Category Archives: Democracy

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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!

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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!

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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!

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My Reply to Washington Post Column by Gene Robinson

September 13, 2013 Regis Tremblay 4 Comments

Robinson argues that America IS exceptional. I begged to differ.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/yes-vladimir-america-is-exceptional/2013/09/12/4b234320-1be2-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html?hpid=z3

America is no more exceptional than any other nation, village or tribe. Exceptionalism and The American Way of Life are the two biggest lies that have corrupted what could have been a grand experiment in democracy and the land of the free.

It is rather obvious that this exceptional nation has killed more people in wars of aggression to control and extract the earth’s resources than any other nation. This exceptional nation has used the most horrific weapons to commit genocide beginning with the Native Americans, the Philippines, dozens of countries in South and Central America, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. America has used napalm, white phosphorous, Agent Orange, depleted Uranium, and the most devastating and indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction of all, the Atomic Bomb. Not once, but twice. And, America has been threatening the world with the use of it again should any nation dare to challenge the imperial advance.

I guess in a way, that makes America exceptional. But look what exceptionalism has done to the American people: the greatest income disparity since 1927; foreclosures; good manufacturing jobs shipped overseas; a neglected infrastructure; a under-funded and lousy school system; college debt crippling graduates; the elimination of social uplift programs; the attacks on Social Security and Medicare; no universal health care; tens of thousands of injured vets without proper care; and trillions of dollars of debt. And oh, the nation with the most incarcerated people on the planet, and Guantanamo.

But there’s more. The Patriot Act, the NDAA, and the spying of the CIA, FBI, and NSA have all but deprived us of our freedoms and classified any who speak out against these evils as terrorists.

Vlaidimir Putin is not without fault. Russia itself has a terrible record of repression. He accomplished two things: he forced America to look in the mirror, and he slam-dunked Obama. Neither what we see in the mirror nor Obama are particularly pretty.

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American Military Cancer is Killing Us All

September 10, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

This short video connects the dots as many are wont to say, but it is on point. 9:59 in length. Recommend everyone take the time to watch and then share widely. It is time to take our country back, save ourselves, and save the world.

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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.”

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We’re Not Goin Away Scotty Walker

August 11, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

Wonderful activism in Madison, Wisconsin. Citizens here have been protesting the administration of Scott Walker for 275 days. We could use this in Maine. Come to think about it, we need more of this everywhere! What an inspiration. Two hundred plus gathered on Friday, August 9, 2013. I’m a the Veterans For Peace National Convention here in Madison.

Enjoy this short video.

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Manning & Snowden: What Would Nuremburg Have Done?

August 1, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

Nuremburg Principle VI –

“The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

(a) Crimes against peace:

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;

(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

(b) War crimes:

Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the Seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.”

Principle VII

Principle VII states, “Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.”

The present administration and the United States Military consider Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden as traitors while most of the rest of the world consider their actions as heroic and patriotic.

Both acted out of conscience because they had information about war crimes and violations against international law committed by the United States. It was their duty, according the Nuremberg Principles, to expose those crimes. It was their duty to reveal to the American people what their government had been doing in our name.

Nuremburg Principle VI –

“The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

(a) Crimes against peace:

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;

(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

(b) War crimes:

Principle VII

Principle VII states, “Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.”

The United States has blatantly ignored international law and widespread international opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were based upon lies, and is guilty of the crimes against peace outlined above in part a), and very clearly guilty of murder, ill-treatment (torture – Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib), the wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan).

Principle VII is key in the prosecution and persecution of Manning and Snowden and all whistleblowers because it states very clearly, “complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.”

Unfortunately, only the defeated are tried and convicted under these principles. Ironically, the United States has lost every war since Korea, yet was never conquered or forced to surrender, yet because there are no challengers to its military dominance, America does not submit to trial or judgment by any international body or nation. Might does not make right!

Manning and Snowden did for America and the world what the corporate-owned media should have been doing all along. Only an informed population can take action to re-direct the course this country has been on. It is quite clear that we are all subjects of a tyrannical government that makes a mockery of the Constitution, tramples on individual freedoms, and wantonly kills millions and millions of innocent civilians, while it destroys the environment and sensitive ecosystems.

America’s war policy is quite clear in the words of General Curtis LeMay ,who commanded the carpet bombing and firebombing of Germany, the firebombing of Japan and subsequently dropping the Atomic bomb, and the carpet bombing and napalming of Korea and Vietnam, “if you kill enough of them, they quit fighting.” LeMay also said, “soldiers are always going to be confronted with the moral aspects of war, but if they let that bother them, they’re not good soldiers.”

In Iraq, the United States killed millions of innocent men, women, and children and completely devastated the entire country. “Shock and Awe.” In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States has indiscriminately killed civilians and committed massacres for ten years with unmanned drones and boots on the ground.

It is beyond belief that the president of the United States personally orders the elimination of perceived enemies with his own personal kill list.

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice et al, as well as Obama, Clinton, Panetta and the rest are the real traitors and war criminals whom Manning and Snowden have revealed to America and the world.

ALEC, Bernie Sanders, Bring Our War Dollars Home, Bruce Gagnon, Capitalism: A Love Story, Citizens United, Climate Rally, Democracy, Economic Bill of Rights, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Je Ju Island, Maine, March Against Fiscal Madness, Military Industrial Complex, Money in politics, Pax Americana, Pax Tibi Productions, Police brutality, Regis Tremblay, social justice, Truth TV

Gangjeong Village Video Documentarian Jailed

March 25, 2013 Regis Tremblay Leave a comment

Park Sung-Soo has been documenting the daily struggle in Gangjeong Village since the summer of 2011. He was accused of trespassing when he entered the navy base complex to protest the harassment of two young women reporters with sexual remarks by the base security personnel.

