My August bike trip to the Adirondacks brought no end of pleasures: hearing the loons’ early morning call over a pond near Inlet, NY, as I coasted down a steady grade; watching the shadows gather and shift through the hemlock-beech-maple forest late in the day near Big Moose Lake; feeling an incomparable rush while descending a three-mile hill near Camden, NY; feeling another sort of rush when topping the “last hill” that turns out to be the first of many… But there were other transportation experiences, too, while “sharing the road” with vehicles seemingly designed to express post-adolescent male rage. The muffler-impaired motorcycles were standouts, of course; their riders claim that noise makes for safety, i.e. alerts other motorists of their presence.

Maybe, maybe not. But I can say the high-decibel blasts and farts do nothing for bicyclists’ and pedestrians’ safety. The highly distracting noise-assault makes it much harder for human-powered folks to get the sensory information they need to avoid all sorts of road hazards. But what the hell, the point is that the roads are for the powerful – places for the testosterone-soaked to play out their fantasies of the wolf pack on wheels. (Interesting tidbit: Animal behaviorists now say our inherited ideas about “alpha males” and other aspects of wolf psychology are wrong: the pack is usually a multi-generational family unit, essentially a cooperative, not a “free market” of unrelated individuals ruled by the gnashing of teeth.)

Now I’m back in Rochester for the duration, and one thing on the horizon particularly grabs my attention. The Coalition for Bus Fareness has formed to counter the new fare structure imposed last spring by the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. On one side the fare structure is a gift: You can ride anywhere on the system, including to far-flung destinations like Lyons and Avon for $1.25. The Rochester-to-Lyons trip, which I frequently took, used to cost $3.10. So RGRTA has been most kind to suburban/rural commuters. But the flip side is not so good: Since the plan has eliminated transfers, which used to cost 15 cents, urban riders that need to make connections often end up paying more. For example, a commuter from northeast Rochester who paid cash (i.e. did not buy a special pass) to get to and from the Marketplace mall area used to pay $2.80 daily (two fares at $1.25 each, plus two 15-cent transfers). Now that same commute costs $5 upfront (four $1.25 fares), unless the commuter buys a so-called Freedom Pass for $3 (which will go up to $3.50 in October).

So what we have here is a minor but not insignificant transfer of wealth: The suburbanite park-and-rider gets a substantial break, while many low-income urbanites pay a bit more essentially to subsidize other riders. Truly a sign of the times – like the ear-shattering motorcycle.

A fightback is brewing, though, with the new coalition in the lead. Check out the notice below, which is making the rounds on local listserves:

Public Forum on Bus Fare Changes

Thursday, September 14

4:30- 6 pm

Gleason Auditorium, Bausch & Lomb Library, downtown

How have these changes affected you?:

·                                 Lift Line increase

·                                 Transfers and routes eliminated

·                                 Fare increase (did you know that the fare is increasing again on October 1st?)

 Forum Sponsors include, Ibero American Action League, 19th Ward Community Association, Spiritus Christi Mental Health Center and Prison Outreach, Rochester Poor People's Coalition, Grace of God Recovery House, Homeless Services Network, Poor People United, GPOMC, Liberty Research Group, Metro Justice

Please contact the Bus Fareness Committee for more info- 325-2560.

Thank you,

-Jon Greenbaum, Metro Justice Organizer

Posted by jackbradiganspula at 12:19 EDT

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I'm listening to a Bush news conference as I write this; don't ask me why. Maybe I like the way some white noise in the background stimulates my inner curmudgeon. In any case, my outer curmudgeon is headed up to the Adirondacks by bike, on a recumbent that I'm just breaking in, or that's breaking me in. Those of you who've got emails from me know my signature includes a great quote from Chilean Senator Viera-Gallo (I got the quote from Ivan Illich's essential work, Energy and Equity): "You can get to socialism only by bicycle." I plan to ride with that in the back of my mind.

On a more mundane level, I'll be thinking about how to address some transportation issues when I get home. There's much more to say about the fast ferry debacle. For example, beneath all the scandals and failures is the basic arithmetic that doomed the service from the start: Any vehicle that burns almost 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel for a 200-mile round trip is bound to sink financially, even at the fuel prices of two years ago. And the environmental implications of such fuel consumption (recall the ferry uses more fuel than all the motor vehicles it carries would use if going by land) are pretty grim, too.

