HaPpY 2013

We are running out of planet

so for the future of everything

Wake up

and start co-creating

I have seen signs 

the end of the world

 as we know it has begun 

Don't panic it might look 

terrifying on the surface 

but inside every human being 

a choice to go under or act

Earth is calling 

Sky is calling 

Creation is calling 

wake up, 

wake up 

NOW 

Generate the capacity for love 

for compassion in your heart 

Now is the time to yield 

to the call of growth 

to the call of action 

for you are the change makers

Sleepers of all ages

wake up

wake up

NOW

Lots of love

Birgitta

my Facebook is Spybook

I got this mail from Face(spy)book yesterday: December 16, 2012 9:05:29 AM GMT John Perry (friends with London Wobblies) subscribed to your public updates. John Perry Federal Security Officer at Department of Homeland Security Friends with London Wobblies Note he is friends with London Wobblies. USA Wobblies had a workshop in Iceland at the grassroots center recently where I often go to and I organize meetings at quite often and also note that I lost my  smartphone down a toilet (:) in an airplane last friday not to be recovered  and have thus been untrackable for a few days. I guess they miss me.  Best tool apart from smartphone is to keep track of us via Facebook Someone sent me a link to this document from MAPPS from 2008 that includes the following: "John Perry issue Request – can MAPPS help DHS coordinate with state and others in  these efforts? Interagency Remote Sensing Coordinating Committee MAPPS wishes to help – Dick McDonald" Dear John welcome to my world - i hope that by spying on me and my friends that you will be inspired to help us make this world a better place. Dear friends I urge you to use PGP or other cryptography tools for sensitive communications you want to keep private. For smartphones, facebook and gmail are not private and we dont have laws to protect us. UPDATE. I notified the London Wobblies about who Mr Perry works for and they have removed John Perry from their friends list.

Energized

When I am being love

my heart expands,

overflows

the walls of my body

I energize myself

not like a machine

but as a plant

Stretching fingers of leaves

towards the light

When night falls

I don't sleep

I withdraw,

go inside,

close my blossom,

to the outside world

All is linked

manifestation of the collective

I am with the creation

spins into codes

manifests through binary

Generations

Generation X

Generation Beat

Generation Beast

Generation Millenium

Sub Cultures

Bums

Punks

Angels

Buddhas

Divas

Gods

Human Beings

It's the glory of the age of the consumer

Doomsday 

already occurred 

time and time again

-Terror in the vacuum

What is this doomsday anyway?

Fear of fear itself

Resurrection of the heart

ancient wisdom 

compact thought

streaming beyond time and space,

willingness to start a revolution

in our own hearts

Taste the bittersweet

brutal honesty 

The collective knowledge

of the transparency generation

spreading through the nerves of cyberspace

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow

This is still highly relavant even if it was first published February 8, 1996. Think of the legal monsters waiting to be grounded in laws and norms such as SOPA, PIPA, ACTA. Everyone who cares about the freedoms online should read and share... and resist. 

Thank U John Perry for the vision and for the groundwork. Here is the manifesto.

"Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.

We have no elected government, nor are we likely to have one, so I address you with no greater authority than that with which liberty itself always speaks. I declare the global social space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us. You have no moral right to rule us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have true reason to fear.

Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. You have neither solicited nor received ours. We did not invite you. You do not know us, nor do you know our world. Cyberspace does not lie within your borders. Do not think that you can build it, as though it were a public construction project. You cannot. It is an act of nature and it grows itself through our collective actions.
You have not engaged in our great and gathering conversation, nor did you create the wealth of our marketplaces. You do not know our culture, our ethics, or the unwritten codes that already provide our society more order than could be obtained by any of your impositions.

You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this claim as an excuse to invade our precincts. Many of these problems don't exist. Where there are real conflicts, where there are wrongs, we will identify them and address them by our means. We are forming our own Social Contract . This governance will arise according to the conditions of our world, not yours. Our world is different.

Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live.

We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth.

We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.

Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here.

Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge . Our identities may be distributed across many of your jurisdictions. The only law that all our constituent cultures would generally recognize is the Golden Rule. We hope we will be able to build our particular solutions on that basis. But we cannot accept the solutions you are attempting to impose.
In the United States, you have today created a law, the Telecommunications Reform Act, which repudiates your own Constitution and insults the dreams of Jefferson, Washington, Mill, Madison, DeToqueville, and Brandeis. These dreams must now be born anew in us.

