New Year 1/1/2011

I am now presenting the design for New Year; 1/1/2011; then explaining the Numbers and Symbols.
This whole Image is a Redesign and there are several new innovations; The most recent of which are 2 new Symbols that I made today (1/1/2011): The Month and Year.

In the center of this design is the “Name Sign” for New Year. Name Signs are made by drawing lines on a Magic Square. New Year is simply two lines. The Numbers for New Year arranged around the Name Sign are Method/6/Life, Mind/1/New Beginnings, Soul/11/Light and Personality/8/Power.
As we transition each year into the New Year we always call it the same thing; the “New Year”. That means that this Name Sign and the Numbers associated with it are always the same.
Every year we approach (Method) Life/6 with our full attention and Nurture it. Naturally we think (Mind) of it as a New Beginning/1. Deep down in our soul (Soul) we want the Truth/11. The Soul seeks the Light. On a basic level, in our material lives (Body) we desire Power/8 and achievement.

The only thing that changes each New Year is the Year. It always goes up by 1. This year it goes from a 3 to a 4 Year. This small difference, though, affects every other Number in the Reading and from that point on, everything changes.
The fact that this Year is a 4 is very significant! We transition from an Open Hearted, Sociable and sometimes brainless, Completion and are now in a very serious, Hard Working, Disciplined, Structured and Creative 4 Year.
This will make a huge difference to all of us but for those of Us that are attempting to bring Enlightenment, it should help Us make Giant strides in the structure of our Work. Hopefully this will improve how our Work is Understood.

Below the date are the numbers for the Date Line.
Heretofore the Month and Year were not in Symbols and were not talked about much. I decided just today to change this so first of all I needed 2 new Symbols which I designed. The Month is represented by 1 of 12 numbers and this is simple to interpret. This Month is of course 1/New Beginnings, Leadership, Masculine, Ego, Oneness etc. The year 2011 is 4/Hard Work, Discipline, Creation.
Together with the Day/1, the 3 numbers are added together to make the Destiny. 1+1+4=6. Add the Sun Sign Capricorn/10 and you get the Way/16/7. Add the Day/1+Destiny/6+ Way/7=Star Sign/14/5.
Birthday/1/New Beginnings, is in the Diamond. Destiny/6/Life is in the Circle. In the Half Moon is Way/7/; so Logic takes the New Year to Life if we go about it in a Positive Way. The Star Sign is 5/Freedom and this is our Blessing from the Universe.
At birth the New Year has an energy of New Beginnings. This year we need to make sense. We need to dispel the confusion so that we can have the Destiny which is Life. We need Positive Energy and Logic if we if want to Nurture Life. The Star Sign is our Blessing from the Universe of Freedom. This Freedom is crucial but if we don’t work for it, it will not come. All of this has to be done in Positive Energy and out of Good.

Life Line is the 4 vertical Number Symbols on the left. The top Symbol Number is our Logic (Rational Thought). The Number for it is 7/Logic. Next down is Maturity and it is also 7/Logic. Next is Trail (the energy that surrounds on the Trail (through this Year). It is 9/Perfection. The bottom one is Field (where this Year ends up) and that’s 22/Master Builder.
Again we see a Logic and it is in the Rationality of Logic so we see that Logic is crucial this New Year. We should continue to be Rational as the Year Matures. Perfection surrounds us on our walk through this year and we should let it influence us. We end up in the Field as the Master Builder; it is the Important Work of Balance and Kindness in a Spiritual Union that fosters the Creation of a Very Important Work.

The Ollo Vine is the Beginning and End; the Feminine, Masculine and what they Create. The Birth Essence is 3/Completion: The Legacy is 66/Earth Spirit: The Creation is 2/Balance.
There are many interesting things about the Ollo Vine and in particular recently is the name change. I got tired of the word hello because of the word hell in it and we say it all the time so I started to think about a different word. There wasn’t a different word so I made one up that I like very much. That word is Ollo.
Ollo is the same backwards and forward and upside down and it looks good horizontal. It has a value of 18/9 and in Numerology 9 is perfection.
I thought it could mean good by as well as hello and it could mean beginning and end.
At first this line of 3 numbers had no name and then I thought Ollo Line sounded good but since it has a Feminine, Masculine, Prodigy scenario I decided to call it Ollo Vine
The Ollo Vine is a thing that has developed over time. Much of my system has been developed instinctively and the Birth Essence came from what I learned as the Balance Number. It is the first Essence and it has the Symbol of the Feminine so eventually I called it the Birth Essence.
The circle below the Birth Essence is a number I came up with that I originally called the Final Number because it was a total of the previous 13 numbers. The symbol developed into the symbol of the Masculine; the Bull. Eventually I named it the Legacy.
The idea of adding the Birth Essence, the Legacy and the Year came later and eventually I realized that the product of Feminine, Masculine and Time is similar to a Child so I now call it the Creation.

