Silenced Majority Portal

LA: SkullPhone

Skullphone logo slideshow
SkullPhone MySpace page
SkullPhone Flikr
SkullPhone GridSkiller
SkullPhone SuperTouch

Last Thursday, 18 year old graffiti artist Skullphone hacked into 10 of ClearChannel's digital billboards in Hollwood, Culver City, and elsewhere around LA, putting up his logo in between the more normal ads.

UPDATE:
Now someone tells me these weren't hacked but paid ads - only up for a couple of days. See comment below .. oh well

The Irony of Silence: Silence at Union Station; Fallon Silenced

This was in commemoration of the five year anniversary of the Iraq War and came from Karen Bradley in Washington DC. There is not only silence but a complete suspension of animation - very effective. This should be replicated in many other settings.

Speaking of SILENCE, General Fallon is being silenced today.

The Pentagon has decided not to allow the outgoing Commander of the U.S. Central Command, who was responsible for the overall military strategy and actions in the Middle East, to testify before Congress. See article below for details. This is a time of critical foreign policy decision making and the American public needs to have testimony under oath from Admiral Fallon. News reports indicate Admiral Fallon left due to disputes with the White House over whether a military attack on Iran should be pursued.

The U.S. should not move toward a military attack on Iran without public discourse on the subject. These should include congressional hearings where people like Admiral Fallon testify under oath about whether opening a third front of combat makes sense at a time when things are going so poorly in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

1. Forward this to people you know. 2. Contact the Pentagon; tell them that they should let Admiral Fallon testify. 3. Contact Congress and tell them to subpoena the testimony of Admiral Fallon. They have the power to require Admiral Fallon to testify. This is a critical juncture for U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. is already fighting a two-front war - and failing on both fronts - and should not be adding a third front in Iran. DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

Pentagon will not send Adm. Fallon to Congress on Iraq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adm. William Fallon, who is resigning after a magazine reported he was challenging the White House over Iran, will not appear beforeCongress to discuss the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Friday. Only Gen. David Petraeus, top U.S. officer in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will go to Capitol Hill in April to update lawmakers on the war, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

"I know there have been requests in fact from members of Congress to have Admiral Fallon testify with Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker and I can tell you Admiral Fallon will not be testifying," Morrell said. Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command headquarters responsible for the Middle East, said earlier this month that he would quit after Esquire magazine described him as urging President Bush to avoid war with Iran. He will hand responsibility to his deputy by the end of March but will remain an active-duty four-star officer.

Petraeus and Crocker are expected to testify to Congress in early April, offering lawmakers their first update on the war since the two went to Capitol Hill inSeptember. "The process that we used last time worked quite well and we're going to stick with that again this time," Morrell said. Morrell pinned the decision against Fallon's testimony to his resignation, saying Fallon would no longer be acting Central Command commander. Asked if the Pentagon was concerned that lawmakers would use Fallon's appearance to ask questions about Iran, Morrell said, no. Source: Reuters North American News Service

Teaching Empathy: Dalai Lama Coming to Seattle

I am going to the Seeds of Compassion website today to see if I can sign up for some Dalai Lama events. I'm hoping he'll show up, given that China is calling him a "monster with a human face," given the uptick in the Tibetan liberation movement.

He is to come to Seattle for five days next month, with a focus on compassion - at home, in school and in the community. There are events for children, parents, teachers and therapists. On Saturday there will be a city-wide rally and on Sunday, youth from all over the state will gather to show "What Compassion Looks Like." Parent Map had a substantial article on it and I happened to pick it up in the lobby of the hospital where I work. As a follower of Kwan Yin, Goddess of Compassion, I had to take a look when I say the title, "Teaching Empathy: Seattle Launches a Compassion Movement." Seattle Times did a front-pager on it yesterday. This event will also be broadcast globally via the Internet in 24 languages.