You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants. Because you fear them, you entrust your bureaucracies with the parental responsibilities you are too cowardly to confront yourselves. In our world, all the sentiments and expressions of humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless whole, the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from the air upon which wings beat.

In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-bearing media.

Your increasingly obsolete information industries would perpetuate themselves by proposing laws, in America and elsewhere, that claim to own speech itself throughout the world. These laws would declare ideas to be another industrial product, no more noble than pig iron. In our world, whatever the human mind may create can be reproduced and distributed infinitely at no cost. The global conveyance of thought no longer requires your factories to accomplish.

These increasingly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same position as those previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had to reject the authorities of distant, uninformed powers. We must declare our virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as we continue to consent to your rule over our bodies. We will spread ourselves across the Planet so that no one can arrest our thoughts.
We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before.

John Perry Barlow
Davos, Switzerland
February 8, 1996"

Democracy: upgrade = (re)Public – (r)evolution - (h)activist - H(e)art-h

The marrow from my speech at FutureEverything 2012 - a big thank you to Jodi Rose for making this beautiful PreziTation for me to use as a frame for the keynote.

Democracy:Upgrade on Prezi

Democracy: upgrade = (re)Public – (r)evolution - (h)activist - H(e)art-h

What is democracy?

Who is the system to serve?
What is a parliamentary representative?

Who does he pledge alliance to?

Who writes our laws?

What are the cornerstones of Democracy?

What is the purpose of a constitution?

I want you to think about these questions and find out what their content means to you.

I am an activist in parliament. The longer I serve, the more I think about the meaning of the questions I have just posed. The more I understand how the system works, the more obvious it is to me that there is a serious system error. The system is like the hard drive on computers you would have to defrag in order for them to work, the bigger the files the less efficient the computer would work. The problem with our systems is that they are too big, too alienated from the people they are supposed to serve. It is too difficult for the public to be able to influence and have impact on the (re) in the rePublic. Sometimes when the computer is too fragmented the best solution is to zero it in order for it to work, sometimes a complete system upgrade is the only way out. We have reached the point in our democracies that we need to zero the system and install a new system. We need to move away from the big complex to the small fast system, where each and every person has to understand that we are the stuff that makes the system. We are the system. We are the government. We are society. We are the power. We are the law. It is not beyond us, unreachable nor undesirable to be it, the system is a reflection of who we are.

In order to empower people to act on this awareness and to start to apply changes through our only means: through action, we need to have direct democracy with the liquid add-on. We need to craft our constitution for and by the people. (Constitution is the agreement of a nation on what sort of society they choose to be). Law is currently crafted by and for the 1% - we need to simplify our laws and make sure we agree on the spirit of the law, rather then adding on their complexity with endless patchwork.

The cornerstones of society are freedom of information, expression and speech. The Internet is the last free world, that has enabled us to connect, share, be informed, act and resample our creativity. The internet is now under serious attack, as the corporations and governments are trying to place their reins of power on it, in order to industrialize it and to have absolute control over how we connect, share, be informed, act and resample our creativity.

I am a hacker in parliament, I went into the system in order to understand how it works and my conclusion is clear: Install new system with a new form of democracy of the future, where we move away from democratic dictatorship with many representative heads to a direct responsibility of direct liquid democracy. Are you ready to be the co-creator of your society? Do you understand the importance of your participation? We are running out of planet, so for the future of everything it is time to wake up and start co-creating.

Concern over China's conduct in Tibet Raised in Icelandic Parliament

In a proposal moved in the Icelandic Parliament by Birgitta Jónsdóttir with support of 15 other parliamentarians from all parties in the Icelandic Parliament, expressed deep concern over the escalation of violence and repression by the Chinese authorities against the Tibetan people, that has led to more then 30 Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, who self-immolated in despair since 2009.

The proposal condemns the growing violence at peaceful protests in Tibet, as was the case early this year when 6 protestors where killed and over 60 wounded by Chinese security forces, according to reports by human rights groups.

