Hungry for Sustainability?

The world hungers for sustainability, and yet we rarely seem to find it.  Meanwhile, we have an ancient and living model of sustainability within our reach.  Struggling to exist in the cradle of civilization, is a culture that has tended the land gently for thousands of years. ⁽¹⁾  Steadfast families still live in small villages, surrounded by fields, orchards, grazing lands, and woodlands that together supply nearly all the people’s needs.  But the world, rather than flocking to learn these ancient lessons of sustainability has turned its back.  These families, this land, suffers under grave and violent threat. ⁽²⁾ 

The photo is of a young man working in his family's field in the Palestinian village of Artas, famous for its Romaine Lettuce. ⁽³⁾ Israeli restrictions on travel to and within Palestine make it difficult or impossible for people to come to buy and trade from the source as they did decades ago. ⁽⁴⁾ Israel also controls all Palestinian business, the movement and sale of goods within Palestine, as well as imports and exports. ⁽⁵⁾  This imperiled ancient culture needs our protection.  We hope that the more you learn, the more you will care.

(1)  The ancient history of this culture is well documented. “ . . . a Neolithic agricultural civilization arose  . . . perhaps as early as 7000 BC  . . . " E.O. James, Archeologist:  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2015/02/archeology-and-hebrew-mythology.html 

(2) To learn about the on-going threat facing these families, we recommend the movie, ‘5 Broken Cameras:’   http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/11/5-broken-cameras.html

(3) Photo from Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Picking_Lettuce_in_Artas,_West_Bank,_Palestine.jpg

(4)  Scroll down to ‘For More Information,’ to learn more about the travel restrictions that Israel imposes on Palestinians:    http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2015/03/free-palestine.html

(5) ‘Israel’s Predatory Economics,’ are covered here: http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2015/03/israels-predatory-economics.html  Be sure to read the article in comments as well. 

 

~~~

Be the Change!

The oppression and colonization of Palestine has been going on for over 60 years.  Powerful countries have failed to come to the aid of the Palestinian people, because what is being done to them is of benefit to large wealthy corporations.  It is up to us to be the change.  Please explore our boycott list to see how you may be supporting the erasure of traditional sustainable practices from the Holy Land: http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/12/boycott-list.html

We also encourage you to take additional nonviolent action in any large or small ways you can.  We have a list of letter writing campaigns and petitions you can sign, and we are starting to share other more involved actions as well.  Whether you have a few minutes or a few weeks, months, or years—there is something you can do! Check our blog every Thursday for calls to action:  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/   Quick actions are also very easy to find: http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/Quick%20action

Thank you!  It is up to us to create the kind of world we want to live in!

~~~

Participate!

Boycott for Peace would like to feature an article or meme about Palestinian sustainable practices at least a few times a year or even once a month.  We need your help to do this. If you find articles that address Palestinian sustainable practices be sure to share them with us.  If you live in or visit Palestine and can take photos and notes relating to traditional food production, we can help you polish them up and present them to the public.  The wisdom we all need to survive is being imperiled.  Let’s let the world know!

~~~

Boycott for Peace!
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/boycott4peace
http://www.pinterest.com/boycott4peace/pins/ 

~~~ 

E-mail, reblog, tweet, share, or pin, using the buttons below:

Exposing Noam Chomsky

Chomsky: An Anti-Activist

 

 

 