The classroom program is called Roots of Empathy and has an 11 year track record of reducing aggression and increasing empathy in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is being used here in 10 different schools. Every three weeks during the school year, a baby and parent visit the classroom (kindergarten to eighth grade) with a Roots of Empathy instructor. The children learn about the baby’s development and milestones. They ask questions. They follow the baby's progress. As they become engaged, they can talk about "their" baby for hours. The babies break down barriers. The children lose their self consciousness when the baby visits. The baby comes right down onto the floor. They may give it a bath. The children learn to hold it carefully, and gender distinctions melt away.

Love is the key. Children become protective of the baby, and of each other. It's the Golden Rule in Christianity and they put it into practice as they develop empathy. They refuse to allow others to be mistreated. They become able to talk about how they're feeling. The focus is EMPATHY rather than honesty or forgiveness. Empathy is the antidote for bullying, which plagues schools. National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) called bullying a “public health problem.” In their study, as much as 85% of the time, when bullying occurs, other students are standing around watching. Centers for Disease Control found that each day, as many as 160,000 children stay home from school because they’re afraid of being bullied. Other studies show that 50% of children aren't ready for Kindergarten and what is holding them back is social incompetence. University of Chicago researchers analyzed 300 research studies and found that 50% of academic success depends on social/emotional literacy, the other 50% on intelligence.

Andrew Meltzoff at University of Washington believes empathy is hard-wired in infants, to some degree, as when they imitate (such as tongue protrusion.) He told Parent Map, “We believe that when infants imitate, they are becoming ‘like the other person’ in action, with simple body movements,” Meltzoff tells ParentMap. “Later that can flower into empathy, which is the ability to become like the other person in emotion and perspective.”

Studies on the effectiveness of the Roots of Empathy program have shown a positive outcome. The "Seeds of Compassion" group visualizes a nationwide paradigm shift, a movement. They intend to literally "spread love." Listening Mothers teaches parents to tune into their babies' emotional needs. Seeds of Compassion will stimulate growth of similar groups and programs to nurture compassion in children. The local group will meet with the Dalai Lama again in one year, when visits again, and report on improvements in education, parenting, child care and legislation.

The current Dalai Lama’s name is Tenzin Gyatso. He is the 14th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama ever to travel to the west. He promotes nonviolent struggle following China's invasion of Tibet in 1950 and in 1989, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and a Congressional Gold Medal last year. He has written more than a dozen books on compassion and kindness. President Bush gave out the Congressional Gold Medal last year, a seeming irony.

Last week I wrote about various measure of happiness. I can vouch for some of the research studies at least anecdotally just from the population I have see clinically and alot of my after-school work is teaching social skills and interaction. I also did a Post-Doc in the lab of Kuhl and Meltzoff. I was also a victim of bullying as a child, and have worked to heal and balance ever since. I've worn a solid gold Kwan Yin for fifteen years, since visiting Thailand. As a mother, I did not allow videos or toys of aggression and there were already some programs in the schools for my son, to reduce aggression. I saw the Dalai Lama in 1979 when he visited the University of Washington, Kane Hall, and the event was disrupted by Maoists. I am thrilled to be able to participate (if I can still get into a program.)

Dalai Lama site
Roots of Empathy
Seeds of Compassion
Kirlin Charitable Foundation
Listening Mothers
ILabs/Meltzoff
Talaris Research Institute
US Dept of Health & Human Services site on bullying
Casel

Books
Roots of Empathy by Mary Gordon
The Mindful Brain by Daniel Siegel
Parenting from the Inside Out by Daniel Siegel and Mary Hartzell
Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Jon Kabat-Zinn and
Myla Kabat-Zinn
Building Moral Intelligence by Michele Borba
Teaching Empathy: A Blueprint for Caring, Compassion, and Community by David A. Levine

Cross-posted at Democracy Cell Project

4000

4000

Barney Frank To Introduce Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill

I'm not in love with the timing, since, if the election goes right, this would probably pass next year, and not roil up the election by throwing this into the mix, but I'll take what I can get, when I can get it at this point.

Frank is calling it:

"The Make Room For Serious Criminals Bill" 

Frank discusses it on Bill Maher's show last Friday night at the 3:15 mark here:

The war in Iraq is 4 times better than in 2003

According to the NY Times:

The three broadcast networks’ nightly newscasts devoted more than 4,100 minutes to Iraq in 2003 and 3,000 in 2004, before leveling off at about 2,000 a year, according to Andrew Tyndall, who monitors the broadcasts and posts detailed breakdowns at tyndallreport.com. And by the last months of 2007, he said, the broadcasts were spending half as much time on Iraq as earlier in the year.

