South Korea: Anarchist Sentenced to 18 Months for Conscientious Objection

From the War on Society blog: http://waronsociety.noblogs.org/
by Gabriella Segata Antolini

A young anarchist from South Korea, Ahn Jihwan, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the conscientious objection on February 17th of this year in Seoul. Now he is imprisoned in Youngdenpo and should be released in August 2012. Jihwan received the 18 months for rejecting the mandatory military service.

Letters of support to Jiwahn Ahn can be sent to this address:

Jihwan Ahn

2568

P.O Box 164

Geumcheon-gu
Seoul, Republic of Korea
153-600

To read his statement (in Spanish) follow this link: https://vivalaanarquia.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/corea-del-sur-anarquista-condenado-a-18-meses-de-prision-por-objecion-de-conciencia-2/

Animal Liberationist Walter Bond’s Final Statement to the Court

On Friday (Feb 11), animal liberationist Walter Bond was sentenced by a Colorado court to five years prison plus three years probation for his ALF (Animal Liberation Front) lone wolf actions. He faced his sentencing without fear and he stuck by his convictions. His final statement to the court is fiery and defiant and he remained unbowed before the court’s authority. The following is Walter Bond’s Final Statement to the Court that he read at his sentencing.

Mormon Anarchist Housewife Zine is Out

My wife put together this awesome zine. Find out how to get yourself a copy or download a PDF at http://mormonanarchisthousewife.wordpress.com/

LGBTQ Suicide Crisis and the LDS Church

by kristina grace k.

Today the Human Rights Campaign is asking people to wear purple, to remember LGBTQ lives lost and to show solidarity to struggling LGBTQ youth. Media attention lately has rightfully been drawn to a spike in LGBTQ suicides this Fall; suicides that were the result of anti-gay bullying. There has also been a number of abuse cases carried out by anti-gay perpetrators. On September 30th, Democracy Now reported,
“At least four youths have taken their lives nationwide this month following incidents of anti-gay bullying and harassment. A New Jersey college student jumped to his death from a bridge last week after two classmates broadcast a videotape of him having sex with another man in his dorm room. The students had recorded Tyler Clementi’s sexual encounter without his knowledge. The eighteen-year-old Clementi had just started his freshman year at Rutgers University. In California, thirteen-year-old Sean Walsh died on Tuesday, nine days after a suicide attempt left him on life support. In Texas, thirteen-year-old Asher Brown died last week following months of alleged bullying. Brown’s family says he revealed he was gay shortly before taking his own life. And in Indiana, fifteen-year-old Billy Lucas hung himself earlier this month after also being bullied by classmates.” (http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2010/9/30)

The following weekend, at the October 2010 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Boyd K. Packer, in his talk titled Cleansing the Inner Vessel which was largely about pornography also added this concerning homosexuality, “Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural.” (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-23,00.html) I couldn’t help but feel that following all these deaths, abuses and even rapes against LGBTQ individuals that this was a slap in the face to the LGBTQ community and its allies. Utah has one of the highest rates of teen suicides and sadly, this doesn’t surprise me when I continue to hear this from the pulpit. It’s also quite dangerous and ridiculously outdated to encourage people to change their identity and to tell them that if they fail to do so, they must not have had a sufficient desire or enough faith. I feel that if anything, this attitude can only push struggling LGBTQ Mormon youths in the more desperate direction towards ending their own lives. The American Psychological Association advises “parents, guardians, young people, and their families to avoid sexual orientation change efforts” and to “seek… social support and education services that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support, and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth.” (http://www.apa.org/about/governance/council/policy/sexual-orientation.aspx)

As a Mormon I feel I have an even greater responsibility to the LGBTQ community both within and outside of my Church to show my solidarity with this community and to interrupt any and all hateful discourse that is happening around me. Because I know what the overall climate is in my Church I should be working and praying to change it from one of rejection to one of acceptance. Even a small show of support may save a life. For racism to end, white people need to confront other white people. For sexism to end, men need to confront other men. And for these murders, suicides, rapes, abuses, and hate against LGBTQ people to end, heterosexual people must confront other heterosexual people. Church meetings and activities are not “safe” environments for LGBTQ Mormons and I should never expect LGBTQ Mormons to have to make themselves vulnerable in such an environment. It is my responsibility to speak up.

Here are a few resources for any LGBTQ folks who are struggling with thoughts of suicide: National Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255; See suicide.org/hotlines/utah-suicide-hotlines.html for hotlines specific to city; A hotline for LGBTQ youth 1-866-4-U-TREVOR; and check out ItGetsBetterProject.org for support and resources. I’m not an expert on anything but I can be a friend: “kristina grace” on fb.
Wear Purple Today! http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2010/10/this-wednesday-%E2%80%93-wear-purple-to-remember/

What Does Mormonism Say About Animal Rights?

