The Peace Tree

words and photos by C.A. Matthews

I have a thing for Christmas trees. I love to decorate them and collect ornaments from all over the world. Come the twelfth day of Christmas (Epiphany) on January 6, I’m compelled by the “social norm” to take down my tree* and store it and the decorations away until next December. (Who is this “Norm” and why is he always raining on my parade? Not very “sociable” of him.) The empty space in my living room where the Christmas tree once stood makes me sad, so I began a new tradition.

I put away the tall tree and put up a shorter, table-top sized tree* in its place. I decorate it with ornaments symbolizing love (after all, Valentine’s Day is in February) and peace. The past couple of years the little tree has become not a mere Christmas tree substitute but a “Peace Tree” dedicated to world peace.

I leave the Peace Tree standing as long as there is conflict anywhere on the planet. You guessed it—the Peace Tree hasn’t been put away for quite some time now. In the summer, I move it upstairs where I stand it on top a short bookcase in our bedroom. We put a window a/c unit in the downstairs window, and the little tree could get blown over if it stayed put, but it isn’t taken down. I see it every day, a reminder that humans are still warring with each other somewhere on the planet. We need world peace, and we needed it yesterday.

This holiday season I decided to give the Peace Tree a makeover...

 

To see more photos of the Peace Tree--and to read a poem excerpt by Maya Angelou and the rest of this article--please click on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com. There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You can also subscribe and receive the weekly blog post in your email box. 

Subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack today! Power to the people!

 

Happy Holidays—Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice and a good Kwanzaa and peace to you and yours. May we all plant “Peace Trees” and together reap a harvest of goodness some day soon.

 

 

Escaping the Nightmare

by C.A. Matthews

This beautifully produced short video (above) spoke to me this week. Watch it and see what I mean.

Entitled Escaping the Duopoly Nightmare: A Tribute to the Fearless! the video gives one hope that there is a large enough percentage of Americans out there who actually “get it” and who are escaping the nightmare of the faux US democracy established and maintained by the billionaire oligarchs. These folks aren’t crying into their beers/coffee cups. They’re making plans on how they’ll fight back, and it could lead to building a strong alternative party that represents the working class, not the one-percent, in the near future.

To put this in the vernacular: Smart voters ain’t buying into the rich dudes’ lies anymore. They’re taking their business elsewhere. They’re starting their own workers’ party, far away from the brain dead, bought-off Red and Blue MAGAts. They’re going to put the people in charge, not the corporations.

Amen to these brave visionaries! Could the Revolution be just around the corner?

Meanwhile across the globe, brave Pakistanis are escaping from a nightmare not of their own making...

 

To discover who else is escaping nightmares, please read the rest of this article by clicking on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com. There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You can also subscribe and receive the weekly blog post in your email box. 

Subscribe today! Power to the people!

Power to the Peoples!

If your town didn't celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day this week, here are some resources to help you establish it in your area:

https://www.zinnedproject.org/campaigns/abolish-columbus-day

Related Stories:

Free Indigenous Prisoner Leonard Peltier!

https://therealnews.com/free-indigenous-political-prisoner-leonard-peltier 

Indigenous Led Alliance Moves to Stop Bolsonaro's Ecocidal Destruction of the Amazon

https://therealnews.com/indigenous-led-alliance-moves-to-stop-bolsonaros-ecocidal-destruction-of-the-amazon

Indigenous Coalition Tells Biden Communities Need Clean Water and Climate Action

https://truthout.org/articles/indigenous-coalition-tells-biden-communities-need-clean-water-and-climate-action/

The US Has Used Conservatorships to Exploit Indigenous Peoples

https://truthout.org/articles/the-us-has-used-conservatorships-to-exploit-indigenous-peoples/

https://scheerpost.com/2021/10/11/happy-indigenous-peoples-day-from-those-who-made-it-possible/

More information on IPD below this week's article. Power to all Indigenous Peoples!