That's right. The news is only devoting one fourth the coverage to Iraq that it was back in 2003. And that is one reason that the public believes that the conditions are improving in Iraq. According to newspaper accounts, US deaths have dropped, but Iraqis continue to die at alarming rates.

Of course, Americans can assuage themselves by buying into the lie that the "surge" has resulted in decreased violence. While it's true that there were fewer deaths in January (20 deaths a day due to political violence), there were increases in February (29 deaths a day) and March (39 deaths a day). While Dick Cheney was spinning his rosy view of the war during his unannounced visit to Iraq earlier this week, one of the deadliest days ever was unfolding in Karbala, where a suicide bombing killed 50 people and injured dozens more. The so-called "surge" is going in the opposite direction of what the administration wants you to believe.

Of course, it's easy for Americans to look casually at war. We've never had a war on our own soil. We've not been displaced. We've not had a first-hand look at the violence of war and the innocent lives lost for the missteps our leaders take. We don't worry about going to the market to buy food and perhaps dying in a roadside bombing. Yes, we look at images on a television, but we really only see what the perpetrators want us to see and we can turn it off any time we want. American culture glorifies and romanticizes war. It rarely focuses on its destructive effects. And while our president referred to the 9-11 terrorists attacks as being "at war," what happened in New York City on September 11, 2001 pales in comparison to what has been going on in Iraq for the past five years.

My feeling about the continued occupation of Iraq cannot be put into words better than conveyed by the song "Is it for freedom?" by Sarah Thompsen.

Listen to the poignant song below:

Lawrence of Arrhythmia goes to Israel / (Bonus) Pope Video in Italian

Want the videos bigger? Pump 'em up on your screen.

Donations / Myths / Endorsements

Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of President Richard Nixon gave $2,000 to Obama last month. Endorsement also from Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel under Reagan and the senior Bush, since Romney has bailed and McCain is deemed unacceptable - this has potential to bring in Reaganite Catholics into the big fold needed to defeat the venerable McCain. By the way, I was just reading on Talking Points Memo that Soros was approached by Governor Ed Rendell about financing a Michigan revote and he Soros didn't bite. It occurs to me that a mythical struggle is going on. It's the last of the Old Guard, the POW and war hero - the last bastion of the white male - a "maverick" yet mainstream. It's the feminist fighting the glass ceiling - the seasoned woman for all seasons - doesn't bake enough cookies yet didn't really face sniper fire - she represents the double bind for women. It's the "melting pot" - the new agent of change - coming from more than one race, more than one continent - not being able to pull from the past as much but with one hand in the future - representing those who are to come. Everything that is thrown at him actually ends up reinforcing the myth of what he represents, because the future is with the "melting pot" and change - it can happen now or it can happen later, but happen it will!

Speaking of philanthropists, I just received this at 6:52 PM Pacific Standard Time on Easter (see also Pittsburgh Post Gazette) and I got it from "family" (since I worked my butt off for Kerry in 2004). Slugbug

It's Pennsylvania's turn - vote for Obama - Barack Obama understands working families, offers realistic proposals to help them and has the vision to re-inspire America, says philanthropist TERESA HEINZ Teresa Heinz is the chairman of the Heinz Family Philanthropies Heinzfamily.org.