Of course, the logical alternative to such wasteful, harmful transport is the one that consistently gets the shaft: intercity rail. Here's a signpost that tells what's happening on that front: Amtrak is now posting notices that warn of delays of up to 90 minutes on all trains between our region and Albany. The delays result from track work that CSX Corporation is doing - work that's undoubtedly been slowed and delayed by today's retrograde politics of rail.

Well, check in again soon. And please comment on the posts, whether to soothe or antagonize the resident curmudgeon.

Posted by jackbradiganspula at 10:49 EDT

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After a couple weeks on the road, I’ve got a couple good things to report. First, the Finger Lakes Trail. My son and I spent four days backpacking on a 50-mile section of the FLT, taking the very long and scenic route between Cortland and Ithaca. The trail, which winds for close to 600 miles (875 miles, counting loops and branch trails) between Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County and the Catskill Forest Preserve, is one of New York State’s underappreciated gems – certainly a rival to the Appalachian Trail and Vermont’s Long Trail in ambience and accessibility. Go to http://www.fingerlakestrail.org/ for information – and join the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, as I just did, to support this mostly volunteer project. Then get out on the trail; camp at the new leantos or bivouac in the many State Forests along the route; and find the sort of beauty you’ll never experience from the highway. (You can minimize your trip’s environmental impact by taking the bus to the trailhead. Ian and I found one nice loop: we took Greyhound/Trailways from Midtown Plaza to Cortland, caught a cab to the actual trail seven miles further south, and made our wandering way to Ithaca, where we caught the bus back to Rochester.)

Second, I can report that organic agriculture is more than alive and well – it’s growing and spreading. That was just one take-home message from the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s annual conference held last week in Amherst, MA. Just one piece of evidence, maybe the most significant, in fact: It seems that more and more young people are joining the movement, buying farms or leasing acreage, forming communities (including some that happily are anarcho-socialist, or the like), creating relationships and families, and otherwise carrying the banner forward in the Dark Age of Bush. I was also pleased that organic folks are working overtime to demote Big Energy and fossil fuels, and to push appropriate technology and renewables. (Several workshops and programs at the conference centered on Peak Oil, the concept that global petroleum production has already passed or will soon pass its high point, after which we’ll see prices going up and energy wars and lesser struggles breaking out. (Go to www.nofa.org for more information – and check out the archived transcripts of talks from previous conferences, like Vandana Shiva’s 2004 keynote.)

I’ll be posting more good news gleaned on vacation – but now that I’m back in the saddle, I’m also looking at some of the news I missed while blissfully “lost” in the woods. Tops on this list is the inadequacy of local response to the Lebanon-Gaza-Israel crisis – response from the mass and “alternative” media alike, as well as from the peace movement. (Note that my name for this crisis reflects the descending order of impact on noncombatants and the ascending order of moral and political responsibility for the carnage, with the Israeli government’s culpability head and shoulders above the competition. Current totals: More than 800 civilian deaths in Lebanon, more than 130 in the often-ignored Gaza theater of conflict, and more than 50 in Israel.)

For now, you’ll find below a relevant document from one of Israel’s most progressive human rights organizations, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. ICAHD, under admirable leaders like retired Israeli academic Jeff Halper, has long resisted the policy of bulldozing homes in occupied Palestine. (The group also supports Israeli military resisters and objectors, etc.) The document does two things: it reveals yet another aspect of the Israeli peace movement that is largely hidden from US media consumers, who are led to believe that Peace Now represents the true Israeli left position; and it points to how we might adopt a more radical analysis and use the most appropriate rhetoric as we confront the worst perpetrator, our own government.

ICAHD STATEMENT ON LEBANON/GAZA WARS 8/4/06

END THE WAR! END THE OCCUPATION!
END STATE TERROR! END AMERICAN EMPIRE!

