Friday, 7. November 2008, 00:00:24
November 4, 2008: The streets of my town
I haven't cried that much in a long time. Tears of relief; of hope; of thanks; of amazement.
I truly hope.
I truly hope the world will be a less violent place than it has been under the Bush regime.
I wish I could fully express my sorrow for the action of that regime.
I wish all those killed by Bush could be brought back.
I fear the hateful in this country will retaliate violently.
I fear that if that happens I will not be able to stop the compulsion to act in defense.
If difference is so hateworthy, why is there even a world left at all? Perhaps because the hateful are the minority and lack the numbers to destroy everything in the name of their arrogance.
I hope there are countries brave enough to indict Bush and his cronies for war crimes.
Saturday, 14. June 2008, 08:41:00
medical training
I'm leaving in the morning for Wilderness First Responder Training. It's also known as WFR training and pronounced "woofer." I'm really apprehensive. WFR training is advanced first aid training geared toward, as the name implies, being in a wilderness setting where you and your patient are hours or days away from definitive care. Scary, but exciting all at the same time. it involves 70 hours of training over 7 days, including scenarios (simulated rescues). Plus, there is homework on top of the class/field time. Whew...! Well, it's not really homework since I'll be staying at the training site for the 7 days. Still, the training center suggests that there will be independent study necessary to pass tests and become certified.
Saturday, 26. April 2008, 18:08:57
medical training
I recently spent 24 hours in Street Medic training. What is a street medic, you ask? See this:
http://www.bostoncoop.net/~balm/index.html#whatThere are actually quite a few street medic sites out there. Another good one is:
http://www.blackcrosscollective.org/Black Cross is not curently active, but their work and research is renowned among activist groups. (I recently heard Jon Stewart characterize activists as “merely the people who care the most.")
So why would I pursue such an endeavour? I live in Olympia, Wa. If you are not familiar with what goes on in Olympia, some information can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOkn2Fg7R8whttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7-ljrcBRiQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLO05UD_9C4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ip9LDH7JUYes, it's our own little police state. So, those who take part in direct action are often in need of medical support after confrontations with the police state. As street medics we help those who have been brutalized by police violence while protesting and resisting the militarization of our ports and streets, and while exercising their rights to free speech and free assembly. Someone noted that having military vehicles and equipment traveling through our towns serves to desensitize citizens to a military presence, thus making the notion of martial law much less an affront. I agree with that.
All that being said, we as street medics, do not differentiate between anyone that needs first aid and assistance. We are there to help everyone, even the police. One of my trainers told me a story where a cop that had moments before been hitting my trainer with a night stick had a heart attack, and the other police at the scene would not let my trainer administer any first aid, even though my trainer is a registered EMT and had his credentials to prove it. The cop ended up dying. The point is, that while we have for the most part been drawn to the work because of our beliefs and opposition to the destructive powers that are ruling our country and world, when we are in the streets as medics we are apolitical, and attempt to help anyone in need. As such, one of the underlying principles we follow as street medics is Do No Harm.
Saturday, 26. April 2008, 18:06:23
Wear a US flag lapel pin or one is not patriotic. The irony in all of this, of course, is that those who spew this drivel are the ones most supportive of shredding civil rights and the US Constitution. Patriots don't pledge allegiance to a destructive administration and those in charge of that administration, they defend the Constitution. This turns their stupid lapel pins in to nothing more than fascist props much in the same vein as arm-bands from another fascist movement from the 30s-40s. People talk with so much hubris about a superiority of a political entity on this earth in contrast to others. A political entity is not the dictator of so-called freedom. My understanding is that it is the custodian of ideals expressed in the Constitution. So, with that in mind, why is it that this sentiment is not something more widely shared?
What role has propaganda played in all this? Well, television certainly presents things-or doesn't present things-in such a convoluted and crafted manner that people are too off-balance to make valid criticisms of any particular topic before them. The Winter Soldier testimony from March 13-16 2008, are a good example of this. There were no representatives from the mainstream media present. The majority of the US population never heard the gripping stories of Iraq War veterans. The only reason I can see for this is that it stands in direct opposition to the policies of the US administration and the corporations that are making obscene amounts of money from war.
</rant>
Sunday, 27. May 2007, 06:00:04
I live in the United States. It's a sickening thing to have to admit. That sack of s**t that fronts the group in the processing of destroying this country while simultaneously draining the blood from humans around the world is embarrassing, to say the least. I'm not comfortable using the language I would normally use to describe my feelings on this page about the crimes being perpetrated by the US government. Let's just say it's rather crass.
In Solidarity.
(40%)
WIDGETIZE