Election days are always special to me. I grew up in a land where there were no election days. The Mozambique of my childhood was governed by a right-wing dictatorship in far-away Portugal. My father, a wise and good man, was 71 years old when he voted for the first time. I never cast a ballot until I became a citizen of the United States. But when I did, it was for a young man who spent years teaching me about the needs of Pennsylvania's working families and the good our government can do for them -- my late husband, Sen. John Heinz. He helped me learn how precious a right suffrage is -- as a weapon against tyranny; as an instrument of hope, progress and change. That is why, this year, I will cast my vote in the April 22 Pennsylvania primary for Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Pennsylvania needs a president like Barack Obama, someone who understands the tough times Pennsylvanians are facing. Raised with much love but in challenging circumstances by a single mom and grandparents, he knows firsthand the stress and financial pressures families face. When he beat the odds and put himself through college, he could have made good money with a big-name law firm anywhere in the country, but he chose the gritty streets of Chicago's South Side where, as a community organizer, he worked helping families like his build better lives. Mr. Obama's work taught him what happens to families and communities when factories shut down and jobs go overseas. He knows firsthand the devastation and despair the global economy can bring -- and how important hope is in overcoming setbacks and getting lives and neighborhoods back on track.

But there's more to Mr. Obama than hope. There's a practical approach to economic recovery. It starts with a tax cut of up to $1,000 -- for middle-class families, not for millionaires. And Mr. Obama believes that there can be no "free" trade without fair trade. He's committed to fixing NAFTA, so that it works for American workers. For those whose jobs are threatened by foreign trade, Mr. Obama supports reforms to the Trade Adjustment Assistance program so that workers can be retrained before they lose their jobs. Mr. Obama's health-care plan will cover every child in America, and help families afford the same kind of insurance he and I both have, by giving them access to the same plan that covers Congress. He'll simplify paperwork and ensure no family can be turned down, regardless of pre-existing conditions. As I saw in Sen. Heinz, and as I see in my husband, Sen. John Kerry, a personal connection to working families drives Mr. Obama in his passion to get working Americans and seniors access to affordable insurance.

But Mr. Obama wants more; he wants the United States to win the race to the next economic era by increasing federal investment in research and development, in education and training and workforce development so we can pioneer the green technologies that will lessen our dependence on foreign oil, slow global warming and create not only high-tech, high-wage jobs but also all the good jobs that follow.
Mr. Obama's background and passion make him the right choice for all of us worried about bringing a broader prosperity back to Western Pennsylvania; he will lead a surge of voters next November and then build coalitions across party lines to put people back to work. When I think of the problems facing working mothers waiting tables or stocking shelves in Pittsburgh, I think of how much we need a president who can unite us across race and region to fight for economic security for these women and their families.

I am also eager for a leader who will keep our homeland secure while upholding the high ideals on which this country was founded. After eight years of a president who twisted evidence and manipulated our fears to goad this nation into an unnecessary war, and a vice president who seems never to have read the Constitution; after seeing our moral authority blurred by torture, rendition and Abu Ghraib, I am excited about a candidate who knows that we can safeguard our security and still preserve our civil liberties.
In Sen. Barack Obama I see not just a president but a transformative leader, a candidate with a unique gift. He is a man who has drawn the disinterested and dispirited into his campaign, challenging them to become bigger than themselves.

Pennsylvania needs a president who knows that our hopes, not our fears, make America strong. And above all, we need a president who will give us our optimism back, who believes in us enough to ask us to do our part, to sacrifice and to dream together. Barack Obama will be that president. I believe he stands apart from others not just as a capable politician, but as an American of true vision. Thousands of Pennsylvanians, tired of the divisive politics, have already switched registration so they can vote for change and for hope -- for Barack Obama. At a moment when so much needs to be done, Mr. Obama's ability to bring us together, to inspire us and challenge us makes him uniquely qualified to hold the most powerful office in the world.

In the bicentennial year of 1976, Pennsylvania took a chance on a smart, hard-working and optimistic young congressman named John Heinz and made him their senator. They made a wise choice. He worked across the aisle to tackle the tough problems of the 1970s and 1980s -- saving Social Security, reforming nursing home care, demanding fair trade, offering new solutions to environmental problems. He proved that, when you love people and put their interest ahead of politics you can make a real difference. That is the spirit I see in Barack Obama and why I look forward to voting to make him our 44th president. The "audacity of hope" means a vote for change. Vote for Barack.

Easter: Thinking of Mexico

Mexico is largely Catholic and some of the churches date back to the 1500s. The indigenous people (Mayan, Aztec etc) had their own advanced civilization and complex religion. These had to be mixed in with the Catholicism of the conquering Spanish, with a quite different result than seen elsewhere.

