October 7, 2008 by Jay Taber.

Inter Press Service looks at how tribal girls in Southeast Asia are forced into prostitution by human traffickers promising normal jobs in Malaysia for the poverty-stricken children and young women.

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October 7, 2008 by Jay Taber.

Sarah Palin’s propulsion into politics was fueled by religious intolerance, organized through malicious harassment, and targeted at democracy. Her use of the power of the state to deny equal protection under the law and to thwart the civil rights of her ideological opponents is consistent with the bigotry promoted and organized by the churches that made her what she is.

The wedding of her religiously-derived anti-democratic agenda to corporate impunity is what is known as Christian Fascism. Her particular brand of this political phenomenon was responsible for the murder of a quarter of a million indigenous people of Central America during the Reagan Administration.

Christian Fascism in the United States got a foothold in the White House during the last eight years, and with Palin’s candidacy is hoping to someday occupy the Oval Office.

Under the Bush Administration, the U.S. judiciary took a decidedly right turn against Native American sovereignty, the U.S. Constitution and international law; under a Palin Vice Presidency, we should expect community-level violence and harassment to increase significantly.

Indeed, with the help of the Clarion Fund and others, that is already happening.

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October 6, 2008 by Jay Taber.

My friend Darryl, a Sto:lo storyteller and retired seafarer living in Spain, once told me of growing up in a logging camp on the Olympic Peninsula where his grandmother was camp cook. Keeping him company as a young boy were the bears and birds and people of Elwha, a tribe of the S’Kllalam nation near Port Angeles. Darryl’s grandfather was gifted a canoe paddle by the Elwha, which he has to this day.

Darryl’s father, who later became a lawyer, fought the damming of the Elwha River in the Olympic Mountains with his own money, and although unsuccessful in his battle to protect the King salmon from industrial onslaught, his valiant effort still evokes pride in Darryl.

Today, as plans for removal of the Elwha Dams have been set in motion by the Department of the Interior, I thought of Darryl’s family story, and the metaphor it evokes. Surrounded by good company, courageous colleagues and determined associates, we fight the cognitive war in support of those who battle on the ground to restore the earth for all humanity. As such, pulling a paddle in the canoe called Fourth World Eye, is both a way to honor those who fought before us, as well as to mentor those who will come after. With that metaphor in mind, it’s always a good day.

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October 5, 2008 by Jay Taber.

Contrary to public opinion, promoting murder is not protected by the U.S. Constitution. Nor is it protected by tax exempt status, as in the case of charitable trusts and organized religions. The only place we find some degree of protection for individuals engaged in promoting murder is in the limited liability of corporations and in the immunity of public officials.

Yet, looking at the history of domestic terrorism in the United States, promoters of murder have consistently found sanctuary in these locations. Looking closer, though, it becomes clear that this has been primarily for the purpose of mobilizing human and financial resources effectively in carrying out a murderous agenda. The ideological protection, however, has been provided in the distorted interpretation of free speech, a protection not provided by law, but rather by practice.

This practice takes two essential forms: lack of prosecution by law enforcement, and lack of challenge by civil society. In fact, civil liberties groups have arguably had as much influence on public misperception about promoting murder as has the Department of Justice. Granted, the existing statutes against promoting murder are applied more vigorously against non-Christian, non-white terrorists than they are against white Christian terrorists, but the public perception of these cases is usually distorted by the added elements of conspiracism and ideological misrepresentation.

Which brings us back to our main topic. Why are charitable organizations like the Clarion Fund allowed to openly promote murder of Muslims in the media and through the U.S. mail? Why are US corporations allowed to promote murder of environmentalists and Native Americans through charitable organizations like the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise?

Is it only institutionalized bigotry, or is there more to it?

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October 3, 2008 by Jay Taber.

In Prostitution, Trafficking, and Cultural Amnesia, Melissa Farley observes that, “In order to normalize prostitution in everybody’s culture, postmodern theory helps to keep the real harms of prostitution, pornography and trafficking invisible.” She also notes the racialized hierarchy of the industry:

Within the gendered institution of prostitution, race and class create a familiar hierarchy with indigenous women at its lowest point. Especially vulnerable to violence from wars and economic devastation, indigenous women are brutally exploited in prostitution.

As such, “the academic tradition of postmodern theory,” says Dr. Farley, “hides and trivializes real oppression in the world.” You can learn more about How Prostitution Works.

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October 3, 2008 by Jay Taber.

In Learning from South Africa, Palestinian activist Haidar Eid and South African activist Savera Kalideen claim that on all counts Zionism is worse than Apartheid. Able to avoid UN Security Council censure thanks to the US veto, Israel’s dispossession of its indigenous people finds protection in the only institutional bodies capable of forcing observation of human rights and resolution of civil rights.

One state with equal rights for all is the position of the Palestinians, while the two-state solution proposed by Israel is merely a ruse for maintaining inequality. Ida Audeh discusses a new strategy for advancing Palestinian interests.

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October 2, 2008 by Jay Taber.

In the initial issue of the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Bulletin, scholars from around the world look at international mental health in all its dimensions. From Kabul, Naysan Adlparvar discusses nuances of power in poverty assessment for developing an Afghan national policy, while Yuyun Wahyuningrum — in her examination of the portrayal of human trafficking in US State Department reports — discusses the cultural pathology of imperialism in countries deformed by the colonial process. Co-editor of the Bulletin, Keylee Marineau, remarks on how white privilege affects international relief work, and Derek Summerfield explores validity as a test of the authenticity with which a research method captures the domain it is investigating.

The Bulletin itself is a joint project of Keylee Marineau and Janaka Jayawickrama, an associate scholar of the Center for World Indigenous Studies.

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October 1, 2008 by Jay Taber.

Violent, right-wing pentecostals have a horrific track record in the Fourth World, enabling genocide by undermining traditional indigenous beliefs and practices. Now, this religious-based violence is poised to make a comeback in the United States via Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Listen to Chip Berlet and learn just what Palin’s Apocalypse is all about.

Palin’s Apocalypse

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October 1, 2008 by Jay Taber.

Photosynthesis Studio in San Francisco has donated a folder in its digital online portfolio to help me convert some of my written commentary on democracy, human rights and the world indigenous movement into audio/visual formats. I’d appreciate feedback on this from interested readers. Here’s my debut performance.

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September 29, 2008 by Jay Taber.

Mario Murillo writes in Colombia Journal of the struggle for the defense of indigenous rights in Colombia. Enduring brutal repression by the US–backed Colombian military and National Police, the indigenous movement in Colombia is now organizing to survive Plan Colombia—the culmination of centuries of genocide by the conquering aristocracy, now in bed with the United States and notorious transnational corporations. Whether the indigenous people of Colombia will be successful in liberating Mother Earth from the criminal elite, or perish under the crushing force of free trade, depends in part on Americans holding the Pentagon and U.S. State Department accountable.

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