There is a Birth Essence from Completion. The Male Energy decides to leave behind a Legacy of Earth Spirit so it protects the Life Force. Together these two forces of the Divine Feminine and Masculine Create a Balance which is the crucial force necessary to restore the Earth and Heaven in the Balance of Kindness.



This is not static writing and it evolves and improves with age so if you’re interested, keep coming back and see how it changes.

Love Light Smith

Happy New Year 1/1/2011 Love Light

Merry Christmas 12/25/2010

Total Lunar Eclipse On Winter Solstice

Be Sure To Go Out and Gaze At This Event and Pray For Love Light to End hate and darkness.

In the US: (Early Tuesday morning)
Moon enters Total Eclipse at 2:40 am, Eastern time,
1:40 am Central,
12:40 am Mountain time,
11:40pm (Monday night) Pacific time…
The beginning of the eclipse starts an hour earlier.
AND Notice this Solstice date: 12 / 21 / 2001
(in numerology this is a powerful 3/3/3

Amazing Newmeralligical Shapes.

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Top: 9 small Love Light Symbols. Center: Love Light Design with 3D Head, hands in Sky and Feet in Earth. Left Design: 3D Love Light with Pyramid Top. Right Design: 3D Love Light Engine with Pyramid Top. Bottom: 9 3D God With Us Symbols.


Love Light. This is a 3 Dimensional Image called The Love Light. It is color coded so the viewer can see how it is formed. The Pyramid on the top was added instinctively but if you look closely you can see how perfectly it conforms to the rest of the design.




Name Sign of "The Hidden Story Of Jesus"

Try to Look at This as 3D.

From a You tube Video of that Title.

God/Goddess; Masculine/Feminine; Love Light.

