Netpunk December 2002

As you might guess, there are tons of websites dealing with issues surrounding September 11th, the war in Afghanistan, the continuation and escalation of war with Iraq, and the stupidity of GW.  I'm going to attempt to point you to some of the more useful and thoughtful ones in this month's column.

One of the best jumping off points for an understanding of the why and wherefore of conflict in the Middle East is MidEast Web at http://www.mideastweb.org/ .  This site contains all kinds of information on the Middle East, including recipes and the like, but it also has an excellent section on the political history of the region dating back thousands of years.  Another nice article discusses the need to not take sides and support both the Israelis and the Palestinians.   This is a fantastic resource.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has a lot to do with all politics in the region, and that includes issues in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries (for a decent map of the Middle East visit http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east.html ).  It is the close ties that the US has with Israel, combined with our need for oil in the region that is, at least in my opinion, a large part of the reason that the US government is so interested in controlling who has power in the region.  

So, because of all this, GW wants to go to war with Iraq (plus, it might help the economy) and we continue to bomb the shit out of Afghanistan.  As this is the current conflict, a lot of the anti-war sites provide excellent information.

You can start your surfing at peace.protest.net (http://pax.protest.net/), where you'll find calendar listings for anti-war and anti-racism protests, meetings and the like, listed by country and state.  You'll also find links to a number of online petitions to add your voice to the growing opposition to the bombing of the MidEast.

One of those petition sites is the Iraq Peace Pledge (http://www.peacepledge.org/).  Add your name to over 17000 others who want to see the US stay out of a war with Iraq.  You can also download forms to canvas your neighborhood or school or punk show or whatever.

Another great resource is International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now To Stop War and End Racism) at http://www.internationalanswer.org/ .  This site is organized into two parts.  One talks about how you can take action in national rallies, and the other provides current information on the cause.  This organization seems to be intent on mobilizing large numbers of people to stop the warmongering.

And yet another resource is Nonviolence Web at http://www.nonviolence.org/ . It has a lot of articles dealing with Iraq, Afghanistan, and other peace issues.

Also worth a visit is the Physicians for Social Responsibility website at http://www.psr.org/ and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space at http://www.space4peace.org/ .  While both are more focused on anti-nuke issues, they are also concerned with a war with Iraq - especially since the hawks in the government want to put mini-nuke tips on the "smart" bombs.

If you need anti-war and anti-Bush slogans, stickers, posters, etc. then I have two sites for you.  First is Posters For Peace at http://reclaimthestreetsnyc.tao.ca/posters/ , which is more related to September 11th retaliations than it is with Iraq.  The other is a Bush parody site at http://www.gwbush.com/ .  They are selling stickers, T-shirts, and buttons with some hilarious (and true) anti-Bush slogans.

Finally, on the day I wrote this, John Walker Lindh (the American Taliban) was sentenced to twenty years in prison.  While I don't exactly think the Lindh is a smart guy, I question his sentence on grounds that he did not participate directly in the attacks on the WTC, but rather was a mercenary in anther country's civil war.  That he was fighting on the side of the Taliban, who I would never invite to a holiday party, is not the issue.  He'll be lucky not to get himself killed by some America loving criminal in prison.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else felt the way that I do, so I was happy to find http://www.freejohnwalker.net/ .  At the point I write this, the site hasn't been updated with an opinion on the sentence, but everything they've written still holds true.  Read it and think.

Okay, so I'm done for this month.  Fire an email at me at netpunk@diehippiedie.com or visit my columns in the Netpunk section of the diehippiedie.com website.  Until next month...  keep protesting.