i apologize, mostly to myself, for being a little self-centered on my ponderings of home (read the prior journal entry). i know it’s ok for me to go through what i’m going through, and to journal about it and work it through like anyone struggling with personal life questions. but i feel like i’m taking my home (borders drawn by the united states) for granted and not being thankful enough for what i have here as a citizen in the richest country. please read up on the following issue…i feel like we all have much to do change the laws and give rights to undocumented migrants. this continent, after all, did not belong to european immigrants 200-300 years ago, and still does not in my opinion…

In 2003 the ICE launched Operation End Game, the largest police operation in US history, to remove all undocumented migrants from the US by the year 2012. The project’s predecessor, Operation Wetback(!) in - 1954, removed 1.2 million Mexicans from the American Southwest.

ICE does not need warrants to make arrests or to conduct raids. Since July 2007, raids have increased the number of detained migrants from 18,000 to 26,000 nationwide. Homeland Security relocates 700 detainees a week in the United States.
 
(http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/04/374998.shtml)

 
read up:
- Repressive ICE Raids create fear in immigrant communities; civil and human rights violations growing
- Smash ICE Northwest Detention Center - docushort
- The Real Political Purpose of the ICE Raids
- US Citizens, Lawful Residents Sue Government for Illegal Detention in LA Immigration Raid
- US Supreme Court Affirms Rights of Foreign Detainees

CALL TO ACTION!

We will be holding the CHEVRON PROTEST through FAX and PHONE calls on TUESDAY October 9th from 1:00pm-3:00pm Pacific Time (8:00pm-10pm GMT), (4:00pm-6:00pm Eastern Time).

• * Chevron pays millions of dollars in oil and gas royalties to the current military junta. We will demand that they put these royalties in escrow for the legitimate, elected government of Burma headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. These monies are being pocketed by the military leaders - it is not their money.
• * We are also asking that Chevron contribute significantly to humanitarian efforts in Burma. Such donations should be directly to the NGO’s and not through the military government.

CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS
1.Chevron Corp.
6001 Bollinger Canyon Road
San Ramon, CA 94583
United States

Phone: +1 925-842-1000
Fax: +1 415-894-6817

Ask for David O’Reilly, CEO

AND Call Chevron TOLL FREE in US and enter all zeroes for your credit card #: 1-800-243-8766 - ask for a supervisor and register your concern.

- - -
You should also call your local Chevron office at 1-3pm your local time if you are outside the US/Canada/Mexico. Go to http://protestchevron.blogspot.com for the contact info for each Chevron office throughout the world.

For Q&A on what sparked the protests in Burma–first against the rise in the price of fuel, which doubled or more–read http://www.burma-watch.org (originally published by the BBC News).

As you may have read in the news recently, the human rights atrocities committed by the military regime in Burma are not improving. The military raids towns in the middle of the night. The military goes through the streets, pulls all of the people out of their homes, lines them up and compares them to the faces of the protesters captured in pictures. If the military finds people that “match” the pictures, they brutally haul them away. Best case: the people are arrested (aka detained and probably tortured). Worst case: they “disappear.”

Earlier at a press conference/briefing Maung Maung (former prime minister of Burma) participated as a panelist. Maung Maung’s message included the below points:

• * These demonstrations were not random and are not over. The protests were planned and organized. The organizers do not want to be shot, beaten, or arrested and tortured so they have gone underground for the time being in order to reorganize. These peaceful protests will continue; however, before that happens we must assess our resources so that we know how many satellite phones still exist, where they are located, who has gone underground, who has been arrested, as well as who has “disappeared,” etc. In sum, THIS IS NOT OVER and is not losing momentum.
• * We need the international community to stop and prevent the military’s brutal crackdown however they can.
• * We need meaningful support from the international community. I.E. We need Sanctions that prevent the regime from getting any income; we need support from the Security Council; we need to challenge the regime’s credentials and their right to represent Burma at the UN; etc.
• * The regime reacts to pressure, and we need the press and the international community to hold the regime accountable. We cannot let this story disappear again like it did in 1988.
• * We need direct funding for the pro-democracy movement. What we are able to do, and the resources we are able to provide, etc. are directly related to how much money we have. Thus, we need funding in order to keep this movement strong.

Okay so, what can all of us do about this?

(1) We can show the world we care and will not tolerate these horrendous human rights violations by participating in demonstrations at home like the International Day of Action (Oct.6) with Worldwide Rallies supporting the people of Burma, thus encouraging our governments and leaders to continue to care about this issue and apply international pressure. Please check out these events at: www.burma-watch.org and participate in the demonstrations near you. If you’ve missed the demonstration, start one of your own. Talk to your peeps. Make noise…

(2) We can stay educated about the issue and educate others. Some websites and resources you might find interesting include:

* The Democratic Voice of Burma (a radio station): www.dvb.no
* Burma Watch: www.burma-watch.org
* The Irrawaddy (quoted by BBC, CNN, etc. :) www.irrawaddy.org
* Ko Hite’s Blog (also quoted by BBC, CNN, etc.): www.ko-htike.blogspot.com
* Asia-Pacific People’s Partnership on Burma: www.apppb.blogspot.com
* Reporters without Borders (view news in righ-hand column on website): http://www.rsf.org/country-50.php3?id_mot=86&Valider=OK
* The Free Burma Rangers: www.freeburmarangers.org
* The BBC (search Burma): www.news.bbc.co.uk
* The Economist (search Myanmar): www.economist.com
* The Lehrer NewsHour (search Myanmar): www.pbs.org/newshour
* Forum for Democracy in Burma: www.democraticforumburma.org
* Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma): www.aappb.org
* Avaaz.org, web action network: www.avaaz.org

[please send this far & wide…]
Dear Friends,

If you’ve been following the news, you know last week’s massive,
peaceful demonstrations protesting the Burma/Myanmar dictatorship have
been followed by severe repression and brutality. Reports of possibly
200 monks being killed in retaliation cannot be verified or confirmed,
because of the media blackout and military crackdown. They were heard
by a Burmese army major, Major Win, who defected because he did not
want to be part of killing civilians and monks. But certainly the
death count is higher than the official government count of 9 people.
Somewhere in the range of 1,400 protestors are in jail now.
Democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who decisively won the
1990 elections, has been under house arrest for years.

If you would like to do something to support the Burmese people, these
are some simple actions you can take: (more…)