There comes a point in everyone’s life when one big realization changes everything. For me this was when I became aware of The Goddess. I began to hear the voices of the people saying things like “Thank Goddess” and “Goddess Bless” and “Go with the Goddess”. When this happened everything began to make sense.
The Eureka Moment for me came on July 4, 2002 at the National Rainbow Gathering in Michigan. Because I grew up in the ‘60’- ‘80’s these Gatherings are Pinnacle Moments. I always knew that deeply held beliefs determined how we lived our lives and I knew that there is a kind of Religious Zeal behind a conscientious Life. This had always been God for me until Goddess became my focus. I even had a Sign come to me a couple days later to confirm that I was on the right track.
The sign happened on the 3rd day in the pre-dawn hours. I was walking along a path toward “Lovin Ovens” where I was camping and I saw something in the path. It was part of the path because it was a piece of the decayed wood that the Seed Camp Workers had used for the surface. It was still dark and I was looking down and a shape caught my eye. It was a piece of wood that looked like an Angel. I picked it up and when I looked at it I was amazed! It was a perfect statue about 9” tall and it was in effect, made by a Tree! I showed it to some people and one of them turned fiendish and wanted to carve on it. This was the first time I had to protect it.
When I began to really look at this figure I realized that it was a Statue of The Goddess. I was so excited about this that I showed it to everyone and while most people liked it there was one woman who wanted to burn it! It is astonishing how far the patriarchy reaches! This woman wanted me to burn it just because I wanted to honor Our Mother. That's when I realized that some people in the church still want to burn the Goddess and destroy Life. That was my Sign to keep Honoring The Goddess and Protect Her against false beliefs.
I was a Bible Believing Christian when I believed I was following the legitimate precepts of Jesus Christ but when I started to realize my Church was not really following Christ I quit going. Where once I saw mainstream religion as the “Right Way” I began to see it as opposing what was right. I saw that Religious People were not acting wisely toward the Earth and were not Just toward all People. I became Liberal or something bordering on Humanist but I don’t remember ever being cynical because I continued looking for the right answers.
Before my epiphany at the Rainbow Gathering I was already beginning to gravitate toward the Goddess. At first it was Our Lady of Guadalupe after a magical trip to the South West. Mother Nature was allied with the Nature Spirits that I was convinced inhabited the Woods around my home. I believed that we were entrusted with working with the plants, animals and Spirits around us. Finally at the Rainbow Gathering in 2002 I realized that it was the Goddess who was the Spirit over those who Loved the Earth. The Sign of the little statue of a Goddess made by a Tree was my confirmation to Honor The Goddess. She is The Holy Spirit that guides me.
When we look within the hierarchy of most organizations all throughout history it’s plain that there is a patriarchy. Men have run things for a very long time and as a result of this we live under a paradigm that justifies war and abuses the weak and defenseless. In this system where the strong rule there is a disregard for what’s right or wrong. In this system it has traditionally been Men who rule and Women are pushed aside. Today there are many Women in power so society believes that the Gender Gap is going away. The example of someone like Condoleezza Rice in the administration of George W. Bush made it plain that just because someone is a Woman doesn’t mean they are operating from the Feminine.
When Feminism came out as an organizing force Women set out to get equality but as time went on and more and more political power was gained they realized that wasn’t enough. That’s where the idea of Spiritual Feminism comes from. From the study and development of Spiritual Feminism came concepts that are still true. It is believed that every Man and Woman have both Masculine and a Feminine Poles within them. It was also believed that Male Energy was Clever and Strong and Feminine Energy was Caring, Sharing and Life. It was also seen that Male Energy acts in the moment and has neither memory nor foresight but Feminine Energy can remember the past and see the future. When I was learning about this and was being introduced to the concept of Masculine/Feminine Energy I also learned about Positive and Negative Energy, Shadow and Karma . All of these concepts seemed to fit into a pattern that eventually became obvious and convincing.
Because I was introduced to Numerology at the same time as The Goddess I had a way to test the theories I was finding. In my quest into the Divine Feminine many new concepts came out that were the result of seeking beyond what has been published.
When I no longer honored God and only revered the Goddess I was missing something. This was the case only until the Magic Moment I discovered Love Light and it became a Balancing force. That’s when I realized we need both God and Goddess to be in Harmony because we need to protect “The Lovely Things and Life.
I had been angry at God because to me he represented the patriarchy and all the Male centered energy that was destroying Life. I knew that Male Energy was Smart and Strong but it had no memory of the past or knowledge of the Future and it had become destructive. I knew that Feminine Energy was Love and it had Memory and Wisdom because it carried Life but it was weakened by exploitation. God seemed to be responsible for the destruction of Life instead of it’s Protector. How could Goddess foster Life if God didn’t protect Her?
When I discovered Love Light and I realized how negative energy affected everything I began to see negative energy as the real culprit. Now Positive Energy is what I stress in everything that concerns Love Light.
I began to see that if Masculine Energy was Positive it would Protect the Feminine. Positive and negative energy mean the same thing as Good and evil and can also be equated with Creation or destruction and Love and hate. It’s what motivates Us to either Heal or harm.
The Shadow is the force within us that is our bad side. It stays hidden until negative forces come into play that bring it out. It is the side of us that we are not proud of. It is the side of us that is counter productive and destructive. When we let pleasure become vice and addictions rule our lives we begin to see the strong and clever Male Energy using the Feminine Life Force for short sighted pleasure instead of caring for it. When this dichotomy is affecting an individual we see a someone with self destructive tendencies. The symptoms are endless but anything like substance abuse, unhealthy eating habits, or unsafe sex can be a part of it. When directed inwardly this can be self destructive.
Remember, we are still talking about Masculine/Feminine Energy in Positive/Negative Energy. Theoretically, then, if Masculine Energy is operating in Positive Energy it would be Protecting the Feminine Life Force. That would mean that we are taking care of our Health and protecting our Bodies. We are in effect Loving Ourselves. This is a dimension of Loving Ourselves and it goes beyond the physical. We don’t really take care of Ourselves fully unless we do it completely, in Body Mind and Spirit.
When we Love Ourselves we try to tell ourselves Good Things. We never direct negative language or thoughts back toward ourselves and we always use Good Positive thoughts. Good Mental Energy and Spiritual Energy is similar but we need to keep out negative spirits too.
Take this a step further and go into the realm of Relationships and how we treat each other. If we are taking care of those who are near and dear to us, we are practicing Good Energy. If not we are obviously practicing negative energy. When we Protect our Loved Ones it is Masculine Energy Protecting the Feminine. This includes not only protecting them Physically but also Mentally and Spiritually. So to keep them Completely Healthy we want to protect them from any harm whether it be Physical, Mental or Spiritual. This in effect is activated Love that connects the strength of the Masculine with the Wisdom of the Feminine. This Union is Love Light. Love of Wisdom; Love Light because when the Masculine Loves the Feminine it connects with it and gets Wisdom which is the Light. Love of Light!
Take this beyond our close relationships and into society at large and our associations with other people and with one group and another. It can be Churches and Clubs and Organizations. It can be Businesses and Cities. It can be International Corporations and Countries. The Dynamic is the same as Masculine/Feminine Energy being practiced in a Positive/negative way.
This Dynamic is not always Good. From the way we take care of our selves to the way corporations treat the people of the World it is the Same. The Planet is the Single Greatest Symbol of the Feminine Life Force and we have been abusing Her. She has been so abused that if we are not careful we will end up killing her and then we die too.
So the Dynamic of Masculine/Feminine Energy and Positive/negative Energy goes all the way to it’s ultimate conclusion where We as One, Unite With God to become a Force For Good and Protect Our Mother, The Life Force and the Earth and Ultimately Our Mother is Able to Give Us Back the Full Measure of Life on Earth and in the Here After.
Put simply that’s Love Light.