***

October 15th is the day for a #General Strike

https://octoberstrike.com/

A Week in View

by Coast Watcher

In Alabama over a thousand mine workers have been on strike for over over two hundred days, demanding higher pay and benefits. Nabisco workers recently won their strike after closing all the company’s plants in the US. Kellogs workers are out on strike over pensions, healthcare and more. Hollywood is grinding to a stop over the IATSE strike. All the above labor disputes were voted for by over 98% of the workers concerned. Next Saturday will see a national general strike.

Things are turning at last. We are seeing a seismic shift in public attitudes toward the corporate world, with its pathetic wage structure, benefit cuts, ever demanding work hours and atrocious working conditions. The public is finally becoming aware that too many people are now finding they have to spend more money to work than they actually make in wages and salary.

The current COVID-19 situation is analogous to that pertaining during and after the Black Death of the fourteenth century. Europe’s population dropped by between 30-40%, leading to a chronic shortage of labor. The feudal system, which depended heavily on forcing workers to live and labor all their lives on land owned by the lord of the manor, suddenly faced a surviving population empowered by this shortage of labor and the lack of any effective means of coercing the people to work. 

That’s not to say things will be easy in our modern world. A steady increase in store prices began not long after COVID shut down the economy for several months. The capitalists saw far enough ahead to realize the threat their cozy system faced, and they’re trying to force people back to work through raising prices across the board. All we have to do is stay the course. Without labor, the rich will not get richer. Now is the time to pile on the pressure and force through real change for the better for the 99%. Strike!

BIO: Coast Watcher says it's time to strike while the iron's hot. The workers have been burnt  and the capitalists and their politician puppets have been throwing our human rights into the fire for far too long. Organize your place of work if you're not represented by a union. Don't cross picket lines. Support those workers who are on the picket lines with food, water, money, and your gratitude for their courage. Power to the people!

 

It’s a great time for the entire working class population to go on strike. #GeneralStrike

— DEMEXIT_HARD (@MonroePuzzle) October 11, 2021

Tired of working for the man? You can find a Workers' Co-operative in your area:

https://www.usworker.coop/directory/

 ***

Important Stories You Might Not Have Heard Anything About In The Mainstream Media This Week:

The Science of Propaganda is Still Being Developed and Advanced https://soundcloud.com/going_rogue/the-science-of-propaganda-is-still-being-developed-and-advanced

Julian Assange: Silence in the Face of CIA Murder Plots https://progressivehub.net/julian-assange-silence-in-the-face-of-cia-murder-plots/

 Assange and Donzinger Attacked (video) https://www.portable.tv/series/redactedtonight?v=86fddabd-b3a0-440c-8970-e9f45f48c2c8 

***

 

Osiyo,

Today — Indigenous Peoples Day (IPD) — marks the highlight of the Indigenous year. I hope you will join us as we gather to celebrate, heal, and re-Indigenize. This long weekend represents a reprieve from trauma, sadness, and grief as we travel with good hearts to see close family and distant relatives, celebrate together, and share our cultures. 

As you likely know, many places do not yet celebrate with us. They’re still celebrating Columbus Day, perpetuating the myth that Christopher Columbus discovered so-called America. Columbus arrived on October 12, 1492 on Taino homelands. This first voyage was a reconnaissance mission wherein he later established La Navidad in present-day Haiti — America’s first colony. The following fall, he returned with an invasion force of 17 ships and 1,500 soldiers. He found La Navidad destroyed by Taino People, who had retaliated against rapes and murders carried out by the Spaniards.

Watch: Giniw Collective’s Tara Houska talks about the journey of Indigenous Peoples of these lands historically until the present day.

European weapons (like cannons and muskets), armour, horses, and dogs soon overwhelmed the Indigenous warriors, who were armed only with clubs and spears. Celebrating Columbus, therefore, condones genocide and colonization. Many think of these issues as only existing in the past. But these systems, set in motion hundreds of years ago by Columbus and other conquistadores, continue. All Taino homelands, from Puerto Rico to the Bahamas, remain colonized today — many by the United States. 