This parliamentary proposal urges Chinese authorities to halt the forced reeducation on monks and nuns in Tibet where they are forced to condemn H.H. Dalai Lama and denounce him as their spiritual leader, despite the integrated role he plays in their religion, and not complying means the monks and nuns are faced with serious punitive consequences.

The Parliament urges Chinese authorities to stop the enforcement of the Tibetan Nation to assimilate into Chinese culture, for example by ensuring Chinese as their prime language, where Tibetan children are forced to learn and speak Chinese instead of their native Tibetan language.

The Parliament urges Chinese authorities to lift the military siege of Tibet and allow international journalists to travel to the areas in where the self-immolations were frequent in Tibet; to end the forced settlement of nomads; and that journalists be allowed to report unrestricted and without intervention of authorities.

The Parliament urges the U.N. to send a mission to investigate alleged human rights violations against the Tibetan people, such as forced sterilization on Tibetan women, forced settlement of nomads from their natural habit to isolated settlement camps, torture and murder of prisoners, and to investigate what happened to the people who have vanished in relation to arrests of people during the uprising in 2008.

The Parliament also urges the United Nations to exert their influence upon the Chinese authorities to resume formal negotiations with the Envoys of H.H. The Dalai Lama.

The Icelandic Parliament proposal recommends that the Government of Iceland offers Iceland as venue for the resumption of negotiations between Chinese authorities and Envoys of  H.H. The Dalai Lama, for example at Höfði, the venue where Gorbachev and Reagan had their peace talks, who marked the beginning of the end of the cold war.

The resolution was first moved the same day as the Prime Minister of Chine paid an official visit to Iceland by invitation of the Icelandic Prime Minister, the 20th of April 2012. Thus we could use that as means to get the issue of Tibet on the agenda during the official visit, inside parliament and in the mainstream media. The Speaker of the Icelandic Parliament refused to allow us have the proposal debated.  I organized protest outside the Gala Dinner for the Chinese Prime Minister, I was of course not invited even if I serve currently as a Chair of the Movement, all the other Chairs of the political parties were invited. 100 people showed up to the protest, including Friends of Tibet in Iceland and Amnesty International in Iceland to voice our concerns for human rights violations in China and Tibet. 

Here is a video and some photos from the protest.

China Prime minister in Iceland - and people protest Mr. Wen Jiabao,Prime minister of China is on a official visit to Iceland . He came today,and had a meeting with the Icelands Prime Ministe , Johanna Sigurdardottir. People came to protest China´s reputation in human rights matters. A member of the Icelandic parliament , ms. Birgitta Jonsdottir,attended , and protested China´s occupation on Tibet. You can see here on video number 2. she is holding the Tibetian flag and shouting at the Harp,where Ielands prime minister having dinner with her Chinese counterpart. When the came to the Harp,icelands concert hall,for the dinner, they went into the building through a back door . They did not enter like the Icelandic Prime minister, through the front door.

Photos by Dori Sig

OTTAWA DECLARATION ON TIBET

The Sixth World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet 
Adopted the following on 29 April 2012

I am thankful that i managed to be among the parliamentarians from around the world that adopted this important declarations, now is a critical time for Tibet. 

WHEREAS

We, the delegates to the Sixth World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet meeting in Ottawa, Canada, from 27 to 29 of April 2012,

Recalling the findings and statements of the previous five Conventions held in New Delhi, Vilnius, Washington D.C., Edinburgh and Rome, and having reviewed the activities and programs that resulted from these meetings and their impact,

Having reviewed the grave situation in Tibet as well as the policies of the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in relation to the Tibetan people,

Noting with disappointment the lack of progress in dialogue between the Government of the PRC and the Envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama since the meeting of the World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet in Rome in November 2009,

Reaffirming the great value to humanity of the Tibetan culture, language and spiritual tradition,

Recognizing the very important and successful democratization process in the governance of Tibetans in exile by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the recent transfer by him of his political powers and responsibilities to the democratically elected Kalon Tripa and political leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration, which represents the aspirations of the Tibetan people,

Convinced of the continued indispensable role of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in bringing about a negotiated solution to the conflict between the Government of the PRC and the Tibetan people,