I love the sound of the church bells. I am not Catholic but am attracted to the luxe design as compared with the pared-down influence of the Protestant Reformation. What I've seen in Mexico on various trips easily compares to Europe for antiquity and beauty. The iconography is very female, with the brown Virgin of Guadaloupe and the general ambiance.

In Guadalajara, the body of the little Virgin who was shipped from Rome can be seen, with her mummified fingers and toes. Her image is on the altar of some other churches in the city, though she is in the main Cathedral which is a centerpiece for the old part of the city. One of the old churches in Park San Francisco has her image and the walls there are gilded in the baroque style.

Religious sculptures and christening dresses and bridal gowns and elaborate dresses are sold in shops downtown in Guadalajara.

In nearby Zapopan is the image of the Corn Virgin, who is the subject of a "milagro" (miracle) involving conversion of the indigenous people there. She travels to another Basilica for part of the year and when she returns, people crawl on their hands and knees, hundreds of thousands of them, to greet her.

The same church houses a museum which has alot of noncritically-presented material on the Huichol people and their peyote religion, including a gift shop.

It also has an educational display in the foyer, cautioning against abortion. I've seen whole churches painted with stories, for those not literate, in other parts of Mexico.

The small sub-chapels with child saints and so on also seem to serve as grief counselling and consolation for those mourning the death of children. Thousands of notes are left and little offerings of toys.

Semana Santa and Pascua comprise the Easter celebrations in Mexico. Semana Santa stands for the whole of the Holy Week - Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday and the Pascua is observed from Resurrection Sunday to the following Saturday. Schools are closed for a full two weeks.

Plays related with events of Christ's life are enacted, sometimes with real crucifixion. All these enactments are professionally done and participants prepare for their roles in these Passion Plays for almost a full year.

Another custom is Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, a procession in which an actor portraying Christ bears a cross down a street. (We have seen this done in Belize, on another trip.)

Tarahumara Indians, in the mountains of Chihuahua paint themselves white during Holy Week. In some cities there is a Procesión de Silencio, a silent procession, and people march down the street by candlelight, in silence. This tradition comes from Seville, in Spain.

On Palm Sunday, palms are sold all over Mexico and they are hung on doors of homes to ward off Evil. When dry, they are burned, and the smoke carries the prayers of the household to the sky.

Young couples knock on the doors of their neighbors and ask, "Is the Virgin of Grief weeping here?" If so, they come into the home and drink a cup of water, representing tears in front of an "altar of fire" with a picture of Mary, candles, pine branches and seeds.

On Maundy Thursday in Guadalajara, people still visit seven churches (symbolizing Jesus' visits before he was crucified). On this day, church bells are not rung but people are called to mass by a whack of wooden clappers called matracas.

A Judas effigy filled with firecrackers takes place on Holy Saturday (now outlawed in Guadalajara after a massive explosion caused fatalities) and this can represent controversial political figures and other sources of public derision.

In Mexico, missionaries let the people go on worshipping their gods as long as they gave them Saint names.

The same happened when Germanic tribes were converted. Pagan rites were fused with Christian ones such that the word "Easter" comes from the name of a Teutonic goddess, and rabbits, lambs, chicks and eggs all come from the pagan tradition of rebirth.

Easter in Mexico is modernizing, with NAFTA, but it is still much less a time of egg hunting or eating of chocolate bunnies.

Slugbug

"Organized religion gives me the creeps."--Stephen King

The Music Analogy: White vs Black Patriotism

Terry Moran of Nightline said "Is there a difference between black patriotism and white patriotism?"

OBAMA: The African-American community is much more familiar with some of the darker aspects of American life and American history. I think that they understand America much less as a marching band playing, you know, John Philip Sousa. They understand America much more as a jazz composition with blue notes, and I think those are different things. And so the African-American community can express great rage and anger about this country and love it all the same.

This analogy is brilliant and shows the cultural divide in a way that drives the point home on multiple levels. That said, I never did care much for marching bands.

Check out a John Philips Souza piece called Stars and Stripes Forever:

And here is a video called Jammin the Blues with Lester Young and others.