To combat the Columbus-as-hero narrative, we’re working to replace Columbus Day with IPD everywhere. Our hope is that more people like you will come together with us, as Indigenous People focus throughout the long weekend on empowerment through solidarity and sharing pathways to action. 

Watch Tara Houska’s Ted Talk. As our skilled Anishinaabe relative points out, many of these struggles are deeply rooted in trauma. But today is about sharing successes within our sustained resistance to colonization. We see ourselves in the faces of our relatives while they reflect on Indigenous sovereignty, land and water rights, education, economic development, language preservation and promotion, and religious freedom. 

Our celebrations feature Indigenous poets, musicians, artists, singers, leaders, and performers from across Turtle Island, who offer their gifts. Everyone who attends an event can actively participate in round dancing and be uplifted by traditional prayers. The overwhelming feelings of celebration and open-heartedness are palpable. This is the chance for settlers and non-Natives to catch us in our most generous mindset. As we come together across nations to actively decolonize and re-Indigenize our communities and share our gifts, I hope you will join a celebration in your area.

Wado — thank you for your ongoing solidarity with our Indigenous nations.
Sarah Rose Harper
Social Media Coordinator
The Lakota People’s Law Project

***

 From Hip Hop Caucus:

Christopher Columbus didn’t just commit genocide against Indigenous people. He also set the precedent of cruelty and massacre which would haunt the American continents for hundreds of years; a precedent that is still active in the present brutality against Indigenous and Black communities.

Ceasing to honor a genocidal maniac won’t bring back the millions of lives lost to white supremacy and violent imperialism- but it will, at the very least, stop giving that maniac state sanctioned respect.

Write your representatives, and tell them that it is time to stop honoring a murderous criminal, and begin uplifting the beautiful contributions Indigenous communities make every single day.

President Biden, this year, has finally acknowledged the holiday which we should never have had to fight for. It’s time to go a step further, and ensure that this holiday is a permanent federal holiday- and that Columbus day is not one.

Tearing down statues and removing inappropriate holidays may seem small to some.

But we know it’s the difference between a society which gleefully uplifts murder, and one which is actively attempting to heal.

For Future Generations,

Rev Yearwood
President & CEO
Hip Hop Caucus

 ***

Stand Up for BIPOC Facing Climate Change Goal: 50,000 Did you know that approximately 74 million people of color live in counties with at least one failing grade for ozone pollution? While climate change is a global issue, centuries of oppression mean that Black people, Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC) face the brunt of it.   In local terms, this oppression manifests as redlining, residential restrictions and unfair zoning laws. Globally, it comes through as economic and environmental discrimination. In the U.S., minority populations are more likely to live near toxic facilities and polluted areas than White communities. Despite making up 13% of the population, minorities in the U.S. are 38% more likely to be exposed to nitrogen oxide, a pollutant from cars, construction equipment and industrial operations.   Climate change isn’t going away soon, for any of us. But as fires, floods and pollution continue to get worse, the numbers show that the playing field isn’t level for BIPOC. Sign our petition today and tell the EPA to enact legislation that limits emissions in minority communities. Sign Today

 

...And I Feel Fine

(It's the End of the World as We Know It)

...And I Feel Fine

by C.A. Matthews

Sometimes it just feels like everyone is on the same page. This is one of those times. Just about every podcast I listened to, every article I read, every Facebook discussion I stumbled upon this week shared the same topic. This has to be the universe telling me--all of us, really--that this is something important.  We're all on the same page, at the same time for a purpose, and we need to cooperate to bring about its fruition.

What is this purpose? Why, it's the end of the world as we know it.

Immediately, the chorus of the R.E.M. song starts playing in your head: "It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine."

https://youtu.be/Z0GFRcFm-aY

You know what? I do.

I feel fine that our world is experiencing a strong paradigm shift. It's about time. Sure, it's sad that hundreds of thousands (if not millions) are dying, have died and will die of a horrible virus during a pandemic, but perhaps these are the only conditions that can shake humankind up enough to admit the old ways have to die so that the entirety of humanity may live.