WE THEREFORE

Reiterate our firm conviction that this conflict can be resolved through sincere and constructive dialogue and negotiations at the highest level between the Government of the PRC and His Holiness the Dalai Lama or his representatives and the democratically elected political leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration,

Express our equally firm belief that unilateral action in Tibet by the government authorities of the People’s Republic of China, such as the imposition of new policies that do not reflect the aspirations of the Tibetan people, cannot lead to a solution,

Welcome the free and fair character of the elections held last year for the Kalon Tripa and for the members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, which the INPAT Election Observation Mission monitored and reported on,

Acknowledge the growing movement for democratic change among the Chinese people as well as the increasing understanding and support among Chinese for the Middle Way approach of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, all of which has potential impact on the realization of the aspirations of the Tibetan people,

Mindful that the yearning for democratic freedom is unstoppable as evidenced most recently in many parts of the Arab world, in Burma and elsewhere,

Understand the critical importance of freedom of information and of access to it through the internet and other electronic means of communication to the success of democratic movements,

Are alarmed at continuing grave violations of human rights in Tibet and the repressive measures taken by the PRC authorities in reaction to these and other peaceful protests by Tibetans,

Continue to be deeply concerned at the attacks by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China on Tibetan Buddhism as well as their policies and practices that destroy, repress, or discourage the preservation and development of other facets of the distinct identity of the Tibetan people, including their culture, language, customs, way of life and traditions, and which display elements of cultural genocide,

Are saddened and moved by the large number of Tibetans who set fire to themselves in protest against Chinese government policies and for a restoration of freedom for Tibetans and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,

Are seriously worried by recent calls by persons of standing and influence with the Chinese Communist Party for the removal of existing provisions on autonomy for Tibetans and other ‘minority nationalities’ in the constitution and laws of the PRC, which would have very negative domestic and international implications,

Acknowledge the ineffectiveness of the bilateral human rights dialogues that governments have held with the PRC in bringing about necessary change,

Welcome the consideration of the human rights situation in Tibet by the United Nations Human Rights bodies and mechanisms, including by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Treaty bodies as well as through the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, but regret that no concrete action has been taken by the Council itself,

Deeply regret the apparent lack of political will of the Government of the PRC to respond positively to persistent efforts by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the elected Tibetan leadership for the resumption of the dialogue,

Reject the argument made by the government of the PRC that the engagement of governments with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and members of the elected Tibetan leadership and the expression of support by governments for the peaceful resolution of the issue of Tibet through dialogue and negotiations constitute breaches of the ‘one China policy’,

Remain convinced that a sustainable solution to the issue of Tibet can be achieved  through genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the PRC, as evidenced by the positive experience of the many autonomous regions around the world, and note in particular the example set by the creation of the Territory of Nunavut as a self governing community within the sovereign nation of Canada.

WE DECIDE AS FOLLOWS:

Express solidarity with the Tibetan people in their non-violent struggle for their rights and freedoms including the right to determine their own destiny,

Express support also for the Chinese people’s efforts to bring about democratic change to their country and urge that this be achieved in ways that ensure the exercise by the Tibetans of their rights and freedoms and safeguard the rights of other other minority peoples in the PRC as well,

Express concern at the domestic and international efforts by the Government of the PRC to curtail the freedom of information and control electronic and internet communications for political purposes,

Reaffirm our strong commitment to the people of Tibet and the non-violent path they have chosen, under the inspiring leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and 
commend the Kalon Tripa for his continuing efforts to pursue the Middle Way approach and to promote a resumption of the dialogue with the PRC,

Endorse the principles set out in the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People, which provide the basis for a realistic and sustainable political solution to the issue of Tibet,

Recall the important invitation of Deng Xiaoping to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to discuss and resolve any issues except the independence of Tibet, and note that this position has been repeated by the Government of the PRC more recently also,

Dispel the false accusation that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration is seeking separation from the PRC since the Tibetan proposals expressly formulate a solution within the constitutional framework of the PRC and therefore call upon the government of the PRC to cease to propagate such misinformation,

Call upon the Government of the PRC to end the repression in Tibet, provide access to all Tibetan areas in the PRC, schedule the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ mission to China and especially to Tibet, and to resume the dialogue with the Envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in that same positive spirit,