We need to be very aware that pro-imperialist anti-freedom forces will often infiltrate a movement and try to dominate the conversation from within--in a way that destroys the effectiveness of the movement.  We contend that Chomsky occupies this position.  His domination as a writer on the topic of Israeli – Palestinian issues, his personal failure to issue calls for action, and his criticism of BDS all point to him being a very effective agent against change and an effective anti-activist in support of the status quo.

~~~

Chomsky, as it turns out, is a self admitted Zionist.  Here is a video you have got to see, really every minute of it. It is 45 minutes long, so plan ahead. It exposes a side of Mr. Chomsky you probably won't ever see anywhere else.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_LygPVxY8A

Chomsky does not support the Palestinian call for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions.  In considering his rejection of BDS, we must keep in mind that “. . . the liberation of the oppressed is impossible without their self-activity and empowerment. The BDS movement was launched by Palestinians themselves . . . "  The following article provides a well thought out and intelligent critique of lets-take-no-action Chomsky: http://socialistworker.org/2014/07/15/chomsky-and-the-bds-struggle

Also of interest:  “In the field of US-Israel-Palestine relations he (Chomsky) has been a virtual human tsunami, washing like a huge wave over genuine scholarly works in the field that contradict his critical positions on the Middle East, namely that Israel serves a strategic asset for the US and that the Israeli lobby, primarily AIPAC, is little more than a pressure group like any other trying to affect US policy in the Middle East. For both of these positions, as I will show, he offers only the sketchiest of evidence . . .”  http://www.leftcurve.org/LC29WebPages/Chomsky.html 

“Mass appeals to Congress to stop funding, whether it was in opposition to the war in Vietnam or the Contras in Nicaragua, have been a basic element in every other nation-wide struggle against US global policy.”  From above link which also notes that Chomsky has never called for any action on behalf of the Palestinian people. 

One of Chomsky’s main complaints about BDS relates to education, as if the BDS movement, as well as it supporters (like Boycott for Peace) were not working very hard to educate the masses.  “How BDS Is Educating the Public About Israel's Brutal Policies:”  http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/46885/pid/2254

Chomsky is not our hero.  While he is often very eloquent at describing certain aspects of Israel’s violence and oppression of Palestinians, a true hero, a true activist takes action and calls for the masses to take action as well.  


Anti-activists are exceedingly common.  They infiltrate nearly every movement and organization, as well as nearly every on-line group, forum, and news outlet that allows comments.  They work to neutralize our efforts by attempting to dominate the conversation and attempting to steer us away from action.  If a seemingly passionate, vociferous person seems to be dominating the conversations without ever positively supporting, participating, or calling for action has infiltrated your movement, be aware.  They may be in the pay of, or in support of, exactly what we are trying to resist.

Meanwhile, if we believe in Peace, Equality, Freedom, and Democracy, we must not support the corporations and businesses that profit from or support ethnic cleansing, home demolition, war, or apartheid.  We must use spending money to vote for the kind of world we want to live in, while we deprive those businesses, institutions, and governments we find reprehensible of our support.  

Boycott for Peace!

~~~ 

Check out our complete boycott list here:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/12/boycott-list.html

And our calls to action here: 

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/Quick%20action

~~~

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Noam_Chomsky_WSF_-_2003.jpg

~~~

Boycott for Peace 

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/  

https://www.facebook.com/boycott4peace  

http://www.pinterest.com/boycott4peace/pins/ 

~~~ 

E-mail, reblog, tweet, share, or pin, using the buttons below:

Quick Action ~ Petition

Bring Peace to Palestine

 

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

"What we need to have is a political program and an economic program thats going to answer the needs of the Palestinian people and end the Israeli occupation, making peace, and an economic plan for Gaza similar to a Marshall Plan." 

Petition to be delivered to: Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama.

Read more and sign the petition here:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/bring-peace-to-palestine

~~~

If you are not sure why this is important, please read the posts in the following thread:

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/why%20we%20boycott

~~~

Have a few more minutes?  Check out our other Quick Actions here:

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/Quick%20action

 

~~~

Boycott for Peace!