This harsh new reality is particularly necessary for Americans. We are experts in self-delusion. We love to fool ourselves into thinking that everything will be all right, that we can trust our leaders, that "We are the best country on Earth!" If recent events haven't exposed the man behind the curtain to be an immoral ignoramus of unspeakable proportions, then what will? Our fellow citizens drinking bleach because said ignoramus told the American public during a press conference that pouring U.V. light and disinfectant into your body may cure COVID-19? 

Oops! They already have. This false worship of "Our president, right or wrong!" has got to go before anyone else gets hurt.

But the major un-brainwashing task that Americans, and most Westerners, need to undergo is clinging to the silly notion that somehow capitalism is the superior economic model, and it will eventually save us from our self-destructive ways. If your neighbors hoarding toilet paper and Trump pedaling an ineffective (if not downright deadly) anti-malarial drug he owns stock in to cure the coronavirus doesn't convince you of the evils of capitalism, then nothing will. (But the following song could help.)

 
https://youtu.be/oMG7DW0iHEI

A system that rewards the rich with more material wealth at the expense (and oftentimes the death) of the poor isn't "superior" by a long shot. In fact, it's nothing but pure bullshit. 

It's time to break out of this abusive relationship with capitalism and finally admit it: Capitalism never really loved We the People in the first place. It doesn't care whether we live or die so long as we keep buying worthless crap and making the billionaires muchos buckolas forever. It has always been about protecting the select few, the elites of our society. It was never about us.

Sure, "a rising tide carries all boats," but when the tsunami of a pandemic hits, it becomes more than obvious that the "tide" of capitalism is capsizing and sinking the vast majority of us "boats." How else do you explain 17 million unemployed Americans, many with no way to afford medical treatment during a time of mass illness?

The rising tide of capitalism has always been about how the rich will float above the rest of us in their luxury yachts while we simply drown. It's time to blow the f*cking yachts of the elite out of the water so we can all enjoy a swim, free and open to all and not just the so-called privileged classes, don't you think?

Once the true ugliness of our corrupt economic system and the elitist-driven government whose immoral practices it upholds are exposed, the true healing of the Earth and all its people can begin. In fact, many environmental experts claim that it is impossible under capitalism to maintain and provide a healthy planet for human beings and other lifeforms. A system that allows Big Oil companies to continue to frack, drill, pollute and suck the life's blood from the planet (while the price of a barrel of crude oil crashes to less than $0)
demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that capitalism is more about death and profiteering than life and building a future for all to thrive in.

It's time. Let's allow capitalism and fascism to die now so we can get on with truly living and not simply surviving. 

I'll feel fine watching the bonfire of MAGA caps go up in flames as we burn the whole sick and twisted motherf*cker to the ground. Pass the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers... It's going to be one hell of a conflagration. And then we'll all feel fine.

 

Planet of the Humans is a great documentary that clearly shows how capitalism is killing our planet (and us along with it). It's now available free online at You Tube and is a must see. Clear a couple of hours from your schedule so you can watch it uninterrupted, and I promise it will open your eyes. (Be sure to have a tissue for the last scene. It'll have you in tears.) https://youtu.be/Zk11vI-7czE

Related links to check out:

How To Start A Successful Strike During Crisis
https://youtu.be/Y3UeVTxZHC8

Pandemic is Not Just a Crisis, It's a Gift
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/23/lee-camp-pandemic-is-not-just-a-crisis-its-also-a-gift/?mc_cid=05feff046f&mc_eid=f9a8f47491 

Trump Goes Peak Batshit Crazy Urging UV Irradiation and Chlorine Injections and Cable TV Greedily Broadcasts It
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/62580-focus-trump-goes-peak-batshit-crazy-urging-uv-irradiation-and-chlorine-injections-and-cable-tv-greedily-broadcasts-it

Trump Suggests Injecting Disinfectant as Coronavirus Cure (video)
https://youtu.be/zicGxU5MfwE