ICAHD, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, condemns all attacks on civilians, whether by Israel, the Palestinians or Hezbollah. We recognize Israel’s ever-repressive Occupation as the main source of conflict and instability in our region. Had Israel taken the many opportunities it had to secure a just peace, the peoples of the region would never have reached this point of despair and futile violence. Israel believes it can achieve “quiet” and normalcy through military power while retaining its Occupation, encouraged and protected by the US. This is the true convergence: Israel’s Occupation in return for an active Israeli role in expanding American Empire.

Israel’s disproportionate attacks on both Gaza and Lebanon on the pretext of freeing Israeli soldiers is intended to destroy any resistance to the imposition of the apartheid regime represented by Olmert’s “convergence plan.” Indeed, the democratically-elected government of Hamas which had been moving steadily towards a negotiated two-state settlement constitutes the greatest threat to the perpetuation of Israel’s Occupation, as witnessed by Israel’s delegitimization of that government and its systematic campaign to liquidate Hamas leaders. Israel’s illegal and immoral use of collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza in which 3000 houses have been demolished in recent years and its months-long campaign of starving the local population into submission continues must be condemned. ICAHD will work with the international courts to bring the military and political perpetrators of these crimes against humanity to justice.

Hezbollah, whose very existence comes by way of resistance to repeated Israeli invasions, illustrates how counter-productive are the attempts of Israel and the US to impose by force a “new order” on the Middle East whose only rationale is to serve Israeli Occupation and American Empire. Without equating the two politically or in terms of power, both Israel and Hezbollah must refrain from attacks on civilian populations.

Israel, of course, could not have reached this point without American and European complicity. Indeed, American refusal to countenance a ceasefire only affirms Israel’s role as its military surrogate in the Middle East. Their shared aim is a Pax Americana over the region for which Israel will be allowed to keep its settlements.

The war must end immediately, all attacks on civilians must cease immediately and permanently and UN resolutions must be implemented. The international community, especially a complicit and passive Europe, must intervene. America must cease to exacerbate regional conflicts for its own ends. Israel, which holds some 9000 Palestinian and Arab political prisoners, must negotiate a meaningful exchange in return for its captured soldiers. Above all, Israel must realize that there is no military solution to the conflict in our region. Relinquishing its Occupation in favor of genuine negotiations with the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese is the only guarantee of Israel’s security.

END THE WAR! END THE OCCUPATION! END ISRAELI STATE TERROR! END ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS! END AMERICAN EMPIRE!

Posted by jackbradiganspula at 10:26 EDT

Updated: Monday, 21 August 2006 10:49 EDT

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Two remarkable people on the left got sandbagged this week.

First, with their usual alacrity and disdain for free speech, security staffers hauled Global Exchange leader Medea Benjamin out of the Congressional chamber where Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki was addressing our “leaders” – and asking for more US troops. Benjamin wore a “Troops Home Now” t-shirt, and she raised her voice to reinforce the message. In a news release, Global Exchange noted that Benjamin and others have been conducting a public fast in Washington and also have tried to arrange a meeting with al-Maliki to press their case – all to no avail. Now Benjamin may be prosecuted for her action. Meanwhile, the many top-level war criminals who were on hand to hear al-Maliki are avoiding arrest.

Adding insult to injury, a network TV newscast (can't recall which one - but they're interchangeable) mentioned that "a woman" had been removed from the speech. No name, and of course nothing about Global Exchange; heaven forbid. But I'm sure Benjamin, who as a founder of CodePink has become a respected national leader, and more importantly one who's deserving of respect, is used to the forced anonymity.

Sandbag number two: On July 26 the New York Times went with a story about US senatorial hopeful Jonathan Tasini, who’s running a campaign of sanity and decency against the retrograde incumbent, Hillary Clinton. The story, notable for a lack of background, mined a blog where Tasini was heard saying that Israeli attacks against Gaza violate the Geneva Conventions and could be regarded as terrorism. Tasini later told the Times that he did not and would not call Israel a terrorist state. But he added, “I have been critical of Israeli conduct in the occupied territories — Gaza and the West Bank — and in the current conflict, in the same way that I have been absolutely critical of Hezbollah.”