LOVE LIGHT 9/11/2010. HIGH HOLY DAY FULFILLED.

Here is some interesting News that could have a bearing on the Cosmic Events having to do with the High Holy Days of 2010 and the Beginning of the Transformation.
It appears that the More Ancient High Holy Days have Gathered around and Converged Upon the Secret High Holy Day of Love Light which celebrates it’s High Holy Day every 9 years on this Date of Alignment; 9/11/3/5/11/9. This Alignment comes from the Date of Christ’s birth of 9/11/3bc and is also 9/11/3/5/11/9. This signifies the Month of Perfection/9, Year of Completion/3 on the Day of Light/11; the Way of Light/11 to the Destiny of Freedom/5, blessed by Perfection/9.
A Convergence of the High Holy Days of 2010 began August 11 with the Muslim High Holy Days of Ramadan and ended 2 days before Love Light on 9/9.
The Convergence of Ramadan is illustrated by the date it begins. August 11, 2010 which looks like this: 8/11/3/22/9/6. It's in the Month of Power/8, Year of Completion/3 on the Day of Ligh/11, in the Way of Perfection/9 to a Destiny of Creation/22 blessed by Life/6.
What strikes me about this Convergence is it’s timing when a Calendar based on Moon Cycles converges so intently on Dates determined by the Gregorian Calendar. Most years would have a big discrepancy but this year it’s a Convergence.
September 8 the Jewish New Year and “Days of Awe” began for the Jews as Rosh Hashannah. The “Book of Life” was opened and the most reverent High Holy Days for Jews began..
Eid al Fitr. Is the end of Ramadan, 9/9/2010.
9/11/2010: Two High Holy Days converge and seem to Anoint a 3rd High Holy Day; that of Love Light.
On 9/11/2010 a Secret High Holy Day takes place in the company of other High Holy Days. The Hindu High Holy Day of Ganesh Chaturthi and the High Holy Shabat Tshuva stand beside Love Light on this Triple Convergence of High Holy Days.
9/11/2010 Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. It is the birthday of Lord Ganesha who is widely worshipped as the God of Wisdom, Prosperity and Good Fortune. He is the presiding Deity of the Muladhara Chakra, the psychic centre in the body in which the Kundalini Shakti resides.
The High Holy, Shabbat Tshuvah, the Most Holy Shabbat of the Jewish year was also celebrated on 9/11/2010. While the Book of Life is still Open and Jews are Seeking Forgiveness from God for sins against him and against Mankind this Shabbat is performed as a Day of Atonement for which a Blood Sacrifice is thought to take away sins.
The High Holy Day of Love Light is raised up from the ashes of 9/11/2001 and struggles to see the Light of Day as the curse of hate and ignorance continues to hold her down. The High Holy Day of the Birth of Christ comes but once every 9 years. This year Love Light seems to grow to Greater Fulfillment into the Word of God as it‘s Added to the Book Of Life.
One Week later, as Yom Kippur comes to pass and again on a High Holy Shabat, the Book of Life is Closed on 9/18/2010.
9/22/2010: As Mabon takes place it’s the Autumnal Equinox that marks the Descent into Darkness. At Winters Approach the High Holy Days are over.
Love Light Transformation Begins as Christ Consciousness Grows and comes into it’s Own. The Glory Shines Round About and Makes Peace. God/Goddess. Messiah'd Us; Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Love Light, God With Us. Amen Awoman

