Democracy Now! [DN!] did an excellent program about the larger situation, and about the culture of violence against women. DN! noted that the Cleveland Police Department was already being investigated by the federal government.

Link to Democracy Now! story: Behind the Cleveland Kidnappings, A Culture of “Toxic Masculinity” & Gender-Based Violence

On DN! author Jaclyn Friedman said:

We need to create police or other justice structures that communities trust, right? So, just saying more policing, better policing, absolutely, but you also have to think about: What about an undocumented immigrant who has been raped? What about communities and individuals, for great reasons, who don’t trust the police? We need much better justice structures. We need to take this as a priority as a culture. If we prioritized women’s safety as a culture, if we prioritized ending sexual violence, we would be pouring massive resources into this…

Friedman’s comments were reminiscent of a proposal I had published previously onthewilderside. What would happen if there were no police? What kind of organization would be created to help victims of domestic violence?

The link to my full story is here.

Below is the pull quote on a proposed domestic violence prevention structure:

Domestic Abuse Society. This could be an organization run by a nonprofit or set up by a local government. It would probably need a system to contact the regular police if weapons or death threats were involved. The staff of this organization would be trained in: patterns of domestic abuse; the psychology of domestic abuse; conflict resolution; practical matters about nurturing, speaking with, educating, and physically separating people involved in a domestic situation. The staff would have important knowledge about conveying people to hospitals or domestic abuse shelters if needed. The staff would be trained in knowing when it was important to move from privacy to reporting.

Related articles

• A Day of Action Against Wells Fargo Bank
• Protester tries to arrest Wells Fargo CEO at annual meeting
• Foreclosure compensation checks arrive, but anger some homeowners
• Wells Fargo: California Leader in Predatory Lending and Heartless Foreclosures
• The foreclosure fraud settlement was a big dud
• Foreclosure Settlement Checks Are Much Smaller Than Regulators Forecasted: Homeowners
• Protestors travel to SLC to rally at Wells Fargo’s shareholder meeting
• Homeowners Are Disappointed with Small Foreclosure Settlement Checks

Folk Groovin’ Cafe Open Mic: All musicians and poets welcome (sign up @ 7:45pm).

Special Guest Features

Friday, May 3, 2013

8pm to 11pm

At the FUMC in Amityville

* Singer/Songwriter John Myles

* Poet Herb Wahlsteen

* Musician, Guitarist, Songster Eli Maniscalco

*Open Mic: Maybe you???!

Held at: First United Methodist Church in Amityville 25, Broadway Ave, Amityville, NY (Broadway is actually the south-most end of RT 110,near Merrick Road/Montauk Highway.)

$7 donation requested
more if possible, less if necessary, please come

For more info or directions, check out the website www.peacesmiths.org or leave a message at (631) 798-0778. PeaceSmiths’ Activist Hotline.

Please bring literature to share about: Peace, Justice, Environment, Occupy, Bradley Manning events, etc!

-Story and video of the NYC march, with comments by former NY Governor candidate Jimmy “Rent Is Too Damn High” McMillan and others at Press TV: here.

Lots of Occupy events in New York City for Wednesday, May 1st. See below for fun stuff like: People’s Puppets uptown and downtown performances; Solidarity Swarm and a sing-a-long at Union Square; 7pm People’s Assembly at Foley Square; 9pm party at Washington Square Park. And, more…

From an #OccupyWallStreet press release:

May Day is tomorrow [Wednesday, May 1st], and Occupy Wall Street will be acting in force across New York City.

Join us on this day of celebration and agitation for the struggles of workers the world over. As the May Day music video “We Stand For Justice” depicts: “We stand for justice. We know what it feels like. We stand together, for justice we will fight!”

Indeed, the most important way you can show your support is by joining us in the streets on May Day. But we also need financial and material resources to spread the word and to support actions.

Please donate today to support OWS May Day 2013 activities.

Then tomorrow, stand together with us and fight for justice for the 99%!

from the ‘Your Inbox: Occupied’ team

May Day NYC

See the full May Day NYC schedule, as well as specifics on the events below:

all day: The People’s Puppets

We begin the day early in 2 groups: Uptown (meeting in Bryant Park at 10am) and Downtown (meeting in Union Sq at 11am). After marching with different groups, we’ll meet back at Union Square for more performances, especially game time at 4pm!

11am- 230: Free University @ Cooper Union

The Free University of NYC invites neighborhood organizations, schools, unions, spiritual centers, and other community education-oriented groups to create your own Free Universities this May 1st. The impetus behind this May Day call to education is to encourage local communities to host your own gatherings of free education to ensure they’re directly relevant and empowering on a ground level.

noon: Immigrant Worker Justice Tour @ Bryant Park

Join immigrants and workers this May Day as we highlight the daily struggles facing immigrants and workers in New York City. We will visit several workplaces in midtown to demand an end to exploitation of immigrant workers, ending at Schumer’s office for a speak-out on what real immigration reform looks like.

