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February 5, 2007 at 11:42:47
by Jayne Lyn Stahl Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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On Superbowl Sunday, in a small movie theatre, in Ojai, a town eighty miles northwest of Los Angeles, on rural main street America that was among the last on its block to stubbornly display Old Glory, as well as the requisite "Bush / Cheney" bumper stickers for years after 9/ll, the disgust with the Iraq war, and the misadventures of the Bush years filled the auditorium; it was palpable; it was electrifying.
"Declare Peace," John Lennon's words, some forty years ago, right after the U.S. invasion of Vietnam, still resonate. Among the many reasons Lennon was a visionary is his insight into how we, as a planet, seem to have mastered war while we only experiment with peace. His and Yoko's bed-in is as poignant, and relevant now as it was then.
You'd think we'd have learned by now, wouldn't you? You'd think, as Lennon was later to say at a press conference, "Time wounds all heals." But, there are some wounds even time can't heal like the gaping one left by the echo of bullets that rang out on a curiously sunny, and spineless December day, twenty six years ago, in front of an apartment building in Manhattan, a horror even the neighborhood rats have yet to process.
Time may not heal, but art will, and if you don't believe that, and if you've yet to see "The U.S. versus John Lennon," a riveting documentary, do yourself a favor and go see it. Especially for those of us who think comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam are exaggerated, or thought so at one time. The rhetoric, the distortion, the recipe for disaster has deja vu written all over it. If you haven't yet, go see it, take your children, or grandchildren, if only to be amazed at how prescient and way ahead of his time Lennon was; if only to confirm that no, it wasn't the dope, he really said and wrote some astonishing things, if only to hear Jerry Rubin, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Abbie Hoffman, Paul Krassner, Gore Vidal, Walter Chronkite, and others; if only to be convinced that we're out of spin cycle, and heading back to soak.
"I'm an artist, not a politician," declared John Lennon, and vision is seldom bullet-proof. Those who choose peace, and unity do so at their own peril as is abundantly clear when listening to retired FBI agents, under Nixon, talk about their ongoing surveillance of Lennon, how his phone was being tapped, all sadly reminiscent of what is going on in America today. "Patriotism is the great refuge of scoundrels," Gore Vidal says, and Richard Nixon didn't have a patent on being a scoundrel.
The exploits of the FBI, in the 1970's, pale by comparison with the current high tech. gadgetry and data mining campaigns of our modern day CIA and NSA. Indeed, it is even more true now than ever before: when you see a flag, duck!
As Yoko simply, and eloquently, tells us, in the end, "They tried to kill John, but they didn't. He's still with us today." He's still with us as we want to howl: "Declare Peace" to another administration bent on destruction. Now, all we need to do is hear those words again, and again, in the hopes that sometime soon, they will sink in.
http://ladyjaynestahl.blogspot.com
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Can you hook us up to A Show Schedule?
Thank you for your wonderful article on the movie you saw in Ojai (been there, haven't done that yet!) Can you give us a clue to obtaining showtimes around the country for this movie? Thanks. Steve Pipkin-Savage by pipsav (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Monday, Feb 5, 2007 at 6:22:05 PM  (0+)
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Lennon and "Give Me Some Truth"
Thanks for this article and as an FYI Posted on this site September 7, 2006 http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=1651 Lennon, Vanunu and "Give Me Some Truth" Diary Entry by Eileen Fleming On 9/18/04 in London, Yoko Ono awarded Mordechai Vanunu a peace prize founded in memory of and in the spirit of John Lennon's "Give Me Some Truth" released in 1971. The award is given biennially... :::::::: On September 6, 2006, Mordechai Vanunu was once more inside of the Israeli Supreme Court. He returned this time, regarding an appeal against the renewing of the restrictions against him which have forbidden him to leave Israel and to speak to media or foreigners, ever since he was released from 18 years in jail on April 21, 2004. The restrictions have been imposed in the name of Security, for the Israeli government has maintained Vanunu could still have a secret he has not yet told about the underground nuclear weapons facility in the Dimona. Vanunu has not been there in 20 years, and International Inspectors never have. On 9/30/86, Mordechai Vanunu was kidnapped by the Mossad and sentenced on 3/27/88 to eighteen years in jail, most of it in solitary. Vanunu was charged with treason because he broke down the wall that proved Israel had gone nuclear when he shared photos and his story with the London Sunday Times in 1986. Released from Ashkelon Prison on 4/21/04, Vanunu has lived under the draconian restrictions of the British Emergency Defense Regulations that forbid him to leave Israel, to speak to media or foreigners. He is currently on trial for the interviews he gave the media after his release in 2004. The media has been a no show for his current trials, but Vanunu will soon be posting what transpired in Supreme Court on September 6, 2006 on his site http://www.serve.com/vanunu/ When Israel became a state in 1948, it was contingent on upholding The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Article 19 states: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Lennon Connection On 9/18/04 in London, Yoko Ono awarded Mordechai Vanunu a peace prize founded in memory of and in the spirit of John Lennon's "Give Me Some Truth" released in 1971. The award is given biennially, and was instituted in 2002, when Israeli Zvi Goldstein and Palestinian Khalil Rabah each won for artistic contributions to peace in their homeland. In 2004, Yoko Ono also awarded $50,000 