One Nation rally was a success, If you believe in unity, not divisiveness

This is what's being tweeted over and over and over....

Obama disappointed that there were only 50000 people in attendance of the #onenation rally of which only 100 were legal.

This is how immature wingnuts are. The size of the crowd has nothing to do with the content of the rally. It has nothing to do with helping our country get on her feet, helping the jobless,  those who are discriminated against, helping our nation come together in peace and prosperity!  This rally was made up of Americans talking about economic issues, jobs, education and equality. It was a rally to get the message out on how important it is to vote on November 2nd.

The difference in message between the One Nation rally and Beck/Palin rally was obvious. One Nation was about bringing the country together, Americans from all walks of life were at this rally with a message of unity.

The other rally so hyped by Fox and the Christians, was just that, Fox and Christians. It was people dressed as revolutionaries bashing the Obama administration. Blaming Obama for our countries descent into hell. Telling all the Christians if this country does not turn back to God we are doomed. Beck with his bulletproof vest on was channeling God, Palin was praying for the Rapture, teabaggers were holding misspelled signs, shouts coming from the rightiewhities to "give them their country back". What a sad, sad day for America, there was NO coming together pleas, no message to save our economy and put people back to work. Just Beck, Palin and The Christians, crying, whining, and praying....for God to give them back their country from the evil liberals and the Muslim black president...

Fruits of Justice - Bishop of St ALbans Harvest Appeal

This year as a diocese we are being encouraged to support Tear Fund's work in Uganda by raising money for the Church of England's 'Climate Justice Fund.'

What do we know about Uganda?

Approximately 70% of Ugandans earn their living from farming. Until a few years ago, the predictable rainy seasons provided Uganda's farmers with two good harvests of staple foods. But climate change has hit them hard, bringing hunger and malnutrition - particularly in eastern and northern parts.

In the Teso region of eastern Uganda, the floods in 2007 killed 20,000 people and wiped out crops. Poor rains in 2008 and then drought in 2009 meant thousands of people had to survive on food aid and wild fruits and leaves.

Uganda is among the world's 50 poorest countries; the country has one of the lowest life expectancies at just 43. 30% of Uganda's 30 million people live on less than $1 per day. A significant proportion of child deaths are due to malnutrition...

The statistics are one thing, but the stories of the people of Uganda are quite another. I was moved by Winnie's story...

Winnie's family lost everything when floods hit eastern Uganda in 2007. For months, the family survived on food aid and wild leaves. Winnie (now 5) and her sister Merab (7) were often sick. Then drought set in.

'It was very hard', says Winnie's foster dad Stanley. 'I felt terrible that I could not feed my wife and children. Merab has sickle cell anaemia and the lack of food made it worse. He joints were swollen and she was in terrible pain.'

'I prayed to God that he would give us the strength to get through. And God answered my prayers. He brought the Church to us.'

With help from the Anglican Church of Uganda's development team, Stanley and his neighbours in Odort parish, Katakwi District, have set up a farming group. They've received tools, equipment and training to grow drought-resistant crops such as watermelons and sunflowers. Stanley (32), the group chairman, has also been given a kick-start with poultry farming - and he now has 210 chickens in the small yard of his self-built home!

'We have benefited a lot' he said with a smile from ear to ear. 'The girls and our two younger sons are all able to eat three times a day. It has been two months since Merab was sick. Merab and Winnie are able to go to school.'

Half the world's population lives in desperate poverty on less than $1 a day. Stanley is one of them. For basic survival, and nothing else, Ugandan farmers need to earn 1 million Ugandan shillings a year (£320). Last year, Stanley earned just 600,000 shillings (£192) - from a small harvest of watermelons and from finding additional work as a brick-maker.

Now, Stanley's watermelons and sunflowers are established, so the harvests should provide a much larger income - as long as the rains come. And his 200 chickens act as insurance for a non-rainy day.

Please give generously to this appeal. £10 will buy enough drought resistant seed for one family for one year. Please give as generously as you can via the JustGiving site.

Iraq Veterans Against the War

If you read my previous post you saw this insert and hopefully signed the pledge to stand with the Iraq vets. After I signed the pledge I received this email...

So far, 1,650 supporters like you have signed Iraq Veterans Against the War's Pledge to support Operation Recovery, our campaign to defend GIs' and veterans' right to heal.  We need just 350 more signatures to meet our goal of 2,000 by October 7.
Sign the Pledge today.
Just six days from now, we will travel to Washington, DC to publicly announce Operation Recovery: Stop the Deployment of Traumatized Troops campaign.  On that day, October 7, this nation will enter its tenth year of war in Afghanistan -- marking ten years of untold suffering for the Afghan people and silent pain for our troops. 
With our Operation Recovery Campaign, IVAW will bring to light the private stories of trauma that an overwhelming number of veterans and GIs are coping with as they are sent again and again to continue these wars. And we will hold those responsible for deploying traumatized troops accountable.


Mental Health problems among our military are overwhelming
Published medical studies in 2008 and 2010 estimate that 20-50% of all service members deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan have likely suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  In real numbers this means 350,000 to 900,000 are dealing with PTSD.
And a recent Army Times article states, "At least one in six service members is on some form of psychiatric drug.  And many troops are taking more than one kind, mixing several pills in daily "cocktails" - for example, an antidepressant with an anti psychotic to prevent nightmares, plus an anti-epileptic to reduce headaches..."  It further cites that the Department of Defense spending on psychiatric drugs used by the active duty military has risen by 75% since 2001.
These numbers provide an outline of the picture of today's American military and what it must do to continue the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan indefinitely.  But next week in Washington, real veterans will be present to tell their personal stories and put a human face on the trauma they and thousands of others endure.


350,000 to 900,000 of our military suffer from post traumatic stress disorder???  This is astounding to me! Does this country need a wake-up call or what? Whatever will we do when we run out of recruits to fight these endless wars? Please visit this website, there is so much to read and so many different ways you can help these veterans. 


This was written by veteran Victor Agosto

Never Forget

Nine years ago today, I knelt and prayed to a god that I no longer believe in for protection against Muslim terrorists. Today I know that the world's biggest terrorists are the those who will stop at nothing to control land, resources, markets, and people. They are the capitalist ruling class, whose lust for profit cannot be satisfied. The world's people are not safe from poverty, hunger, war, and environmental destruction until that class is overthrown. Never forget.

Victors story,

Personal Information

Biography

I enlisted in the Army in August 2005. I deployed to Iraq in October 2006 as 25F (Network Switching Systems Operator/Maintainer) and returned in November 2007. While deployed, I turned against the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In May 2009, I publicly refused deployment to Afghanistan and began refusing orders connected to his unit’s deployment. I was court-martialed in August 2009. I was sentenced to 30 days in jail and was demoted to the rank of Private. I was discharged from the Army on October 20, 2009 and was barred from re-entering the Fort Hood Military Reservation. I serve on the boards of directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Fort Hood Support Network, the governing body of Under the Hood Cafe.


When are we gonna start paying attention to these wars and our suffering veterans? And what about our suffering troops who are asked to sacrifice so much, for what?? Something terribly secretive and scary is happening in our country and nobody is paying attention!

The One Nation rally tomorrow will not only be about jobs and our future, but about protesting these endless wars. Please get involved, let your voices be heard!