230: #99PKTS Solidarity Swarm @ Union Square

Join 99 Pickets, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, and allies as we march on employers around Union Square to demand fair pay and justice for all workers. We’ll be visiting the offices of Frieze Art Fair to call for a fairer art world, Wendy’s to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Travel Channel to support members of the Writers Guild. Gather at 2:30pm in the NE corner of Union Square; we’ll leave at 3pm. Look for Rude Mechanical Orchestra!

330: Everybody Now! Sing along @ Union Square

Everybody Now! is a choir that you join as soon as you start to sing (or whisper or hum). On May Day, we will be sharing this song, “We Stand For Justice”, at the beginning of the rally at Union Square, and we would love to you to lift your voice and sing with us! Our goal is to make it as resonant and contagious as possible – ideally everyone at the rally will feel empowered and excited to sing along! Listen to a demo of the song and meet us at the SE corner of Union Square (14th St between Broadway and Lafayette, right across from the Duane Reade) AND THEN SING WITH US IN THE RALLY AT 4 PM!!

4pm: Unified Rally for Immigrant & Worker Rights @ Union Squre

Joint rally with the May 1st Coalition; the Alliance for Labor Rights, Immigrant Rights and Jobs for All; immigrant rights groups; and Occupy Wall Street. The rally will be a mix of speakers and entertainment drawing attention to the struggles and victories of labor unions, workers, immigrants and the 99%. Followed by a march down Broadway to City Hall.

7pm: May Day People’s Assembly @ Foley Square

This Assembly will be the first in a series of monthly People’s Assemblies that will take place on the first Wednesday of each month. What do we have in common, how do our experiences vary, and what can we build together? As the march ends, gather in Foley Square starting at 7pm. We will split into multiple groups based on the struggles, campaigns and people present.

730: Occu-Evolve Kimani Grey Assembly @ Zucotti Park

Emphasis on current labor struggles, ending Police Murder and Brutality, stop & frisk, mass incarceration and the War on Black and Brown People, justice for victims of Hurricane Sandy and building Occupy Wall Street to truly reflect and fight for all of the people in New York City.

9pm: Dance Your Debt Away @ Washington Square Park

A party to end the day!

Learn more about the plethora of events and actions happening all day at http://maydaynyc.org/schedule/.

There are some people being held at Guantanamo for 11 years with no charges. There are 86 people being held as prisoners at Guantanamo who are cleared to be returned to their home countries.

Democracy Now: Monday, April 29, 2013 update:
Desperate Situation At Guantanamo

A guest on Democracy Now! notes: President Obama has the authority to transfer individuals if he believes that it is in the interest of the United States.

******

A story from Australia:
US response to Guantanamo Bay hunger strike is ‘huge’

US military authorities have played down the decision to send Navy medical reinforcements to Guantanamo Bay  and denied reports some inmates were “close to death”.Of the 166 prisoners in Guantanamo, 100 have now joined the strike which began on February 6 in response to an austerity crackdown and intensified into a protest about continued detention – 86 of the detainees have been cleared for release back to their home countries…

The report quoted a Guantanamo insider, “Zak”, who claimed the detainees had “lost hope” because “President Obama has no intention to close Guantanamo”.

Some of the prisoners have been in detention for more than a decade.

Moqbel said in his article: “I’ve been detained at Guantanamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial.

“Members of the US president’s own party have urged him to reconsider sending home the 86 detainees cleared for transfer up to three years ago…

******

A story at Reuters from April 29, 2013:
American Medical Association questions Guantanamo force-feedings

Occupy Wall Street leveled a challenge to the 1%:

We won’t pay for your crisis.

Until we get a Wall Street transaction tax, they’re not even helping to alleviate the mess they made.

The Green Party of the United States is calling for passage of legislation to impose a “Wall Street transaction tax,” which will

• stabilize the stock market,
• discourage reckless ‘casino’ trading, and
• generate revenue. 

Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-Minn.) has introduced such a bill, titled the “Inclusive Prosperity Act” (http://ellison.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=907&catid=86).

As Ralph Nader noted in his endorsement of the bill,

A small financial transaction tax of 0.5 percent or less – depending upon the financial instrument being taxed – could produce hundreds of billions of dollars annually, perhaps as much as $350 billion. This revenue could be generated from a tax that would be minuscule – half a penny or less on each dollar of the transaction value.

(https://www.facebook.com/ralphnader/posts/559074687456801)

“Passing a securities transaction tax would be an effective step towards ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share. The Green Party supports the principle that those who make money from speculation should contribute more than those who make money from hard work,” said Laura Wells, Green candidate for Governor of California in 2010.

“The 2008 economic meltdown revealed three things: how little Wall Street is held accountable for criminal recklessness and fraud; how little top corporations, especially Wall Street firms, pay in taxes compared to the rest of us, including zero taxes on the sale of securities; and the willingness of Democratic and Republican politicians, including President Obama, to bail out top Wall Street investors with our tax money while doing the minimum for people facing the loss of jobs and homes. A tax on securities trades would begin to correct these outrages,” said Ms. Wells, who has filed to run for California State Controller in 2014.