Understanding The World in Difficult Times

Numerology gave me Understanding. In 2001; only a week after 9/11 I happened into a Book Store in Chicago and found my first book on Numerology. It could not have been mere happenstance. It had to be Fate because nothing happens without a reason. I have found this whole experience to be Intensely Spiritual and Numerology to be a God Send..
In 2007 I discovered Love Light. That whole Year was a time of Intense Focus and Realization. As a result of the intervening years of work I now have an amazing vision to Share.
In Order to share all of this I have been refining it into a System that is concise and easy to understand called Newmeralligy. It‘s pronounced like Numerology and it is not just the Study of Numbers. I define it as the “The New Merging of All; the Study of.”. There is a real Freedom in this system that encourages Discovery and it is a logical connection to “The Source. No matter what your Core beliefs are this System would be Good for you. It, in fact, Profoundly Good!
So this New System is Newmeralligy and it comes from Love Light. The first lesson is here before you and is intended to be an Introduction. It’s Newmeralligy and it centers around Love Light. The two go together and that is the whole point of this effort. In this process of Newmeralligy you will learn Numerology, Discover Your Own Numbers and Love Light.
You and I and every one of Us is going through a Power Cycle at this Time. It’s called “The Eight, Nine Year Cycle”. In 2010 we are in the Third Year of it. It causes Us to fight against Enlightenment when it reacts with negative energy but if we open to Positive Energy we will gain Great Insights during this Cycle. Embracing this New Knowledge and putting it into Practice will prepare Us for the “Transformation” that’s coming.
The Love Light Code says that the Transformation will begin 9/11/2010. Something Unusual is about to happen. Whatever it is if we greet it with Love Light it will be More Positive. Soon We’ll Know.
God With Us.

Imprisoned Indigenous leader says ‘Free Mumia!’

Imprisoned Indigenous leader says ‘Free Mumia!’
Published Mar 5, 2010 10:16 PM
Leonard Peltier was a leader of the American Indian Movement in 1976 when he was arrested and charged with the deaths of two FBI agents during a shootout at the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala-Lakota Nation. He has now been imprisoned for 34 years — one of the world’s longest-held political prisoners. Peltier sent the following message to an international teach-in held Feb. 13 in Philadelphia on the struggle to free death-row inmate and former Black Panther Party activist Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier
Greetings brothers and sisters, and thank you for attending this event to listen, learn, teach and organize. I am Leonard Peltier, a proud Lakota and Anishinabe American Indian activist, organizer and patriot. I am likewise, unfortunately, a fellow political prisoner in this “land of the free.”
I, along with my family, my supporters, and American Indians everywhere, know full well what the justice system of the United States can mean to the brown man, the black man, and any man or woman who dares to think or talk truth to power.
That we have been made targets in our own country should outrage every single man and woman everywhere, no matter the color, background or political leaning. That this country continues the barbaric practices of executions should be opposed by all people of conscience.
Mumia Abu-Jamal

Mumia Abu-Jamal
Whether or not you approve of capital punishment is irrelevant as long as minorities are executed with alarming disparities. Whether you approve or not is of secondary concern when people like Mumia Abu-Jamal, myself and many others are convicted and sentenced to die with evidence that would exonerate most any white man. As such, every single progressive organization should oppose the death penalty as we now know it.
This has not been a case of justice or the law, it has been politics, racism and control, and we should confront these issues long before we decide who to execute. As long as we have these inequities in our midst, we will continue to convict and execute innocents. Execute — let’s call it what it really is — state sanctioned murder! Why does America allow this brand of “justice” to exist?
That is a question that must haunt the soul of every true American patriot. For as long as it does, America can never be the bastion of freedom it has claimed to be, the light in the darkness it wants to be, nor the high ground of morality it hopes to be.
Pay attention to the names this government uses when it is opposed. The American government has called other countries “evil empire” and “axis of evil.” The rest of the world hears this and scoffs! Why? Because they see this country convicting, imprisoning, and executing innocent minorities and political liabilities while claiming to be a free society — because they see corporate personhood allowing the rape of the Earth and desecration of the sacred — because they see this country waging illegal war while claiming to love peace — and because they see this country propping up murderous dictators while giving lip service to human rights. The rest of the world sees all of this and wonders, is not America the real evil empire?
I, like Mumia, have been called a terrorist by my own government. Well, I never knew a terrorist who advocated the rule of law as we have. Some people need to find a new dictionary!
There may be other parts of the world which are breeding grounds for terrorism, but this government makes sure they have fertile ground to harvest. We are not the terrorists! I love my country. Progressive thinking people love this country. It is thusly our patriotic duty to respond to such government with righteous indignation! It is only when we allow a corrupt government to corrupt our very minds that a patriot becomes a terrorist!
As long as you are willing to work for justice, all political prisoners can still hope for freedom. Real power starts from the bottom and goes up, not the other way around. Free Mumia!
In solidarity,
Leonard Peltier
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Sharon Olds Poet Declines White House Invitation

Sharon Olds Poet Declines White House Invitation

Here is an open letter from the poet
Sharon Olds to Laura Bush declining the invitation to read and speak at
the National Book Critics Circle Award in Washington, DC. Sharon Olds
is one of most widely read and critically acclaimed poets living in
America today. Read to the end of the letter to experience her
restrained, chilling eloquence.

