIA.

Russia is no longer and really never was the enemy. Washington, the military industrial complex, the big banks and the oligarchs who profit from war are the enemy.

Americans need to look in the mirror and turn in disgust from what we see.

Bring Our War Dollars Home, Michael Moore, Military Industrial Complex, Pax Americana, Pax Tibi Productions, Peace Movement, Regis Tremblay, Veterans For Peace, War

Syrian Parliament to U.S. House of Representatives

September 10, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

This should make everyone who favors military intervention in Syria thing again. And for the rest of us who favor diplomacy, it gives us hope.

Syrian Parliament Letter To The US House Of Representatives

Posted on September 8, 2013 by stevengoddard

An important document being censored by the US press. I got this off the BNP web site.

Bill McKibbin, Bill of Rights, Bring Our War Dollars Home, Bruce Gagnon, Capitalism: A Love Story, Citizens United, Climate Rally, Democracy, Edward Snowden, George Carlin, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Je Ju Island, Jeju, Military Industrial Complex, Obama, Pax Americana, Pax Tibi Productions, Regis Tremblay, The Ghosts of Jeju, Veterans For Peace, War

We Like War

September 6, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

As President Obama and the war hawks beat the drums for war, the American people overwhelmingly oppose any military intervention in Syria’s civil war. Right now, Obama is chastising the international community in St. Petersburg Russia claiming that their credibility, not his, is at stake. This is not only outrageous and embarrassing, be despicable from someone who has won the Nobel Peace Prize, from someone who tortures people, persecutes the likes of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, has his own “kill list,” and continues to strike with drones anywhere he pleases.

Obama claims he has irrefutable proof – evidence – that President Asaad used chemical weapons on his people. I say, prove it. Show US all the evidence. Who provided it? Can it be corroborated? Russia submitted a 100 page document to the United Nations proving otherwise. I am no longer willing to accept their proof on faith any more. I do not trust this government. They asked us to just “trust them” when Bush-Cheney and his gang took us to war in Iraq. They lied. The reason was really oil.

Obama and his gang, include the military industrial complex, the big banks and all those who make money from war want us to just “trust them” again. Once again it is abot OIL. I say no more. Never again.

The Ghosts of Jeju proves unequivocally the U.S. plan to dominate the world through full-spectrum dominance – read brute military force. It has never been about spreading democracy and freedom. Never been about championing human rights. Those claims are disgusting and patently false. The government has lied to us for over 200 years.

Only America has committed genocide repeatedly beginning with the Native Americans. Just in my life time, America has used weapons of mass destruction designed to kill large numbers of civilians with the carpet bombing and fire-bombing of Germany. America followed that up with the carpet bombing and napalming of Japan in 1944-45, then carpet bombed and napalmed Korea into oblivion. Remember, it was General Curtis LeMay who directed those bombings who said, “if you kill enough of them they quit fighting.”

America didn’t stop there but carpet bombed, napalmed, and used Agent Orange in Vietnam. America didn’t object when Israel used white phosphorus on the Palestinians. We didn’t complain, but actually aided our ally at the time, Saddam Hussein when he used chemical weapons on the Iranians and his own people. American has single handedly destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan using cluster bombs, white phosphorus, and depleted Uranium causing irreparable damage to the DNA and genetic composition of those innocent people who are suffering from incidence of cancers and birth defects never before seen.

America has been killing innocent civilians, mostly all people of color and indigenous since the early days of this country all in the name of the biggest lie ever to be perpetrated, that of the American Way of Life. The American Way of Life has duped us into believing that consumption based on the evil of capitalism has been good for us.

It is rather obvious to anyone who is paying attention that the middle class is disappearing; all the good jobs have been shipped overseas; our Constitutional rights have been trampled upon; corporations are now “people” with more rights and power than real people; our educational system is in shambles and college creates unbearable debts on students and families; our infrastructure and social programs are sacrificed when 65% of our discretionary spending goes to the war machine…to making war, perpetual war.

The American Way of Life has always and only been about making the “few” more money and all-powerful. The American Way of Life has never been for the poor, people of color, the middle class. It has never been about spreading democracy and freedom around the world. The American Way of Life really means wealth, prosperity, and power for the elite oligarchs, who ironically refused to be subjects of the totalitarian government they rebelled against in 1776.

Freedom and voting rights for women, Blacks, Native Americans, and the working class were never entered the minds of the “founding fathers.” Those rights had to be fought for, and those rights are being systematically reversed right in front of our very eyes today.

If Americans knew and were paying attention to what the people we elect and this government has been doing, we would not only march on Washington, we would burn it down.

America’s number one export product is war…weapons of war which we sell to friend and foe alike, and perpetual war. The only good jobs left in America are in the research, manufacture, and use of the weapons of war.

Perhaps the worst crime of all: America has been making war on the planet. Every war destroys ecosystems that sustain life. War destroys wildlife and poisons water necessary for life. The U.S. military, in addition to killing the planet through war has the largest carbon footprint on the planet. It takes oil, lots and lots of oil to fuel planes, tanks, armored vehicles, drones, and war ships. It takes oil to manufacture and build all of the weapons of war. America is the worst offender in global warming with no intention of stopping or slowing the process, which by the end of the century will see temperatures rise to a level that life as we know it will be unsustainable.

Rather than spend our money, our creativity, our ability to solve problems on taking care of rebuilding America, relieving human suffering and poverty world-wide, on making peace in the world, in halting climate change, America can only make war.

I believe it is time for Americans to wake up and take this country back. It already may be too late. Hopefully the fall of the Roman Empire will not be a precursor of what awaits the American Empire and the world. “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.”

Are you ready for some football?

Enjoy one of America’s real prophets who speaks truth to power, George Carlin on “We Like War.”

This should make everyone who favors military intervention in Syria thing again. And for the rest of us who favor diplomacy, it gives us hope.

A Film by Regis Tremblay