In the grand tradition of modern journalism, the story was finely “balanced” with quotes from a Clinton spokesperson, who said Tasini’s blog comments were “offensive and beyond the pale”; and someone from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who said Tasini’s “ignorance is appalling.” No room for views from independent left sources, of course.

Nor was there room for even a few sentences from Tasini’s easily accessible campaign material to flesh out his views on the Middle East and show how he’s actually pro-Israel, in the truest sense. So to fill in some of the blanks, below are some extracts from the campaign website (tasinifornewyork.org). Note that Tasini, beyond being articulate and correct, has the kind of bona fides that Hillary Clinton can only envy:

“From the beginning of this race, I was committed to speaking the truth, whether about the Iraq war/occupation or abusive corporate power or the corruption coursing through our political system… Voters should know a little about where I come from on the issue of Israel-Palestine and the raging conflict engulfing the region today. I speak about Israel out of love and pain, in the same way that I am a deeply patriotic American who is harshly critical of our government and its behavior in Iraq—and of Hillary Clinton’s vote to send our men and women to die into an illegal, immoral war.

“My father was born in then-Palestine. He fought in the Haganah (the Israeli underground) in the war of independence; my father’s cousin, whose name I carry as a middle name, was killed in that war. I lived in Israel for seven years, during which I went through the 1973 war: a cousin of mine was killed in that war, leaving a young widow and two children, and his brother was wounded. My step-grandfather, an old man who was no threat to anyone, was killed by a Palestinian who took an axe to his head while he was sitting quietly on a park bench. Half my family still lives in Israel. I have seen enough bloodshed, tears, and parents burying their children to last many lifetimes.

“For that reason, I believe passionately in a two-state solution, which includes a strong, independent, economically viable Palestinian state existing along side a strong, independent, economically vibrant Israel. It is the only solution that will bring peace to the civilians who now live in fear of death raining down from above—either because of the missiles of Hezbollah or the bombs of Israeli aircraft.

“I do not believe Israel is a terrorist state. I do believe that Israel has committed acts that violate international standards and the Geneva conventions. In Israel, such a statement that the military has committed acts that violate the Geneva convention and international standards and has also engaged in torture (or, as it is called, “moderate pressure”) would be a subject of debate but hardly considered novel or particularly radical.”

From there Tasini goes on to cite B’tselem, the highly respected Israeli human rights group (www.btselem.org), and he also mentions Rabbi Michael Lerner, the founder of Tikkun (www.tikkun.org).

In a tip of the hat to the latter, Tasini ends his statement with this: “As a Jew, I have always been proud of the Jewish concept of “Tikkun Olam” or “repairing the world.” I like to think that that is what brought so many Jews into the civil rights and labor movements in the 1960s and 1970s, and into the current anti-war movement—and, personally, guided me into the world of social justice work. I feel great sorrow that Israel is an occupier of another people and I believe that Israel can never be whole and can never be at peace until that occupation is ended in a just way. And I also believe that the concept of Tikkun Olam means that we must never be silent.”

Amen to all that.

Posted by jackbradiganspula at 10:16 EDT

Updated: Thursday, 27 July 2006 10:25 EDT

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The latest newsreports say Israel is prepared to continue its attacks on Lebanon for several weeks more. Meanwhile, the Bush administration gives Israeli forces one after another “green light” for more mayhem. And not incidentally, the US supplies Israel with an unending stream of ordnance (including weapons of mass destruction), thus insuring endless collateral damage at the rate that's by now a grim regional tradition: ten or more dead Lebanese civilians for every Israeli civilian who’s been killed by the morally repugnant missile attacks from Hamas or Hizbullah.

But there’s a very dim “bright side” to the ongoing tragedy. As Israel forces continue their wildly disproportionate attacks against southern Lebanon and Gaza, peace activists have the time necessary for organizing against a wider war – and to connect the dots between what’s happening along the Mediterranean to what the US is doing throughout the region, not least in the endless, though now overshadowed, military occupation of Iraq.

So far, as the whole world reacts to the Lebanon-Gaza humanitarian crisis, Rochesterians have been under- or mis-represented on the streets. But this Saturday, July 22, a gathering at the Federal Building downtown will give us all a chance to speak out for justice. Below you’ll find information on the event, with contacts and what I hope is a growing list of sponsors.