Dear Mrs. Bush,

I am writing to let you know why I am
not able to accept your kind invitation to give a presentation at the
National Book Festival on September 24, or to attend your dinner at the
Library of Congress or the breakfast at the White House.

In one way, it's a very appealing
invitation. The idea of speaking at a festival attended by 85,000 people
is inspiring! The possibility of finding new readers is exciting for a
poet in personal terms, and in terms of the desire that poetry serve its
constituents--all of us who need the pleasure, and the inner and outer
news, it delivers. And the concept of a community of readers and writers
has long been dear to my heart.

As a professor of creative writing in
the graduate school of a major university, I have had the chance to be a
part of some magnificent outreach writing workshops in which our
students have become teachers. Over the years, they have taught in a
variety of settings: a women's prison, several New York City public high
schools, an oncology ward for children. Our initial program, at a
900-bed state hospital for the severely physically challenged, has been
running now for twenty years, creating along the way lasting friendships
between young MFA candidates and their students--long-term residents at
the hospital who, in their humor, courage and wisdom, become our
teachers.

When you have witnessed someone
non-speaking and almost non-moving spell out, with a toe, on a big
plastic alphabet chart, letter by letter, his new poem, you have
experienced, close up, the passion and essentialness of writing.

When you have held up a small cardboard
alphabet card for a writer who is completely non-speaking and non-moving
(except for the eyes), and pointed first to the A, then the B, then C,
then D, until you get to the first letter of the first word of the first
line of the poem she has been composing in her head all week, and she
lifts her eyes when that letter is touched to say yes, you feel with a
fresh immediacy the human drive for creation, self-expression, accuracy,
honesty and wit--and the importance of writing, which celebrates the
value of each person's unique story and song.

So the prospect of a festival of books
seemed wonderful to me. I thought of the opportunity to talk about how
to start up an outreach program. I thought of the chance to sell some
books, sign some books and meet some of the citizens of Washington, DC.
I thought that I could try to find a way, even as your guest, with
respect, to speak about my deep feeling that we should not have invaded
Iraq, and to declare my belief that the wish to invade another culture
and another country--with the resultant loss of life and limb for our
brave soldiers, and for the noncombatants in their home terrain--did not
come out of our democracy but was instead a decision made "at the top"
and forced on the people by distorted language, and by untruths. I hoped
to express the fear that we have begun to live in the shadows of tyranny
and religious chauvinism--the opposites of the liberty, tolerance and
diversity our nation aspires to.

I tried to see my way clear to attend
the festival in order to bear witness--as an American who loves her
country and its principles and its writing--against this undeclared and
devastating war.

But I could not face the idea of
breaking bread with you. I knew that if I sat down to eat with you, it
would feel to me as if I were condoning what I see to be the wild,
highhanded actions of the Bush Administration.

What kept coming to the fore of my mind
was that I would be taking food from the hand of the First Lady who
represents the Administration that unleashed this war and that wills its
continuation, even to the extent of permitting "extraordinary
rendition": flying people to other countries where they will be tortured
for us.

So many Americans who had felt pride in
our country now feel anguish and shame, for the current regime of blood,
wounds and fire. I thought of the clean linens at your table, the
shining knives and the flames of the candles, and I could not stomach
it.