Urge leaders of all governments and relevant international organizations to support and promote this dialogue and to engage the government of the PRC in the potential for serious consequences should it scrap its constitutional and legal provisions on autonomy,

Alert the international community to the serious nature and consequences of the ongoing destruction and repression of Tibetan culture, language and religion by the policies of the Government of the PRC,
 
Offer to work with members of the National People’s Congress to jointly ascertain the causes of protest and unrest in Tibet, including the self-immolations,

Urge the Government of the PRC and the international community to address the environmental challenges on the Tibetan plateau where environmental stewardship profoundly affects life in vast regions of Asia, including in China and countries in South and Southeast Asia,

Commit to introducing and/or keeping these issues on the agendas of our own parliaments and international parliamentary organizations and to persuade our own governments to address them in high level discussions with the Government of the PRC, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the democratically elected Tibetan leadership,

Urge governments to create multilateral mechanisms to address the situation in Tibet and to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict and, in particular, call on the European Union to implement the European Parliament resolution for the appointment of a Special Coordinator for Tibetan Affairs and on relevant national governments to support this initiative, 
 
Make available our own expertise both to the Government of the PRC and to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration in order to assist in the furtherance of the objectives contained in this declaration,

Adopt an action program to ensure greater effectiveness in addressing the concerns and advancing the objectives contained in this declaration. 

Success for IMMI in the European Parliament

European Parliament resolution of 14 March 2012 on the 2011 progress report on Iceland (2011/2884(RSP))

10. Reiterates its support for the Icelandic
Modern Media Initiative, and looks
forward to its transposition into law and
judicial practice, enabling both Iceland
and the EU to position themselves
strongly as regards legal protection of the
freedoms of expression and information;

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P7-TA-2012-0084&language=EN&ring=B7-2012-0125

http://immi.is

Twitter feed by exiledsurfer from my speech at wienerin12

Thanks to ‏ @exiledsurfer for tweeting nearly my entire speeach at wienerin12

 

start reading at bottom for a real timeline:)  

 

@birgittaj's final words: "Remember YOU ARE THE POWER. Don't forget it "

23mexiledsurfer ‏ @exiledsurfer

@birgittaj 'we allowed the collapse of finances in iceland to happen. we need to reclaim our responsibilities'

@birgittaj 'our democracies have become like dictators with many heads. we have a right to know who does what'

@birgittaj 'we have to downsoize our institutions, reclaim our democracies'

@birgittaj 'by us becoming more responsible, that choice will be easier, because we have to suffer the mistakes'

@birgittaj 'i want us to think about the consequences of our daily activities, because we are running out of time'

@birgittaj When they can't vote on it they traditionally tear the place down and write a new one anyhow!  

 

@birgittaj 'go home, find your constitution. read it. Do you think it is time to write a new social contract?'

@birgittaj 'how can a nnation not be allowed to vote on a new constitution? it is an absurd concept'

@birgittaj 'constitutions need to be rewritten BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE'

30mexiledsurfer ‏ @exiledsurfer

 

@birgittaj 'That can also be applied to financials, budgets. it is our money. we should have something to say about it

@birgittaj 'Think about direct democracy. we can aply changes and apply our will in a more efficient way'

@birgittaj 'no one is going to cocreate my dream other than me'

@birgittaj 'we have one aim, together: we want to be happy. Lets do it, because if we don't, no one will'

@birgittaj 'Crisis is not negative, it is the only time you can apply real social change'

@birgittaj 'i took the swiss model of a teax haven, and transformed it into a information haven'

@birgittaj '…to have the first country with protection of freedom of expression and speech'

34mexiledsurfer ‏ @exiledsurfer

 

@birgittaj 'by some miracle , i manged to push through the parliament to say yes unanimously to change 12 laws... 

 

@birgittaj 'freedom of information, expression and speech are the foundations of our societies'

@birgittaj 'we are at crossroads, we need access to information. if we dont have it we cannot make informed decisions'

@birgittaj 'we are going to have to change our life the way we live EVERY SINGLE DAY."

@birgittaj 'if we want to change the way things are, it starts with us. with me, with you"

@birgittaj 'this must be the century of the common people. we know this. the 1% don't know this'

@birgittaj 'we need to learn how to be strong together. there is no prince on a white horse'

@birgittaj 'we have to jump into the deep end of the pool, and see if we sink or swim"

@birgittaj 'nothing we do the first time is perfect. practice makes perfect. it is so important to remember that"

@birgittaj 'i was the first icelandic woman to do websites. i said to myself, i can do this. and i did." 

 

@birgittaj 'i want you to believe that you can do ANYTHING YOU WANT. if u believe otherwise, then u never do anything'

@birgittaj 'to learn to prioritize for what is good for our complete lives should be our goal'

@birgittaj 'my definition of power is to be true to mysylf and to be brutally honest with myself"

@birgittaj 'men should say i feel advantaged i am a man, a disabled person should feel advantaged as a disbled person"

@birgittaj 'i do not see myself as disadvantaged as a woman, i am advantaged. what a privilege"

@birgittaj 'if i am unhappy about something, i just do something about it'

@birgittaj 'power structures are not designed for single parents, men or women'

@birgittaj 'i dont want to reverse the pyramid of power, i want to live in a CIRCLE of power'

@birgittaj begins her keynote, overlooked by Kaiser Franz Joseph http://pic.twitter.com/uMaqXG50

Punk Economics

This is very much how economics works all over the world. I really think it is time we change it (r)evolve it. The way most banks function is totally unsustainable. This lesson is fun. Watch it, share it and learn about how stuff works in order to be able to change it.




David McWilliams, Irish economist, gives us our first lesson in punk economics.


Writer/Director: David McWilliams
Producer/Editor: Mary Catherine Brouder
Illustrator: Mark Flood

Bradley Manning Nobel Peace Prize Nomination 2012

February 1^st 2012 the entire parliamentary group of The Movement of the Icelandic Parliament nominated Private Bradley Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize. Following is the reasoning we sent to the committee explaining why we felt compelled to nominate Private Bradley Manning for this important recognition of an individual effort to have an impact for peace in our world.

Our letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee:

We have the great honor of nominating Private First Class Bradley Manning for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Manning is a soldier in the United States army who stands accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The leaked documents pointed to a long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism by the United States government in international dealings. These revelations have fueled democratic uprising around the world, including a democratic revolution in Tunisia. According to journalists, his alleged actions helped motivate the democratic Arab Spring movements, shed light on secret corporate influence on our foreign policies, and most recently contributed to the Obama Administration agreeing to withdraw all U.S.troops from the occupation in Iraq.

Bradley Manning has been incarcerated for well over a year by the U.S. government without a trial. He spent over ten months of that time period in solitary confinement, conditions which experts worldwide have criticized as torturous. Juan Mendez, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, has repeatedly requested and been denied a private meeting with Manning to assess his conditions.

The documents made public by WikiLeaks should never have been kept from public scrutiny. The revelations – including video documentation of an incident in which American soldiers gunned down Reuters journalists in Iraq – have helped to fuel a worldwide discussion about America’s overseas engagements, civilian casualties of war, imperialistic manipulations, and rules of engagement. Citizens worldwide owe a great debt to the WikiLeaks whistleblower for shedding light on these issues, and so I urge the Committee to award this prestigious prize to accused whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Sincerely,

Birgitta Jónsdóttir

Margrét Tryggvadóttir

Þór Saari

Members of the Icelandic Parliament for The Movement

Warriors of Words

Listen; poets of the world

your words are mighty

your vision is clear

           war IS war

           not peace

The voice of the oracle speaks

           through your words

Fight with your pen

           with your vision

Open the space between space

the world between worlds

           between your words

The world is not simple

It unfolds in layers of understanding

and misunderstandings

Create that empty space

           of understanding

by being unbearably honest

Create that space for free thinking

curling through your words

To strike in the heart of hearts

like a bolt of enlightenment

You are the carrier of the flame

the favorite of the muse

the warrior of words

Truth is truth

           seek it

                      speak it

The bush is on fire

           illusions run deep

seek, speak, the truth

Hope shall flourish

peace shall flourish

in the s p a c e

This poem is dedicated to all the poets, writers, artists, thinkers & spiritual leaders that made

the Book of Hope & the World Healing Book possible.