I would have liked the publicity for the July 22 demo to mention the Israeli victims of violence, as well. So to balance things, I’ve appended an informative news release from an excellent group: the Oakland, CA-based Jewish Voice for Peace, which took part in a July 17 Bay Area demo. I’m sure the points JVP has raised will be repeated here. Hopefully that will add some much-needed balance to local media coverage of the issues, which to date has been predictably lame.

LOCAL CALL TO ACTION

Israel continues to inflict mass terror upon the people of Lebanon

and Palestine. The US aids and excuses Israeli policy without question.  

PROTEST! DEMONSTRATE!

Saturday, July 22, 1:00 pm

Federal Building, 100 State St, Rochester

* End Israeli Terror and All US Support for it

* Israel—Hands Off Lebanon. Stop the Bombings, End the Blockade

* Stop Israel’s Bloodbath Against the Palestinians of Gaza.

Called by concerned groups and individuals,

among them Justice for Palestine Network, Rochester Committee

on Middle East  Peace, Rochester Against War, Pax Christi,

International Socialist  Organization

(list in formation, call 436-3886 to endorse)

Contact RochesterJustice4Palestine@yahoo.com

JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE STATEMENT

July 17 Protest at Israeli Consulate in San Francisco To Urge Israel To End Military Attacks on Gaza and Lebanon

“War crimes will not bring peace, security and justice to Palestinians, Israelis or to Jews anywhere”

(San Francisco, July 17) – Members of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), one of the nation’s largest grassroots Jewish peace groups, are organizing public actions in major cities across the country to help bring an end to the current conflict. Many of us have friends and family in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel.

JVP believes that all parties in this horrifying escalation of violence must be held accountable to international law. However, Israel’s refusal to negotiate and its decision to act with overwhelming force - using weapons supplied by the United States - have escalated this situation to war. Far from bringing peace, Israel’s actions only empower extremists.

First in Gaza and now in Lebanon, Israel has responded to attacks on military targets by targeting civilian, not military infrastructure. As a result, Gaza - where 64 elected members of Parliament were arrested by the IDF and where Palestinians now lack proper access to electricity, water, fuel, hospital care and essential foodstuffs - is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. Lebanon is being devastated. Now Israeli citizens have become targets.

It is essential to understand that this entire sequence of events did not begin with recent Hamas and Hizbullah attacks on Israeli targets. It must be traced to Israel's continuing 39-year illegal, immoral and unjustified occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Israel can never know peace as long as they occupy another people.

Israel, like any other country, including Lebanon and the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, has the right to defend itself. Hizbullah’s attack on an IDF post within Israel’s borders was a clear violation of international law, and its subsequent missile strikes on Israeli cities and civilians doubly so.

But Israel’s response to attack has been to punish the civilian population of Lebanon with enormous force, and this is both illegal and intolerable. As with Gaza, Israel has employed the most blatant form of collective punishment, and they have completely refused to talk.

By taking this tactic, Israel has endangered not only Palestinian and Lebanese citizens, but also their own people. We call on Hizbullah to immediately release the two Israeli soldiers they are holding and for Israel to immediately cease its military operations in both Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. We call on our government in the US to act immediately to bring about a cease-fire and to commence negotiations between Israel and the duly elected Palestinian Authority aimed at resolving the fate of the soldier being held by Palestinians; at ending all attacks by Israelis and Palestinians against each other; and at ending the 39-year old Israeli occupation and finally bringing a just peace to the region.

About Jewish Voice for Peace:

Founded in 1996, Jewish Voice for Peace is a national grassroots peace organization dedicated to promoting a US foreign policy in the Middle East based on peace, democracy, human rights and respect for international law. With over 13,000 supporters and members, JVP’s board of Jewish American and Israeli advisors includes Pulitzer and Tony award winner Tony Kushner, actor Ed Asner, poet Adrienne Rich as well as other respected rabbis, artists, scholars and activists. JVP has chapters in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Seattle, Chicago, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Posted by jackbradiganspula at 12:50 EDT

Updated: Thursday, 20 July 2006 12:59 EDT

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