The two young women reporters appealed the incident to the Korean Human Rights Committee, but their case was dismissed.

Park Sung-Soo, AKA Dungree, was not able to pay his fine amounting to $1500 U.S. dollars, so he decided to serve out his fine in jail for 28 days. Dungree is resolute in not wanting anyone to pay his fine. He is willing to bear the sufferings he will encounter for the month in prison.

Dungree is a victim of the new government’s strategy to oppress people with fines and to put down the protest against the illegal construction of the base.

Since the beginning of the struggle in Gangjeong Village in 2007 to February 2013, there have been upwards of 700 arrests with 500 indictments. 22 activists have been imprisoned. All have been released with the exception of Prof. Yang Yoon-mo who has been sentenced to 18 months, this being the fourth time he has been jailed. Prof. Yang agreed to end his 52 day old hunger strike on March 24, the third since his protest began.

The average fine against the activists has been approximately $3,000 U.S. dollars, and some have had fines as high as $9,000 U.S. dollars bringing the total amount of fines to $450,000 U.S. dollars. But, that’s not all. The total compensation fee for “damages” is approximately $290,000 U.S. dollars.

All of the activists are willing to go to jail because they cannot afford the fines.

There is no way to sugar coat these gross violations of human rights and the total disregard and disdain for the civil rights of these people who are fighting for self-determination, a transparent and open democratic process, justice, peace, and the survival of their culture, not to mention their livelihoods.

To blame for this most recent displacement of indigenous people, the violation of human rights, the destruction of the environment, the beating of war drums, and the escalation of tensions around the world is the government of the U.S., the U.S. war department, and the military industrial complex.

Meanwhile, the Village is protesting the navy’s military residential housing project which will effectively obliterate this 400 year old village with accommodations for 8,000 military personnel. This base will require maintenance facilities, an airport, radar, fuel tanks, bars, restaurants, shops, and brothels, and probably missile silos.

What is happening on Jeju Island, and in so many other places around the world, are crimes against humanity.

America! Now they are coming for us! Not only is the #1 U.S. export weapons and “security,” but now the corporations are fast at work to get us to pay for their lust for power and profits. They want (Congress will do their bidding) to pay for all of it on the backs of the middle class and the poor.

Every state in this country owes thousands of jobs to the corporations who produce the weapons and supplies of war. Because of this, there is hardly a person in Congress who will oppose their lust for more and more and more. They threaten to close down their factories and move if Congress doesn’t keep increasing the war budget that feeds the military industrial complex.

Just a cursory glance across this land reveals their ugly job-creating lies from coast to coast, and from border to border: tar-sands, Keystone pipeline, the East-West Highway in Maine, the proposed LNG tank in Searsport, Maine, hyrdo-fracking wherever they can find gas. They are stealing our own precious resources like water and selling them for profit.

Meanwhile our states are broke and can no longer maintain critical infrastructure; provide quality education; and protect the social safety net, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

There is only one answer to this suicidal march: more than 60% of the discretionary spending of the U.S. (our taxes) go to the military aka the war department. If one includes veteran’s benefits and NASA, the percentage is much higher. Bush’s wars will cost us more than $4 TRILLION. There are more than 800 U.S. military “bases” in every corner of the globe……supposedly for national security. Read: the interest of the corporations who extract resources and exploit other nations.

The Villagers of Gangjeong along with the Catholic Bishop of Jeju, Bishop Kang, have the answer: “Peace is the way. No Naval Base on the Island of Peace.” It is the moral obligation of every human being to oppose war and work for peace and justice in the world.

For those who are not able to travel to Jeju to support this struggle, you can send donations to www.savejejunow.org to help pay the fines and to support the activists who represent us in this global struggle against the U.S. imperial march towards domination of the world by force.

Democracy, Hugo Chavez, Military Industrial Complex, Oliver Stone, Pax Americana, Pax Tibi Productions, Regis Tremblay, social justice, Uncategorized

Oliver Stone’s “South of the Border”

March 11, 2013 Regis Tremblay 1 Comment

Pretty much overlooked in the U.S. and labeled as “controversial” and “anti-American,” Oliver Stone’s documentary is refreshing. At a time when the U.S. considers any country that goes against its will an “enemy,” Stone reveals a totally different picture. I would strongly and enthusiastically encourage everyone to watch the entire documentary.

His journey began with his desire to discover the social, political and economic movements in South America. His interviews with the following democratically elected leaders is eye-opening and inspiring: Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez. Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Fernando Lugo in Paraguay, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Kristina Kirchner in Argentina, Lula De Silva in Brazil, and Raul Castro in Cuba. All of these leaders have implemented reforms that have angered the United States, which for over one hundred years has destabilized, dominated and extracted the resources of their countries.

Following his own political ideology focusing on socialist reform, Chavez implemented a new constitution, participatory democracy, increased government funding of health care, education, and agriculture, land reform, as well as the nationalization of several key industries, especially oil. Any surprise all of this made him a target of the American media and an enemy of the U.S.?
Chavez was elected Venezuela’s president four times with overwhelming majorities. He has alined himself with all of the above governments and leaders who are considered “enemies” of the United States. All of these democratically elected leaders describe their policies as anti-imperialist, and critical of the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. version of predatory capitalism.

Chavez has been a leader in the region supporting Latin American and Caribbean cooperation, the pan-regional Union of South American Nations, the Bolivian Alliance for the Americas, the Bank of the South, and a regional television network.

If you go to the link below, you can see excerpts from South of the Border. Given America’s track record for intervening in sovereign countries all over the planet, the movements in South America are encouraging, enlightening, and give hope there is a way to end the U.S. imperial march to dominate the world.

http://www.youtube.com/southoftheborderdoc

A Film by Regis Tremblay