The End of An Empire (video)
https://youtu.be/-zfbrMPe63o 

UHM Coronavirus Update (video)
https://youtu.be/v7HIaqorIeE 

In-depth interview with Chris Hedges (from The Jimmy Dore Show)
https://youtu.be/zpa7GR-EyF0 

***

Make no mistake-- we are living in unprecedented times. Millions of Americans have filed for unemployment. Students and teachers are struggling to continue the school year online. Cities across the country are sheltering in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. Families are wondering where their next meal will come from. Some don’t have a place to call home. Many of you know someone who has been affected by Coronavirus and are concerned about your own health. 

The bottom line is: people are hurting. And the last thing we need to worry about is making rent.
 
That’s why we’re calling for a national rent strike. Covid-19 has made it clear that “business as usual” is far from what we need going forward. This pandemic has shed a light on this country’s many failings-- from racial disparities, to inadequate access to healthcare, wage inequality, unprotected rights for workers, and unaffordable housing. It’s time to be bold and fight for real, long-lasting change.

Take the pledge now

Whether you can afford your rent/mortgage payment this month or not, take the pledge to withhold your payment on May 1st. Many cities across the country have eviction moratoriums in place, but that is not enough. Families and individuals living paycheck to paycheck will not be able to afford months of owed rent when the moratoriums are lifted, which is why experts are predicting an even worse housing crisis post-pandemic. 

We need to act now. Housing and advocacy organizations including ACRE are coming together to help organize the biggest rent strike in recent history. Nearly a third of Americans didn’t pay rent on April 1st, and the numbers are only expected to climb once rent is due again in May. Take the pledge and join the next wave of rent strikers.
 

Join the rent strike

The time to take a stand is now. Over the next few days, we’ll be collecting stories from local rent strike leaders, zip codes from all who are striking or planning to strike, and resources from housing organizations and experts. It will all be compiled in a centralized location for easy access and to show our elected officials, corporate landlords, and big banks, that the strength in our collective struggle is greater than the sum of its parts. 

In solidarity always,

Maurice BP-Weeks and the ACRE team

PS - We rely on you to produce our ground-breaking reports that help inform movements on the ground. Want us to continue to hold Wall Street and big banks accountable? Please donate and join the fight! 

***

The United States is facing a massive public health crisis. As states respond to the shortages, strained budgets, and discordant responses in providing care to their constituents, national priorities demonstrate a lack of understanding of what Americans really need.

It’s time to rethink our national priorities and prepare for real threats like pandemics. One way to do this is divert the billions of dollars that are currently fueling the nuclear arms race.

Will you write a Letter to the Editor calling on the U.S. to shift its priorities?

Instead of building up our dangerous nuclear arsenal — which only puts the world more at risk — we need true leaders who will focus on healthcare, education, infrastructure, and other life-affirming services.

In 2019, the United States spent $35.1 billion on nuclear weapons. Imagine that money being redirected to the COVID-19 response or preparedness. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, one year of U.S. nuclear weapons spending would pay for 300,000 beds in intensive care units, 35,000 ventilators, and the salaries of 150,000 U.S. nurses and 75,000 U.S. doctors.

Write a Letter to the Editor

We cannot go back to business as usual after the pandemic. This crisis has proven what we’ve been saying all along — the system is unsustainable and we need to shift our priorities.

In solidarity,
Colleen and the Beyond the Bomb team

***

As an Iranian-American, I worry every day about my family and the people of Iran. Will you help call on Congress to pressure Trump? Already, there is a lot of momentum. Senators Feinstein, Sanders, and Warren, and Reps Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Omar and others have raised their voices. Now is the moment to escalate. Please act.

