Satyagraha: Non-Violent Resistance and the Search for Truth

September 11, 1906.
Mahatma Gandhi speaks to 3000 Indians in Johannesburg, South Africa. Gandhi would later recognize the significance, stating; " The principle called Satyagraha came into being before that name was invented. Indeed when it was born, I myself could not say what it was."
This day was the conception of a powerful new idea.
Non-violent resistance would soon be employed to free 300 million Indians from British colonial rule and give hope to millions of repressed peoples around the world. Satyagraha would later be used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to confront segregation in America and by Nelson Mandela in his struggle to end apartheid in South Africa.
In searching for the truth behind his own subjugation, Gandhi had found a way to use his suffering against his enemies. The process of loving one's enemy can be a difficult and profound exercise in understanding one's own true motivations. Through suffering and non-violent resistance a person may not find the truth they seek, but through war, one can only cloud the truth and forge hatred betwixt peoples and nations.
Further advances of non-violent resistance continue to change the policies and practices of governments everywhere, except in the United States. For the first time in American history, non-violent protests preempted a war. Unlike the Vietnam conflict which raged for nearly 6 years before peace movements gained traction, non-violent protests began months in advance of the war in Iraq. This resistance was met with armies of riot police and thousands of detentions and arrests. The war began as scheduled. Nothing was changed.
Has everyone forgotten that, throughout history, it has been popular movements, not leaders, that have been the catalyst for change? It was as though after the resistance to the Iraq war was squelched, people felt helpless and embarrassed. But, these feelings of ineptitude can be projected outwardly, through Satyagraha, to defeat violence. One's enemies can be made to look over-bearing and repressive if the suffering and subjugation become too great. Once that threshold is reached, the love for your enemy can be used to make him look boorish and uncouth.
As the "war on terror" turns 5 it might serve us well to also remember the 100th birthday of Satyagraha, the search for truth through non-violent resistance. Fear has always been the enemy of truth, but without fear, we are free to ask questions, even if the answers may not be to our liking. Fear of an idea (terror) has led us down the path of complacency and only by resisting that idea can we come to realize the truth; there is no war, only the fear of war.
Vinoba Bhave, one of Gandhi's successors said, " These days absence of war is regarded as peace. But peace really connotes absence of fear. There would be peace only when no part of the world is afraid of or exploited by any other part."

The GOP Don't Want Me

What have I done? For the past 5 months I've been trying to access the Republican National Committee website. It doesn't matter whether I link to it, or type the address directly into the browser. It never loads. I was curious if anyone in the States has this problem. Maybe Koreans dont have access to the Republican Party. Maybe I dont have access...either explanation is troubling. I would like very much to be on their mailing list, but I can't. The Democratic National Committee was more than happy to let me join, receive updates from Howard Dean and even create a profile on their new PartyBuilder interface (Howard's my e-friend). So, if your viewing this and you're in America, click the first link up there and see what happens. Let me know, I'd appreciate it.

THE LO CRUX

My Korean smoke of choice. The small description below the name says "Ultimate Flavour". Indeed. They also come in a "red" which I smoked for a while until I began to hate myself. But the "M" is just right. Smokes (tambe) are the same price everywhere. There is no deviation, and the price is W2500...about $2.50 a pack. It's the 2 for 5...the buy one get one... all the time! It's terrible to rejoice over the LOW LOW price of killing yourself slowly, but until I quit I'll continue to praise the rock bottom deals. As a side note, one can buy "American" cigarettes here although choice is limited. Marlboro, Parliament is the extent that I've seen but perhaps there are other brands available. Maybe Winston, I'm not sure.

It's Not Crunchy, It's Not Chunky...It's CRUNKY.

Trash

On my walk to E-mart yesterday i took the scenic route through some small alleys and side streets. I found a couple interesting bits to share. I think the first is several old computer keyboards that have been burned and melted. all the symbols were burned off the keys, but there are the telltale small keys in the middle and larger keys on the edges. The second is by far the scariest Halloween mask I have ever seen. It's your standard white person mask, but nonetheless creepy as hell. Of course I took it home.

Link to a prominent 9/11 website

Link to a government website about 9/11.

The Evolution of Palestine

The first map is the original League of Nations British mandate after the Armistice of 1920 following the first world war. The second map is a proposed United Nations French mandate following the second word war. The third map is essentially how Israel and the Palestinian Territories exist today, after a final mandate in 1949. The Gaza Strip was originally controlled by Egypt, and the West bank controlled by (Trans)Jordan. Today, Israel still occupies much of the West Bank area after its pullout from Gaza more than a year ago. The city of Jerusalem is divided much like Berlin prior to the end of the Cold War. A portion of the city belongs to Palestine but a majority is under Israeli control and Palestinians are prevented from traveling to other parts of the city.

FBI: More Data Mining

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A little-known federal program created days after Sept. 11, 2001, examined financial aid records of college students targeted by the FBI in terrorism investigations, but it's unclear whether it netted any terrorists, according to U.S. Education Department documents.

The program, called Project Strike Back, was a joint project of the department and the FBI and was created 10 days after the terrorist attacks, according to the documents from the department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

The documents were released to USA TODAY through Freedom of Information Act requests. They were also obtained by a Medill School of Journalism reporter working with the Associated Press.

Full Article Here