to New Yorker magazine correspondent and author Seymour Hersh, whom she described as "a staunch seeker of truth" for his investigative journalism. In 2004, Ono was quoted by Reuters that Hirsh and Vanunu were honored as "people who have spoken out for the benefit of the human race by overcoming extreme personal difficulties and, in doing so, have allowed the truth to prevail...Hopefully [Vanunu] can come and receive the award himself. He did complete his sentence, it's not as though he's a criminal...the point is that it's another statement, a statement that the whole world can share and think about...People power is stronger than the power of institutions." Long time friend and supporter of Vanunu, the Anglican Father Dave from Sydney, Australia wrote in 2004: "Good news and not-so-good news this month regarding our brother Morde Vanunu. The good news: Morde has been awarded a Yoko Ono Peace Prize...The not-so-good news is that Morde seems to be flouting the ban placed upon him, preventing him from communicating with foreign media...The danger is that the Israeli authorities will re-arrest Morde for making contact with foreign media. Having spoken to Morde though, he is confident, and is sick of being told who he is not allowed to talk to. Indeed, he has asked me whether I will set up a community web cast for him, where he can talk to you, his online supporters, via webcam. He has asked me to organize this for his birthday, October 13 th..." That web cast still has not happened and Fr.Dave's words proved accuarate, as Vanunu is now on trial for speaking to the media in 2004 and that trial resumes on 9/21/06. Vanunu is a hero to Palestinians and many Internationals, but is surrounded by many who despise him as a traitor. Vanunu has consistently maintained that he spoke out twenty years ago and continues to do so under threat of more jail time, because he only wants to save Israel from a "New Holocaust." Israel claims that they must detain Vanunu for security reasons, but they have failed to secure the safety of the citizens that work and live near the leaking dinosaur that is the Dimona. In a March 2006 interview with this reporter, Vanunu stated, "When I decided to expose Israel's nuclear weapons I acted out of conscience and to warn the world to prevent a nuclear holocaust...The Dimona is 46 years old; reactors last 25 to 30 years. The Dimona has never been inspected and Israel has never signed the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty; but all the Arab states have...Twenty years ago when I worked there they only produced when the air was blowing towards Jordan ten miles away. No one knows what is happening now." In June 2005, he told me, "The only way to peace is peace; the only way is non-violence. The only answer to Israeli nuclear weapons, their aggression, occupation and oppression, the wall and refugee camps is to answer them with truth and a peace-full voice. When I became the spy for the world I did it all for the people of the world. If governments do not report the truth, if media does not report the truth, all we can do is follow our conscience... Israel is not a democracy unless you are a Jew. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where America can right now find WMD's. America can also find where basic human rights have been denied Christians, right here in Israel." In Ray Coleman's biography of John Lennon, he quotes the artist circa 1969, "I'd like to be like Christ, [he described himself as a Christian communist] in a pure sense, not in the way Russia or Italy think of Christianity or communism...Every body's uptight [fearful] and they're always building these walls around themselves. All you can do is try to break down the walls and show them that there's nothing there but people... I only know that peace can exist, and the first thing is for the world to disarm...I think I'll win because I believe in what Jesus said."-LENNON , McGraw-Hill, 1984. pgs -374-381. So does Vanunu and he has always insisted, "My Christian conversion was also considered as treason and led to me receiving more time in jail than any murderer has ever served. The Israelis have this very beautiful article about freedom and liberty but they want to destroy anyone who criticizes them for revealing the truth to the world. The world must look and see what kind of democracy Israel is when one speaks out the truth." Article 18 of the UDHR affirms that: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change one's religion. Love him, or loathe him, one thing remains certain: Vanunu will continue to give us some truth, if we have ears to hear him. Sources: http://www.wearewideawake.org http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/478559.html click here by Eileen Fleming (172 articles, 101 quicklinks, 274 diaries, 650 comments [16 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007 at 7:56:51 AM (0+)
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Will We Never Learn? No.
Jayne, You are a lovely lady. I appreciate your balance, fairness and presentation. I am always amazed, finding myself as a nerdy, naive Charley Brown, always expecting things to be different, but the human heart does not change. I am sure many Germans said to themselves in 1936 to 1938, "Were not we here just twenty-five years ago?" They were and we find ourselves right back here in less than thirty years with the ending of Vietnam. We always ask, "Will we never learn?" I keep asking it, too, and no, Lucy always pulls the ball out from under a charging Charlie Brown. It is her nature. I guess it is our nature to keep charging. As much as I disliked Ronald Reagan's politics, he said something I wished the American public would do every time they think about putting a megalomaniac in office like George W. Bush, "Trust, but verify." When we allow someone like Bush o have open rein to do what he wishes, we have bought into tragedy before it happens. We should know it will happen. Thank you again, Jayne for helping us keep perspective. OBHG, Phil. by pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 972 comments) on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007 at 8:11:04 PM (0+)
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