The Green Party’s national platform endorses such a tax: “Green Solutions… 4. Impose a financial transaction tax on trades of stocks, bonds, currency, derivatives, and other financial instruments.” (http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2012/economic-justice-and-sustainability.php#FairCorporateTaxes)

The securities transaction tax would reward long-term investment by placing a greater burden on short-term speculation, which causes rapid fluctuation and instability in the market. New York State’s stock transfer tax which generates about $16 billion a year — which the state rebates to Wall Street speculators who treat the stock market as a casino. Greens oppose bailouts and rebates for speculators. (See “Hawkins Challenges Cuomo’s Silence on Halting NY’s $16 Billion Annual Rebate to Wall Street” from 2010 Green gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins, August 3, 2010, http://howiehawkins.com/2010/media-releases/121-hawkins-challenges-cuomos-silence-on-halting-nys-16-billion-annual-rebate-to-wall-street.html).

Greens have also called for restoration of economic protections like the Glass-Steagall Act; repeal of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which block regulation of complex high-risk derivatives and hedge funds; nationalization and breakup of “too big to fail” banks into smaller regional or state banks; and penalties for offshoring of accounts.

Greens support progressive tax plans, with a raising of the cap on Social Security. As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports, currently “all states have regressive tax systems that ask more from low- and middle-income families than from the wealthiest” (“Who Pays?”, http://www.itep.org/whopays/).

# # #

Related articles

• Time for a Sales Tax on Wall Street
• Ralph Nader: Time for a Sales Tax on Wall Street Financial Transactions
• Inside-outside Strategy on Wall Street Tax
• Americans Suffer While Finance Tax Waits For Congress’ Attention
• Statement Of Ralph Nader Regarding Rep. Keith Ellison’s “Inclusive Prosperity Act”
• Time for a Sales Tax on Wall Street Financial Transactions
• A Wall Street Tax

• Welcome to Boog City Festival 2012 Photos
• Complete 6th Welcome to Boog City Sked, 8/2 -8/5/2012
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• Reading at BoogFest 2011: Vid & Pic
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• Welcome to Boog City 9/24 – 9/28/10 Lineup
• Boog City 75: 2012 Election Issue
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Kathleen Deignan, CND

On Sunday, May 5, 2013, Homecoming/Sophia Garden will present a day-long immersion into the thoughts of two great spiritual teachers: Thomas Merton OCSO and Thomas Berry, CP. For more information please contact Sr. Jeanne Clark, OP at 631-842-6000, Ext. 338 or Earthhomej@aol.com.

The dialogue will take place at the Helen Butler Hall  at Dominican Village, 565 Albany Avenue, Amityville, NY  11701.   It will run from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Lunch is included in the $25 admission. Proceeds will benefit Homecoming Farm & Sophia Garden.

The event will be led by both Sr. Kathleen Deignan, CND of the Iona Spirituality Institute, and staff members from the Thomas Berry Forum.  Merton was a Trappist monk, poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion.  Berry was a Catholic Priest, cultural historian and cosmologist. Participants will gather together to explore the Universe Story; the concepts of Contemplation and Peace; and ponder what the Earth is asking of us at this moment in history.

To register, mail your name, address, email, phone number, along with your check, to Homecoming Farm, 555 Albany Avenue, Amityville, NY  11701. Please make checks payable to Homecoming.

Homecoming is a certified organic community supported agriculture (CSA) project, committed to the belief that the human and natural world is one community of life. Through its farm and educational programs, Homecoming/Sophia Garden promotes the understanding that when we care for the Earth, we care for ourselves, each other, and promote sustainable communities. It is is a private, non-profit, charitable 501 (C) (3) organization.

# # #

Related articles

• Merton: The Root of War is Fear
• Daniel Berrigan & Thich Nhat Hahn discuss Communities of Resistance

• Handling Insults: Thomas Merton and The Wisdom of the Desert…
• Merton on Ongoing Conversion
• …the desert… & Thomas Merton
• The Merton Prayer
• Thomas Merton, The New Man
• Thomas Merton on Charity
• Thomas Merton and Humility

Dear Richie,

Richie Havens

The loss of your bright shining heart and soul from our world is a shock.  I realized that I had seen you perform four times.  More than I have seen any other nationally touring performer.

I first saw you at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, NY when I was barely out of college.  My best friend had gotten concert tickets from his older brother.  His brother decided he didn’t want to go to see some oldies acts.  We were psyched to see Country Joe and the Fish.   We reveled in his famous anti-war song.  Joe was fun.  We stayed to see the next act that — in our ignorance — we had never heard of.  We figured we were there anyway.  Why not give you a listen?

You blew us through the doors

Read the rest on Peace Couple