Sincerely,

SHARON OLDS

Patterns of repression against dissident political movements

January 2010
Dear friends, families and supporters,
The last time that we wrote, we were only weeks beyond the 2008 RNC, and still figuring out how to navigate our case with a sense of collectivity and integrity. Now, more than a year after the fact, we find ourselves in a sort of limbo. Day to day, we don't feel the intensity of repression that we did in the weeks surrounding the RNC, yet the trial looms somewhere in the distance and we're not really free to move on. We return to court on February 2nd, and may come out of the hearing with a trial date certain. While it's hard to remain upbeat about the prospect, we hope to make the final push towards trial energizing for ourselves and our supporters alike, and we feel certain that a strong show of court solidarity will make a huge difference in the outcome of our case.
The past year has been difficult, both in dealing with our own situation and in watching as State attempts to subvert and disrupt anarchist movement gain steam, following well-established patterns of repression against dissident political movements throughout history.
In late 2008 and 2009, Ramsey County prosecuted more than a dozen felony cases resulting from the RNC. Abusing their unchecked power to slap on charge after unfounded charge as a way of coercing people out of exercising their right to trial, and with the constant threat of terrorism enhancements, prosecutors extracted numerous plea agreements from individuals who came to the RNC protests outraged at this oppressive system and willing to take a conscientious stand against it.
During the fall of 2008, well-known and controversial radical activist Brandon Darby was outed as a paid FBI informant. This happened as a result of his entrapment of Brad Crowder and David McKay, two young men who traveled from Texas to MN for the RNC protests. Though Brad and David both eventually plead guilty to federal charges of making and possessing Molotov cocktails, facts surrounding the case and testimony given during McKay's initial mistrial make it clear that Darby went out of his way to create the unlikely scenario in which the crimes were committed. Darby, whose crimes of conscience will go unpunished, has already robbed two people of their freedom, but the extent of his cooperation and the damage it has done to our community remains to be seen.
In April of 2009, Indiana residents Tiga Wertz and Hugh Farrell were arrested and charged with racketeering as a result of their work organizing against I-69, the US segment of the NAFTA Superhighway. I-69 will displace small farmers, wreak environmental destruction, and facilitate the movement of goods and capital at the expense of the continents' poor and working people. Tiga and Hugh are still awaiting trial, which will likely not start before 2011.
Late this fall, two friends and comrades of ours in Minneapolis, Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth, were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury in Davenport, IA, which is investigating a 2004 Animal Liberation Front action at the University of Iowa. Scott and Carrie were teenagers in Minnesota at the time of the ALF raid, and though they have no information to give about it, they refused to cooperate with the grand jury on principle. They were both jailed on civil contempt on November 17, 2009, and two days later, Scott was indicted under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). He is currently out awaiting trial and Carrie remains jailed in Iowa, where she may sit for another nine months. Carrie and Scott's involvement in RNC organizing, their affiliation with known antiRNC organizers, and materials seized in RNC raids, have all been used so far in prosecutorial attempts to vilify them and their politics.
Scott is only the seventh person ever charged under the AETA. In February of 2009, four people in Santa Cruz, CA, became the first AETA indictees, accused of first-amendment protected activities including leafleting and chalking sidewalks. Last spring, BJ Viehl and Alex Hall in Utah were also charged under the AETA in relation to mink liberations. BJ recently plead guilty, citing the improbability of a fair trial in such a heavily conservative state, and will probably be sentenced in March. Alex is still awaiting trial.
The same day that we go to court here for our next hearing, Jordan Halliday will start trial for felony contempt of court, a charge he is facing after months of incarceration on civil contempt for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury in Utah.
This fall, comrades from the Tin Can Comms Collective sustained a raid and two arrests at the G20 mobilization in Pittsburgh. After returning to their home in Brooklyn, NY, the two arrested were subjected to yet another raid, this time on their house. State charges related to the G20 were subsequently dropped under circumstances that suggest the existence of an active federal investigation of Tin Can's activities.
Needless to say, anarchists have taken quite a few hits this year. Yet these cases are only one manifestation of the systematic repression of movements for social change. Even as anarchists have yet again become a primary target of State repression, the U.S. continues its war on Black and Puerto Rican revolutionaries, and their allies.
In January of 2007, charges were brought against eight former Black Panthers (the San Francisco 8) for the 1971 murder of a police officer.
The case, re-opened with post-9/11 anti-terrorism funds, is based on information extracted through torture. Several of the the SF8 are former or current political prisoners. By summer of 2009, most charges had been dropped or drastically reduced in plea agreements. As of this writing, the last remaining conspiracy charge was dropped, leaving a single charge against Cisco Torres.
In recent months, the State of Pennsylvania has engaged in a new push for the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, falsely convicted of the murder of a police officer in1982 and held on death row ever since. His supporters across the globe are mobilizing, yet again, to prevent this- our movements have kept him alive thus far, and it falls on us yet again to prevent his State-sanctioned assassination.
Meanwhile, the Puerto Rican independence movement- which has won the release of most of its political prisoners over the past decades- is preparing a final push for the release of two of the remaining three, Carlos Alberto Torres and Oscar Lopez Rivera.
At this moment, dozens of political prisoners sit in U.S. prisons and jails, many of them having been there for decades and some who may never get out. The State would have us believe that political prisoners do not exist in this country, which holds a full quarter of the world's incarcerated people in its prison plantations. It is our common commitment to a radically transformed world that they intend to subvert with every new arrest, detention and prosecution, and our only defense is an acknowledgement of the fact that this is happening day in and day out, and a commitment to fight it at every step of the way.
As we look towards what could be the final stage of our own case, we're left to ponder the impact of our work. It is our hope that our supporters also support every person named in this letter, and every target of State repression left unnamed. Whether we're acquitted or convicted come trial, the greater measure of our success will be the extent to which our case builds the movements to which we belong.
See you at trial,
the RNC 8
http://rnc8.org/2010/01/letter-from-the-rnc-8-january-2010/

WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE

----Original Message-----
From: Matthew W. Daloisio
Subject: [WAT] 42 Arrested at U.S. Capitol in Day of Action to Denounce Obama's Broken Promises on Guantanamo, America's Broken Laws, and the Breaking of Lives by Torture

***videos and photos are up at www.witnesstorture.org***

WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE

Press Release: For Immediate Release

January 21, 2010

42 Arrested at U.S. Capitol in Day of Action to Denounce Obama's
Broken Promises on Guantanamo, America's Broken Laws, and the Breaking
of Lives by Torture

Washington, DC: In a dramatic protest, 42 activists with Witness
Against Torture were arrested this afternoon at the U.S. Capitol. The
protest comes on the eve of the since-voided deadline President Obama
had set for closing the prison camp at Guantanamo.

Those arrested on the Capitol steps held banners reading "Broken
Promises, Broken Laws, Broken Lives." Inside the Capitol, 14
activists performed a "memorial service" for the three men whose
deaths at Guantanamo in 2006 were initially reported as suicides and
callously described as "acts of asymmetrical warfare" by military
officials. New reports provide strong evidence that the men may have
been tortured to death at a CIA secret prison in Guantanamo.

The ceremony brought the names of the men-- Salah Ahmed Al-Salami,
Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi and Yasser Talal Al-Zahrani-- into the Capitol
Rotunda, where deceased presidents have lay in state. "We perform this
ceremony to recognize the humanity of those whose lives have been
broken by our government's policies of torture and indefinite
detention," says Jerica Arents of Chicago, Illinois, one of those
arrested in the Capitol.

Witness Against Torture has called for an immediate, independent
investigation of the deaths, as it has called for the criminal
investigation of all those who allegedly designed, executed, and
carried out torture policies.

Most of the 42 arrested at the Capitol did not carry identification,
taking instead the names of men at Guantanamo through arrest and
processing. "Taking the name of Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif is a
necessary and real way of bringing his story to Congress," says Joshua
Brollier, a co-coordinator with Voices for Creative Nonviolence in
Chicago, Illinois. "Adnan was tortured and continues to be held after
eight years without charge or trial. It boggles the mind and breaks
the heart. It's time for Congress and the Obama administration to make
and fulfill a plan for his release." Brollier and others from Voices
will continue in Washington through February 2, participating in the
Peaceable Assembly Campaign to pressure Obama administration and
Congress to explore alternatives to U.S. militarism.

The actions at the Capitol followed a march of "Guantanamo prisoners"
dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods that began at the White
House and stopped at the Supreme Court before going to Capitol
grounds, home to the U.S. Congress. "Congress has played a horrible
role in refusing to check the power of the president and in supporting
torture," commented Matt Daloisio of New York City, a Witness Against
Torture organizer. "But it was important to pass by all of the
government institutions that have failed to uphold justice and protect
the rule of law."

Members of Witness Against Torture began a Fast for Justice on Monday,
January 11-- the date in 2002 when the first men were brought to
Guantanamo under the Bush administration's "war on terror."
One-hundred fifty people from around the country joined the 12 day
fast, which will end on Friday, January 22, the promised day for
Guantanamo's closure.

"We were so hopeful last year," says Christine Gaunt, a grandmother
and third generation farmer from Grinnell, Iowa, who was arrested at
the Capitol. "But Obama has broken his promise to close Guantanamo.
I am acting today because I am horrified and ashamed that this illegal
prison continues to exist, and that those responsible for torture have
not been held to account. I am using my body to demand that my
government stop the insanity of torture and illegal detention."

Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being
in December 2005 when 24 activists walked through Cuba to the
Guantanamo base to condemn the prison camp and torture policies. Since
then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and
non-violent direct action.

To learn more visit:

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