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/boycott4peace
http://www.pinterest.com/boycott4peace/pins/

~~~

E-mail, reblog, tweet, share, or pin--using the buttons below: 

Thoughts on Music and Peace

 

Can a concert bring World Peace?

 

 

 

We believe the answer is, "Yes, as a part of many efforts."  Ravi Shankar, the late master of classical Indian music, discusses the power of music to transmit thoughts and ideas in the mini documentary, 'The Soul of Tradition,'  included as a bonus with the CD, The Concert for World Peace.  We also know, speaking from experience, that it is hard to imagine—here in the US—that a concert can undo all that has been done to hinder World Peace.  Our official narratives are so narrow and our mainstream media strives so unrelentingly to maintain a very minimal and controlled view of the world.

The minds of the masses are often turned away from concepts that could build World Peace.  This begins from the moment they are first compelled to stand, facing the national flag, hands over heart, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  This Pledge is part of an on-going propaganda program that turns  people away from world unity and towards a national sectarian vision, where, essentially, it is us, the U.S., against them; namely, everyone else.

This Pledge ends with a promise.  A promise that has never been delivered: “With liberty and justice for all.”  Not only has this promise not been delivered to the American people, it is strategically denied to the people of the world, through our actions and attitudes, which are rooted in our personal and national narratives.  And thus, in this Pledge, in this oft repeated broken promise we learn to lie, to accept lies, and to believe lies against all evidence, from a very early age.

We have been brainwashed and propagandized.  However, fortunately, some of us resisted.  Some of us resisted from an early age.  Some of us waited until we entered adolescences or young adulthood, and then we began to question.  Some of us, later in life, turned our minds away from this disparity of values and began to look at the world with a curious intellect, a yearning spirit, an openness in the heart.  These are some of the  finer human qualities, found blooming or dormant in all of us, that we can draw on as we begin to imagine World Peace.

Media and technology have been double-edged swords.  Pursuit of the materials of technology has led (and continues to lead) to the rape of our ecosystems and the exile and exploitation of Indigenous people.  Pursuit of technology has led to ever-more-automated systems of oppression and war, as well as the increasing levels of sophistication in the propaganda we are surrounded by.  The haves are increasingly insulated from the devastation they bring upon other human beings and on the planet as well, through technology.

On the other hand, technology can bring the world closer together and teach us to heal.  Through the sharing of arts, of stories and music, and through citizen journalism we begin, by our own efforts, to democratize the world; to build bridges of solidarity and human feeling across those walls of ideological and national separation.  Technology can become the tool of World Peace.

We can bring World Peace into our homes, into our hearts, into our imagination; and let it flourish and grow.  To embrace World Peace, we must embrace the world.  Music, world music in all of its wonderful culturally diverse expressions, is one very powerful way we can bring the world, and the idea of World Peace into our homes.  The music of the world is increasingly available to us through technology, and through the democratization of technology, it is increasingly available to nearly every sector of our society.

School and public libraries broaden access to media of all kinds in many communities around the world.  Libraries are often interconnected, with systems of sharing books and other media over broad areas of their regions; and they can provide ways for people to access media and information who don't have access in their homes.  Computers are often available as well as tutors to help people learn how to use them.  Internet access is common, both for use on the library’s equipment, and increasingly, for use by patrons on their own devices.  Headphones generally are also available, for listening to music, watching videos, and for playing games.  Libraries bring the broad world of media to the public they serve.

Ravi Shankar’s Concert for World Peace, came up on a search of  our regional library system’s on-line catalog.  Two clicks was all it took to  request that the DVD be delivered to our local branch and held for checkout.  Through library systems, a whole world of music is available.  Through the  interlibrary loan program, music can be requested from distant places for a limited amount of time.

Whether your a fan of Ravi Shankar’s music or are exploring his legacy for the first time, The Concert for World Peace DVD is a treat.  The late Shankar had a gentle sense of humor as well as a gentle affection for his fellow musicians that shines brilliantly throughout the performance.  He was as passionate about his music and his instrument, the sitar, as any rock star or symphony member ever was, maybe even more so.  His sense of the sacredness of the music, of our human connection to the sacred through music, and his ability to express this in a way that can be tangibly felt was his special gift.  A gift we can still connect with through his CD’s and DVDs.

Music can expand our narratives.  Listening to and appreciating world music, can help us expand our narratives to the whole world.  The Concert for World Peace, may not be all the change we need to see; but it is a seed.  A seed that we hope you will plant in your heart and your home.  A seed waiting for you, among many, many others, at your local library.

~~~

Explore more world music at your local library and on-line:

Rough Guides has published many world music CDs. Your library system probably has titles or can order them for you through interlibrary loan:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rough_Guide_albums

Smithsonian Folkways also offers a large collection of world music, many of which are likely available through your library system:  http://www.folkways.si.edu/folkways-recordings/smithsonian

~~~

Check out our other DVD recommendations at the link below.  And don’t forget, they are all most likely available from your local library:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/DVD

~~~

Participate!  If you have watched a movie recently that has inspired you to think about World Peace, please share your inspiration in the comments section.  Links to more information about the movie would be awesome.  We may even feature your recommendation in an up-coming blog post.

~~~

Boycott for Peace!
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/boycott4peace
http://www.pinterest.com/boycott4peace/pins/

~~~

Use the buttons below to E-mail, Reblog, Tweet, Share, or  Pin: