What Would Jesus Buy?

What Would Jesus Buy?

A fantastic film from Reverend Billy who heads up the Church of Stop Shopping. It will be in Tucson at the Loft on December 7th. At the Loft. Be there or be square.

The Loft Cinema
3233 E Speedway Blvd, Tuscon AZ 885716
520-795-7777

Organize a trip to see it with friends. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder how our society ever became so ill with consumerism. Sacrilegious? Yep. On target. Yep. A must see? Absolutely.


From The Loft's Website:

Official Website View Trailer WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? - Opens December 7th 90 mins, Rated NR "A fast and funny documentary ... might make a viewer think twice about that next purchase at The Gap." - Laura Kern, THE NEW YORK TIMES Brace yourself for the onslaught of the holiday season "shopacalypse" with this hilariously insightful new documentary from executive producer Morgan Spurlock (Super-Size Me), starring the one-and-only Reverend Billy and the members of his Church of Stop Shopping! The film follows the white-suited, big-haired Rev. Billy and his 35-member choir as they hit the road in two biodiesel-fueled buses in December 2005, on a guerrilla U.S. tour against rampant consumerism! They invade shopping malls, megastores and Starbucks coffee shops with a message preached in mock-religious fervor that there is evil – a looming “shopocalypse” – at the heart of U.S. consumer culture. Rev. Billy tries to “exorcise” discount chain Wal-Mart's home office in Arkansas. He is arrested in Disneyland on Christmas Day after marching with his red-robed choir and denouncing the Walt Disney Corp. for outsourcing merchandise production. In an outlet of lingerie shop Victoria's Secret, known for its blizzard of catalog promotions, Rev. Billy exhorts, “O Victoria, we know your secret – we don't need a million catalogs a day to have our sexual fantasies.” As the holiday shopping season grows ever-longer, and the malls become ever-more aggressive with their siren call of consumption, Reverend Billy is on a mission to reveal the dangers of holiday over-spending, and help heal the shopping-scarred souls of a cashed-out population. Filled with biting satire, wacky humor, revealing interviews with psychiatrists, politicians, kids and their exasperated parents, and the gale-force charisma of Rev. Billy himself, this is the perfect holiday film for anyone who's "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!"

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Rev. Billy joined CODEPINK in the hallowed halls of Congress for “Don’t Buy Bush’s War” actions this past spring. Can you say, "Peacealujah!! my friends?

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Film screenings (from the website:)

GET A GROUP TOGETHER AND SAVE BIG BUCKS
PLEASE CALL 877-447-4670 FOR DISCOUNT INFORMATION

NOVEMBER 16
Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10013
212-924-3363
Website

NOVEMBER 21
Sunset 5
8000 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90046
323-848-3500
Website

Westpark Theatre
3755 Alton Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92606
Website

NOVEMBER 23
Shattuck Cinemas
2230 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704
510-464-5980
Website

Ross Media Arts Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Website

Lumiere Theatre
1572 California St., San Francisco, CA 94109
415-267-4893
Website

Cinema 21
616 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209
Website

NOVEMBER 30
Aquarius Theatre
430 Emerson St., Palo Alto, CA 94301
650-327-3241
Website

Landmark Varsity Seattle
4329 University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105
Website

Landmark Century
2828 N. Clark St., Chicago
Website

Edina 4
3911 West 50th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55424
Website

Criterion Cinemas
86 Temple St, New Haven, CT 06510
203-498-2500
Website

Plaza de Oro Twin
371 South Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
805-963-9503
Website

Charles Theater
1711 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201
410-727-3456
Website

Westgate
340 Westgate Mall, Madison WI, 53711
203-498-2500
Website

DECEMBER 3
The Screen
Santa Fe, NM
Website

DECEMBER 5
The Movies on Exchange
10 Exchange St, Portland, ME 04101
207-772-9600
Website


DECEMBER 7
Chez Artiste/Landmark
2800 South Colorado Boulevard at Amherst Denver, CO
Website

The Magnolia
West Village
3699 McKinney Avenue, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75204
214-764-9106
Website

Regal Arbor Cinema @ Great Hills
9828 Great Hills Trl, Austin, TX, 78759
512-231-9742
Website

The Loft Cinema
3233 E Speedway Blvd, Tuscon AZ 885716
520-795-7777
Website

Landmark Greenway
5 Greenway Plaza., Houston, TX 77046
Website

Tower
876 East 900 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Website

Regal's Tara
2345 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E. Atlanta, GA 30324-3758
Website

Landmark Hill Crest Cinemas
3965 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103
Website

Real Artways Cinema
Hartford, CT
Website


DECEMBER 14
Crest Theater
1013 K St, Sacramento, CA 95814
Website

DECEMBER 21
Guild Theater
3405 Central Avenue NE., Albuquerque, NM 87106
Website


JANUARY 11, 2008
Nickelodeon
Columbia, SC
Website

CODEPINK Human Rights Delegation to Pakistan

CODEPINK & Global Exchange cofounder Medea Benjamin, and LA and DC CODEPINK activist Tighe Barry are traveling to Pakistan as a CODEPINK human rights delegation to Pakistan. A letter from Medea per this delegation and its mission follow. Codepinkalert.og will have blogs and reports from Medea and Tighe on the site as they are received.

Hold them and peace in your hearts.

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From: Medea Benjamin
November 23, the day after Thanksgiving

Human rights activist Tighe Barry and I are on our way to Pakistan today. It's a bit of a trek--leaving from New York to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), where we have an 11-hour layover, then on to Karachi for a week, then Lahore and perhaps Islamabad.

This is the beginning of what we hope will be an on-going presence of US human rights observers in Pakistan until the elections are scheduled to take place in January.

We've been very troubled by the state of affairs since General Musharraf imposed martial law on November 3. Under the guise of the war on terrorism, he has jailed thousands of lawyers, human rights advocates and opposition leaders. Some have been released, but many remain in prison or under house arrest. He sacked the Supreme Court and then stacked it with his own judges, thereby wiping out an independent judiciary. And he clamped down on the press, closing several stations and restricting others.

So we are going to learn more about the situation, hoping to interview the lawyers and activists who have been victimized by the crackdown. We'll get their stories and learn how we can be of support as they take great risks to bring the rule of law back to their country.

With the US government shoring up Musharraf and continuing to give millions of our taxdollars to his regime every month, we in the US have a great responsibility toward the people of Pakistan. Thanks why this trip--and hopefully the subsequent delegations--are so important.

Below is a description of the delegations and their purpose. We hope you'll help us spread the word, so that more people from the US will join us or donate funds so that others can come.

Much love and happy holidays to all.

Thanks so much,
Medea Benjamin
Cofounder, Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace

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Emergency Delegations to Pakistan to Support the Rule of Law

The Ad-Hoc Committee for the Rule of Law in Pakistan (ACRLP) is organizing a series of delegations to Pakistan starting November 25, 2007 and continuing through January, 2008 -- when elections promised by President-General Parvez Musharraf may or may not be held. The delegates include lawyers, human rights activists, free press advocates and labor supporters who will travel to various parts of the country to meet with Pakistan-based democracy activists, as well as representatives of local political parties.

The delegations' purpose includes:
To show support for the secular progressive communities in Pakistan that have been victimized by emergency rule, as well as local human rights and democracy activists who have been especially targeted by authorities;
To produce a well-researched report documenting the crackdown on human rights and democracy activists
To consult with local human rights and democracy activists and develop recommendations for restoring democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan;
Upon returning to the U.S., to pressure the White House and Congress to adopt the recommendations crafted with the advice of local human rights and democracy activists;
To educate the U.S. public about the dire situation in Pakistan, its implications for the region and U.S. national security, and how to support a return to democracy and the restoration of the rule of law.
If January elections do indeed move forward, to assess the conditions for free and fair elections.

On the ground in Pakistan, we will be assisted by professors and students from the Law and Policy Program of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

The first delegation will start the week of November 25.

The ACRLP currently faces several needs:

Groups to sign on to the Ad-Hoc Committee for the Rule of Law in Pakistan
Individuals to join the delegations
Funds to support the effort. Checks (tax-deductible) can be made out to Global Exchange/Pakistan and sent to 2017 Mission St, 2nd fl, San Francisco 94110.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL MUST LISTEN TO IRAQ'S PEOPLE AND PARLIAMENT

Please forward this letter widely and ask that recipients take action. The signers of this letter are some of the most involved and informed individuals in the Progressive community. Take a moment to consider that pressure must begin to come from the global community to get the U.S. out of Iraq. Our supposed leaders in the U.S. ignore the wishes of the citizenry, this is the next best hope. Peace.

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LISTEN TO IRAQ'S PEOPLE AND PARLIAMENT

The United Nations Security Council will soon consider re-authorization of the U.S.-led occupation force in Iraq. The Iraqi cabinet, led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, is about to send a letter to the Council requesting extension of the mandate of this so-called "multinational force." The U.S. government is drafting a Council resolution, and the vote will come up in a matter of days.
But the Iraqi constitution clearly calls for ratification by the parliament of any such international agreement. And the parliament is demanding a voice. Last April, 144 members, a majority of Iraq's parliament, signed a letter calling for a timetable for withdrawal of occupation forces. And the same letter denounced as "unconstitutional" a move by the al-Maliki cabinet to unilaterally request a mandate renewal without consulting the parliament. As the current mandate comes closer to expiring, it appears that al-Maliki, under pressure from the U.S., is about to repeat the same unconstitutional and illegal process.

In May, by majority vote, the Iraqi Parliament passed a law reaffirming the Constitution's requirements – that the cabinet must get two-thirds majority approval from parliament for any force renewal request to the Security Council. An overwhelming majority of Iraqis want a complete withdrawal of all the occupation forces, as numerous polls have shown. While the Bush administration insists that it wants to "build democracy," it is ignoring the Iraqi people and their elected representatives. Washington wants to renew the UN mandate without approval of the Iraqi parliament-- another illegal step to justify and prolong the U.S.-led occupation.

TELL YOUR GOVERNMENT TO STOP UN SUPPORT FOR OCCUPATION!

ANY EXTENSION OF THE UN MANDATE MUST BE RATIFIED BY THE IRAQI PARLIAMENT AND INCLUDE A TIMETABLE FOR TROOP WITHDRAWAL.

People worldwide should take action. Nations sitting on the UN Security Council are particularly important: United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France, Belgium, Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa

For background., see: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/mnfindex.htm

TAKE ACTION! See sample letter at http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/mnfrenewal/2007/1119sampleletter.htm

Jim Paul, Global Policy Forum

Gael Murphy, Code Pink

Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange

Leslie Cagan, United for Peace and Justice

Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies

Emira Woods, Foreign Policy in Focus

Anna Polo, Europe for Peace

Alice Slater, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NY

Alfred Marder, International Association of Peace Messengers

Bruce Gagnon, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space

Anna Goodhun, Fairbanks Coalition for Peace and Justice

Stacey Fritz, No Nukes North

John Burroughs, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy

Jacqueline Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation

New Impeach Cheney Campaign

Just got this impeach Cheney campaign info that is aimed at draft age students. I suggest forwarding it to every teen and young adult you know.



You will need a Facebook account to access this page.

Pakistan, societal dissociation, and Sapir-Whorf

Okay... do you get it now? We've supported a military dictatorship in Pakistan since 1999 and enabled this rogue dictatorship's development and ownership (and thus USE) of nuclear weaponry. Yes -- we -- not our government... not our administration, not any other euphamistic term that downplays our individual responsibility for allowing this to happen. Listen for the use of the phrase "came to power" by the talking heads rather than any referenced to an election.

Whatever the Bushites do, we do, because we are not stopping them. I cannot continue to use language that separates we the people from we the government because it leads to dangerous societal dissociation. WE must stop using language that minimizes our responsibility for the fascistic government we have governing us. Language is power. The language we use in the present changes future pattern of thoughts and thus what is likely to happen.

While not all things scale up, I think this is an organizing principle of social systems. We must visualize and speak of a societally created, better and just governance or we will have no chance of enacting it.

So -- this week's exercise: watch how the corporate media describes the Pakistani military dictatorship's suppression of the fragile tendrils of democracy in the courts and government and how you talk about the situation.