SHELL OIL AGREES TO PAY MILLIONS TO RELATIVES OF MURDERED NIGERIAN WRITER

I posted about this and I have stayed on top of it. (I'm a writer and activist that has had threats of violence made against me and my family and there has been one attempt on my life to date) 15.5 million will be paid to the family of Ken Saro-Wiwa in an out of court settlement. It is a victory, as people will be compensated for a loved one's death. However, it would have been far better had the trial resulted in a judgement against Royal Dutch Shell, as State/Corporate sponsored terrorism has been practiced by Western Corporations for hundreds of years. Ford Motors is a good example. Below are some excerpts, read the story in entirety here.

Nigeria victims hail $15.5 mln Shell payout

Victims of murder, torture and other abuses by Nigeria's former military government on Tuesday hailed a landmark out-of-court settlement with Royal Dutch Shell over its alleged complicity in the crimes.
Shell agreed on Monday in New York to pay out 15.5 million dollars (10.7 million euros) to relatives of Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others executed in 1995 in what plaintiffs said was a campaign of repression backed by the oil giant.
The settlement brings to an end a long battle by the Nigerian victims and means that Shell avoids a potentially embarrassing court case while having to accept no actual wrongdoing.
Saro-Wiwa had led a non-violent campaign to protest environmental destruction and abuses against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta before he was hanged along with other activists after his trial in a military court.

"We welcome the 15.5 million dollars compensation for the illegal killings of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other eight Ogoni leaders," Bariara Kpalap, spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), told AFP.

But Kpalap insisted Shell must still address the issue of environmental pollution and change the way it does business in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where farmers and fishermen are being driven off.

Again, I am thankful for the family being compensated, but capitalism is not working, and American corporations are responsible for this reprehensible activity, and they must be confronted and the demons of the past, such as slavery and unbridled capitalism, must be exorcised for the United States to move forward.

Peace, Searchers...Onward!

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TERROR IN THE HEARTLAND,MURDER IN CHURCH, THIS IS NO TIME TO CUT MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING

I have spent a lot of time in church. I grew up in the Catholic Church, I was confirmed, (John, in case you're wondering,) and after I left the Catholic Church at 15, I started attending again at age 20, but I got into Evangelical religion, specifically the charismatic/pentecostal movement... I became quite passionate about religion, and I began to minister in churches in Northeast Arkansas. I used to attend a church in a little town called Pocahontas, (true story) and I ministered occasionally on Wednesdays, and sometimes on Sunday nights. I also ministered in Walnut Ridge, AR, at Sister Becky's church, I guess that's where I "got my start." We had pieces of plywood covering the holes in the floor of this dilapidated shack owned by another preacher that charged an absolutely outrageous price for this dump, somewhere around $500 a month(extortion!).

So, I was thinking about the times that I have been on the platform, speaking, disseminating the knowledge that I had, the points that I had studied in the scriptures, points that I had spent agonizing hours of prayer and fasting to ensure I was tuned in...

The point is, at no time did I ever think my own life could have been in danger as a result of my personal beliefs. (Believe me, at the end of my preaching run, I was beginning to focus solely on reform in the church I attended and almost no one was interested in that.)

Again, at no time was I ever concerned about some whacko stepping into the church and open firing because of my personal beliefs, my politics, etc...hell I preached on January 15, 1991 the day my precious daughter was born, and the day the U.N. prepared the way for the invasion of Iraq the first time, which began just a few short hours later-shout out to my precious New Year Baby! I also had a key my pastor, Bro. Grey gave me, and I made it a habit to go to the church an hour or so before work to meditate and gather my thoughts for the day.

Which is why I find it so disturbing that this doctor, Dr. George Tiller was gunned down in church, where he served as a deacon, and as I understand it, his wife was in the choir at the time of his murder.

I have been involved with Fundamentalist Christianity for more than 20 years. I can say decisively, that although most will not admit it publicly, most will say this "baby killer" this "murderer" got exactly what he deserved.

This is not the first time a right wing terrorist invaded a church (remember Jim Adkisson, Knoxville TN? My family and I lived in Knoxville, he said he did it to kill liberals) and it will not be the last. We will see a trend. The "Christians" (in truth the "Anti-Christians") have gone nuts, and they celebrate killing in the name of God.

This is what concerns me most about the right wing and the Republican Party: they will kill if necessary, and they will do it in the name of God. Does anyone else see a connection between Islamic extremism and Right Wing, Republican extremism? I know you do.

The right wing and the Republican Party are completely responsible for this man's murder, this act of terror. They kill and hate and murder in the name of God, and they are too fucking lazy to get off their asses and approach the legal practice of abortion legally, and make changes to the law.

Let me reiterate and expand: The right wing, Fundamentalist Christianity, and the Republican Party are absolutely responsible for this man's murder.
It is time for systemic change in the United States.

Peace-

REPOST FROM SHANNYN MOORE, ALASKA BLOGGER

Great post-had to repost it from Shannyn Moore:


While Alaska endures a Constitutional Crisis, Governor Sarah Palin is working with a “suspended campaign”. Our Governor spent today in New York. She was asked about her support of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, who now finds himself in a Washington DC federal courtroom defending a seven count indictment. She blew off the question saying, “Ted Steven’s trial started a couple days ago…we’ll see where that goes.” I wasn’t surprised she squirmed out of that question. She has been cozy with Stevens when it has served her political agenda, even headed up his 527 organization . With her new public persona of being a “Good Ole Boy” crusher, she is in a quandary.

She was asked another question and Americans ought to pay attention to her answer. Palin was asked if she thought the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan was helping to mitigate terrorism. “I think our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan will lead to further security of our nation. Again, because the mission is to keep the fight over there. Do not let them come over here and attempt again what they accomplished here and that was some destruction. Terrible destruction. On that day. But, since September 11th, Americans uniting and rebuilding and committing to never let that happen again.”


Why would Sarah Palin link the current occupations to September 11th? Does she not know? Even George W. Bush has stated Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the attacks on that day. The hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, and The United Arab Emirates.

It was neither Iraqi nor Afghani Citizens who crashed into our soil, our buildings, and our history. She should know this. Do you think it was a slip?


At her son’s Fort Wainwright deployment ceremony, the Governor also linked the Iraq war to the attacks of September 11, 2001. She told the Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the deaths of thousands of Americans.” She continued, “America can never go back to that false sense of security that came before September 11, 2001.” One could argue that ‘the false sense of security’ is repeating the Neocon idea that killing people in a different country makes you safer. One could also argue that breaking the backbone of the Constitution in exchange for “security” is a false sense of patriotism.


Palin highlighted her “trip of a lifetime” to Iraq in the Charlie Gibson interview to exhibit her foreign knowledge and experience. Maybe if she would have actually gone to Iraq, and not the border crossing on the Kuwait side, she could have discovered these facts. The chest pounding, not blinking, gut checking, fact ignoring policy results in a lack of “exit strategies” for the devastating wars, the economic crisis and the emerging environmental catastrophe.


For her to reference a link between 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is either deliberately disingenuous or completely and unabashedly ignorant. America has endured eight years of the Bush Administration who have intentionally and continually misled the American people to believe this relationship exists. It has cost us dearly; some more than others.


Sarah Palin may not know what the Bush Doctrine is, but she sure understands the Bush Philosophy.