Last month, video footage taken as part of an undercover PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) investigation led to the USDA shutting down North Carolina–based contract animal testing facility Professional Laboratory and Research Services, Inc. (PLRS). The animal testing facility, which tested products for major pharmaceutical companies – such as Novartis and Merck among many others – was exposed by animal rights activists as being a sight of disgusting, indefensible cruelty to animals. Details can be found at http://www.peta.org/features/professional-laboratory-and-research-services.aspx.

The Anti-War Roots of Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

What many people don’t know is that Mother’s Day actually got it’s start as a statement against war. Julia Ward Howe, ironically best known for writing the words to “Battle Hymn of the Republic”, wanted women to get together to finally put an end to the idiotic game men play called war.

“Mother’s Day really was in its origin an antiwar day, an antiwar statement. Julia Ward Howe was sickened by what had happened during the Civil War, the loss of life, the carnage, and she created Mother’s Day as a call for women all over the world to come together and create ways of protesting war, of making a kind of alternate government that could finally do away with war as an acceptable way of solving conflict.” (Gloria Steinem, 2009, on Democracy Now!)

Here is the Mother’s Day Proclamation written by Julia Ward Howe in 1870.

Road to Reconciliation Story Contest

[Here is an announcement from the Foundation for Reconciliation, an organization that I think is doing good work.  Learn more at ldsapology.org.  -Tariq]

“We learn best – and change – through stories that build emotional connections.”

We are seeking stories from LDS or former LDS Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders or their families and loved ones. The purpose of these stories is to create an emotional connection to LDS members and to the public at large, so that greater empathy and understanding will be created and reconciliation of the LGBT community and the Mormon Church can commence. We believe that change will come from members whose hearts have been softened and who will not tolerate discrimination and mistreatment of LGBT members.

Veterans of Wikileaks “Collateral Murder” Incident Speak Out

Here’s a message I just got from Fire in the Hole — April 13, 2010.  Hey all, we have been working around the clock to support Josh and Ethan and help get their story out. Please see below, FWD this message, and stay tuned to our website (www.civsol.org) for updates. -Ryan

In the last 3 days, 2 veterans of the company involved in the Wikileaks”Collateral Murder” shooting, with the full support of us here at the Civilian-Soldier Alliance, have stepped forward to speak their truths about the incident and condemn the war. Hear their April 13th interview on Baltimore’s Marc Steiner Show here:http://steinershow.org/radio/the-marc-steiner-show/april-13-2010-segment-2

Ethan McCord, of Kansas, is seen in the infamous video rescuing a wounded girl from the van that U.S. forces had destroyed. He has come forward to ask people to place blame with those who led the country to war, not those who had to carry the war out, and to express his remorse for those innocents killed. Ethan told us that he lives with the memory of those children everyday. 

Ethan’s command called him a “pussy” and yelled at him for rescuing them, and he was threatened by his command when he requested mental support after the incident. Josh Stieber, who spoke in Baltimore Saturday, right before the video was released, was deployed to New Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16 as well, but was not at the scene of the incident. He is speaking to tell the world that these situations are everyday occurrences in these occupations; “If these videos shock and revolt you, they show the reality of what war is like,” says Stieber. “If you don’t like what you see in them, it means we should be working harder towards alternatives to war.” They will soon take their message to the world. Until then, check out some of these news links, and stay tuned to http://www.civsol.org for updates on their work.

Confessions of a War Resister

Matthis Chiroux is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW.)  He served as a Sergeant in the US Army but was discharged last year (under honorable conditions)  after winning a legal battle against the Army, which was trying to punish him for his refusal to deploy to Iraq.  The following are some of his own words about his military experience.  I wanted to share it with Mormon Worker readers, because I think there are many good lessons in it, and it powerfully illustrates some of the important points I’ve been trying to make about the evils of the military system.  From my own experiences working with IVAW in the past, I have high respect for IVAW and hope they are able to continue doing the good work for peace and justice that they do. 

Breaking: FBI Raids Activist House in Utah, Connected to Iowa ALF Investigation

When environmentalists and animal rights activists who haven’t killed anyone are labeled “terrorists”, the word terrorism loses all meaning.    For the past few years the FBI has been cracking down on evironmentalists and animal rights activists with heavy-handed repression.  This campaign of repression has become known as the “Green Scare”, because it is similar to the way the state stomped out the civil liberties of leftists and suspected leftists during the Red Scare.  I won’t go into an entire history lesson about the Green Scare but I will say that those interested in learning more about it should check out greenisthenewred.com.  I just read the following story there and I thought it might interest some of you in the Salt Lake City area.