Between the sanctions and the pandemic, there is a medical catastrophe in Iran. As an Iranian-American, I worry every day about my family and the people of Iran. My two nieces are doctors in Iran and they tell me that many health workers in the Iranian hospitals lack personal protection equipment. Medicine is scarce, there is a shortage of disposable parts such as ventilator tubes, and the ventilators are overused and breaking down. Medical equipment cannot be replaced and ventilator parts and connectors cannot be bought due to the sanctions. There have been some international donations, but these donations are not nearly enough because Iran has a population of 83 million, and is the most affected country in the Middle East. 

That’s why we MUST call for an end to U.S. sanctions.

Before COVID-19, sanctions were already hurting the most vulnerable Iranians—the poor, the sick, the marginalized. Take cancer medication, for example. The chemo medicines that are available in hospitals are low quality and the side effects, like nausea, are extreme. I know this only too well because I lost my sister to cancer. Her children had to buy chemo meds on the black market and carry them in iceboxes to the hospital for their mother. These medicines are extremely expensive, which means that many people are not even able to buy them on the black market.

I think that my sister’s cancer, like thousands of Iranians, was also related to the sanctions. The rate of cancer in Iran has increased significantly, mainly because Iranians are breathing air that has ten to eight hundred times more toxins than the international standard. That is because the sanctions have prevented the Iranian state from sending crude oil to be refined outside. As a result, the state has created home-grown technologies that produce extremely poor quality gasoline. 

Now, the sanctions are killing the Iranian people even faster, because of the Corona pandemic. Tell your Senators and Representative in Congress to join the growing voices — including Dianne Feinstein, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar — demanding U.S. sanctions on Iran be lifted. 

Even though the Trump administration claims that medicine and medical equipment are exempt from the sanctions, in reality most pharmaceutical companies, as well as banks, insurance companies, and shipping companies, do not do business with Iran because they fear penalization by the U.S. 

From the need for cleaner air and cancer medicines to the COVID-19 pandemic, sanctions on Iran MUST be lifted. Contact Congress right now and tell them to add their voices to this urgent call. 

The sanctions are not helping the Iranian people’s legitimate protests against austerity measures and the rise in gas prices. If anything, they hurt the social movements and set their achievements back. The sanctions are war by another name. During war, the state deploys the rhetoric of national security to accuse protesters of collusion with the U.S. The Iranian people are caught between the appropriation of the Iranian protests by the opportunistic U.S. hawks and opposition groups such as MEK, and the Iranian state’s crackdown of the protests in the name of national security. The U.S. claims that the sanctions help the Iranian people’s freedom is paradoxical at best. How can the U.S. promote rights and democratization in Iran while depriving the Iranian people of the basic right to food and life-saving medicine? And how can one advocate for human rights but be in favor of sanctions during a pandemic? 

Iran is certainly no model of democracy, but then neither is the United States. During this pandemic, we see more clearly than before how race and class determine who is most exposed to the virus and who has access to affordable healthcare. The level of houselessness, mass incarceration (the U.S. has 5% of the world population and 25% of world’s prisoner population), the ICE detention centers,  the historic and present-day violence against indigenous peoples, police violence against black communities, and lack of universal healthcare are all reasons why the U.S. is not in the position to impose sanctions on other states for the violation of human rights. Historically, the U.S. is the only country that has dropped nuclear bombs, and its ally Israel has never signed the non-proliferation treaty. Yet, the U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran based on the claim that the Iranian state is developing nuclear weapons. We saw that this claim was false in the case of Iraq. The sanctions in Iraq killed more than 500,000 Iraqis. Now the Iranian people (and not the state) are paying with their lives for the unjust U.S. sanctions. 

Right now, the moral issue is clear: Sanctions and the coronavirus are killing the Iranian people. We must urge Congress to speak out and pressure the Trump administration to lift the sanctions. Ending sanctions will not only help Iranians get jobs, open businesses, have access to food, clean water, clean air, and life-saving medicine, but it will open more space for civil society movements — women’s movement, student movement, labor movement, environmental justice movement — to push for the changes they want to see. You can help them achieve their goals by asking your representatives to lift the deadly sanctions on Iran.

Towards peace and health in Iran, Sima Shakhsari, Assistant Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota