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Showing posts with label Vigil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vigil. Show all posts

12.15.2014

nd. With just a little luck I'll be going to Cathy's in PA till next monday... need a 'note' from the hospital, an early enough departure so Cathy can get back to a late afternoon obligation, and a 'release' from CCNV, all of which appears likely. Means I'll not be able to do the Vigil at the WH this weekend... but I'll be gathering strength for the fight upon my return to DC. Will know by mid day tomorrow.

With just a little luck I'll  be going to Cathy's in PA till next monday... need a 'note' from the hospital, an early enough departure so Cathy can get back to a late afternoon obligation, and a 'release' from CCNV, all of which appears likely. Means I'll not  be able to do the Vigil at the WH this weekend...  but I'll be gathering strength for the fight upon my return to DC.  Will know by mid day tomorrow.

3.14.2011

"The Vigil's Existential Risk - Judas(es) NOT Police, Zionists, etc." SL

"The Vigil's Existential Risk - Judas(es), NOT Police, Zionists, etc." SL
 
Windows on SL's Skunk-works:  Start Loving blog, FB StartLoving1, YT StartLoving4, Twitter StartLoving1  <<< GOING DARK MARCH 15 2011


1.21.2011

SL here. My Life may not be totally in vain. Please read...

Today I've received two notes that suggest my life may not
be in vain; one from a sister in the DC area, and one from
a sister in the south.

----- SISTER ONE --------

Hey SL! How are you? I've missed you - yes I have!
I want to come see you on the White House grounds.
I am currently working on hosting a movie premiere of
Heaven's Rain. A true-crime tragedy I've been very passionate
about lately. BUT I think about you every day & wonder
how your life missions are going on. Remember I am always
here for you if you need me. This is my cell # if I haven't
given it to you already.... I worry about you & your safety
sometimes. You're like the (Earth) Father I've never had.
Hoping you are well. xo
XX

---

Hey sis! Sorry it took me so long to reply to your wonderful
note. It will be good to see you, when that is destined to
be. I've just watched the trailer for Heaven's Rain. Deeply
disturbing. The temptations to leave our Hearts for Head
and Flesh are soooo powerful, seem sooooooo right, sooooooo
irresistible. But they are always Deadly error; Murder.

I'll be sharing a note tonight that I received tonight (below) that
addresses the question about how my missions are going.
I want to Save the world, all of it, this instant. But I'm at
peace, pretty much, that I can barely help at all. But what
I can attempt, I attempt. There is no personal price I
hesitate to pay. And, I suspect, it is not all for naught.
Your kind notes testify to that, and the note I'll share
tonight from another, also so testify. Jesus spoke a lot
about leaven. I get it. I'm Called (we're all Called) to be
leaven, and I'll guess that each week I am leaven to the
Heart of several of my global brothers and sisters. My God,
I wish I could be INFINITELY more; but this tiny bit is what
I can do.

Well, maybe I AM the earth Father you've never had;
and without question I'm your Brother. If you Love me,
I'll never leave you because I'll be in your Heart, as you
are in mine.

Anyone that worries about my safety needs to understand
that I AM my Family, nothing more, nothing less, nothing
else; I am just one cell in my current and future body of
Humanity. Therefore she/he that worries about me, only helps
me by caring for the neediest parts of my body, and this
is NOT this little cell here in front of the White House; but
rather my tortured cells in Palestine, Haiti, our inner
cities, our starving, our fossil fuel victims....
This is the Body of Christ that Christ Jesus spoke of, of
course.

Wonderful to hear from you and to receive this deeply
Loving note from you.

And thank you for always being there for me. I believe
you. And I am always here for you.

Your brother forever, no matter what, sl

-------SISTER TWO-------

Dear Brother,
We met scarcely a year ago and though, no doubt, you
do not remember me, I feel inclined to write you. I was
sixteen last March and begrudgingly travelled to D.C. to
partake in a "National Youth Leadership Conference" despite,
frankly, a lack of faith in both people and leadership, dreading
the inevitable revelation that our leaders, our future leader—
well, ignorance, if in every other way is virtue less, at the
very least does not discriminate. During our visit to the
White House, I used my time to speak with you, to ask
about your vigil's purpose. Never have I stood so in awe
of one man—indeed, because to me you did not represent
one; you represented and were all men. You encompass
me, I encompass you, etc. etc.—but what was most
extraordinary was your potential fulfilled, your transcendence,
your belief in rising above the human tragedy. I believe—
if I can assert this—that I do, very much, understand what
you mean through your actions, your idea of universal love.
You said that you could see my heart and it was loving, alive,
awake—your words have not left me. I write to you now
because I want you to know that, in my own way, I protest
against ignorance and prejudice; that when I feel isolated
and disparaged, your very existence gives me more hope
than I have ever had. You told me that many people view
you as a circus attraction—please know that I do not. I
believe I understand and am still trying to understand, am
still trying to become a human being and loving to my
fullest. You spoke to me both in words and in the silence
of absence that ensued. I am eternally grateful for the work
you do for all of us; your heart beat is very much heard and
felt. In a world which seems so very lost and dark, there is,
at the very least, one other who is opening their eyes. So,
once again, my love, thanks, admiration, and infinite respect.
Your faith in the difference of one individual, in "the majority
of one", gives me the courage and the hope to care unapologetically
and to act accordingly. In short, you inspire me to lead a life
worth living. I do not pretend to have evolved yet into the
person I wish to become and will be, but there is not a day
in which I do not consider and progress; I am still learning
and growing, but I am always, always loving. Thank you for
challenging me to think in such a way that no one else has.

Sincerely, your friend,

MM

------

Well, my beloved sister, you've quite lanced my Heart, and
leave me in tears of gratitude, wonder, and Joy. I've received
many hugely nice, and encouraging notes. They are deeply helpful to
me, they massage my Heart, and help it beat all the stronger.
But I don't recall ever receiving a nicer, more thoughtful, more
promising note than this note from you.

I must correct you. I am nothing. Heart, living out of our
Heart, well, it is Divine, and it is Heaven. And I refuse to
spend one second Living out of anything except for my Heart;
not my Head, not my Flesh, though my Heart use Head and Flesh,
every speck! This relentless Living out of Heart is what you
see that you respond positively to. It is what King, Gandhi,
Teresa, Jesus, Eleanor Roosevelt too did, and died to get us
to do too. You speak of evolving. It is actually 'returning' that
you are yearning toward. "Be like a child and enter in," the
greatest of teachers Jesus said, and did, and was right. No,
not the spoiled brat child in us, but the child we are all born of -
wonder, one-ness, openness, unity, Universal Love,
CONSCIENCE...HEART... Our Father's image. This is what we
must re-discover, re-empower, re-birth in ourselves, protect,
strengthen, nurture, encourage, EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE....

I've created many sites to help us find, walk and master the
Path - they are simply and entirely what have enabled me to
reclaim, rediscover, remaster Life, Truth, Love, Peace. I pray
they provide you many, many, many hours of help, strength,
speed, courage, comfort, especially these sites -
http://jesusgodgoodetcnjay.blogspot.com/ ,
http://www.youtube.com/user/StartLoving4#grid/user/871B56D121255436 ,
http://www.youtube.com/StartLoving4 .

My Love and Hopes go to you sister.
Your Loving brother forever, no matter what, sl

12.25.2010

letter from prison - Fr. Louis Vitale - SOA Watch - 6 months. Again.


Dear Start,
Hope this email finds you well. We just received the letter below from prison from Father Louis Vitale. Fr. Louis was arrested together with David Omondi, Nancy Smith and Chris Spicer by the Fort Benning military police during the November Vigil when they carried the call to close the SOA onto the military base. Father Louis and David were sentenced immediately to six months in federal prison. Nancy and Chris are currently preparing for their federal trials on January 5, 2011. They will use the courtroom to put the SOA itself on trial. Several others are also still facing charges after having been arrested by the Columbus police following the rally on November 20, 2010. Support the SOA Watch Legal Defense Fund with a contribution today. You'll find addresses to write to the prisoners below.


Letter from Father Louis Vitale, SOA Watch Prisoner of Conscience:

Two weeks have passed since David Omondi and I began our sojourn here at Irwin County Detention Center in southern Georgia. Some may say, "Vitale has protested himself back into the pokey below the Mason-Dixon line" and "He has been jailed again in an effort to bring peace and social justice." SF Chronicle 11/28

LouieMany ask, "Why do you keep doing this?" We try to respond: "Because the oppression goes on and our nation is a major participant in that oppression of the poor and of all creation." Specifically this manifestation of mourning focuses on the School of the Americas (WHINSEC) at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where U.S. military have taught counter-insurgency techniques, including torture and disappearance, to Latin American military. It still goes on, as recently observed with the outrageous coup in Honduras carried out by graduates of the School of the Americas. In fact, our involvement in oppressive militarism extends throughout the world!

But why so many times at Ft. Benning (my fourth arrest and incarceration, and so far from my home base)? The School of the Americas is an icon of our intrusion into developing countries over many years and the source of horrific massacres including religious leaders and thousands of peasants. Also Ft. Benning is a major military base feeding vast numbers into the war machine. Thousands gather annually to mourn the victims and to call for an end to our war machine that continues to grow into more bases, nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities, even into space war (and the new X-37B militarized version of the space shuttle).

Are we ready to declare peace and act in its presence? Let's call - with all our energy - for nonviolent solutions now, transforming many peoples' lives and our world. Our work is cut out for us as we must be vigilant and active with nonviolent resistance. May we move towards peace in the new year.

[Louie, serving a 6 month sentence for trespass at Ft. Benning, was moved from the Irwin County Detention Center on December 15, and is currently in transit. We will let you know as soon as he reaches his final destination.]


Write the the Prisoners of Conscience

To write to Louis, please direct correspondence to: Fr. Louis Vitale, c/o The Nuclear Resister, P.O. Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733

To write to Michael David Omondi, also sentenced to six months for trespass at Ft. Benning, please direct your correspondence to: David Omondi, c/o The Los Angeles Catholic Worker, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033


If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more, please write a check to "SOA Watch Educational Fund" and mail it to: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, DC 20017.
We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as start_loving@yahoo.com.
Contact us.

Our mailing address is:
SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA

Our telephone: (202) 234 3440

Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA.

"Yeah, I give food and money to that homeless guy," the Secret Service, retired Marine officer mentioned in passing to me. (CLICK for more...)

"Yeah, I give food and money to that homeless guy," the
Secret Service retired Marine officer mentioned in passing to me.

As we were chatting last night at the vigil, my SS officer friend Kevin
noticed a form walking thru the park. "I figured he was dead."
See how he walks funny? The front of both feet have been
cut off - frostbite or diabetes. He used to hang out just outside the park by a warm
grate. I'd give him food and money," he mentioned in passing.
"I haven't seen him in a year. Figured he was dead." Kevin
was visibly relieved.

"Give me a military man to fight alongside any day. Don't give
me any cowards." Gandhi. Me too.

11.27.2010

"I don't really grasp why I find this vigil something that is worth giving one's life to keep going. But I do. It is like this flame, this last bit of hope for humanity, that we give our lives to keep from going out." SL

"I don't really grasp why I find this vigil something that is worth
giving one's life to keep going.  But I do.  It is like this flame,
this last bit of hope for humanity, that we give our lives
to keep from going  out."  SL

11.26.2010

6 months in prison - Saint Louis Vitale, and friend SOA (thru Tears of sorrow, and awe)



SOA Watch News & Updates
Speaking Truth to Power
David Omondi and Father Louis Vitale Sentenced to Six Months in Federal Prison -- Incarcerated in Georgia Jail

Four human rights activists were in court on Tuesday, November 23 after being arrested and charged with federal trespassing at Ft. Benning, Georgia on November 20 and 21. During their arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Hyles, Nancy Smith and Christopher Spicer pled not guilty. Their trial is set for January 5. Franciscan priest Fr. Louis Vitale, OFM and David Omondi of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker Community pled no contest and put the SOA on trial through their statements in court. Fr. Louis and David were sentenced to the maximum 6 months in jail. While nonviolent resisters are being sent to prison, those responsible for the use of torture manuals at the SOA have never even been charged for their crimes. Father Louis and David are presently in a Georgia county jail.

Write to the prisoners:
Because they may be transferred at any time, cards and letters to David may be sent to his community for forwarding: David Omondi, c/o The Los Angeles Catholic Worker, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033. Louis' mail may be sent to the Nuclear Resister for forwarding at P.O. Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733.

Click here to read the letter that vigil speaker Father Alberto Franco wrote to all the prisoners of conscience from the November vigil and please feel free to ad your own message to the prisoners in the comment section below the letter text!

On Saturday, November 20, twenty-two others were arrested on city and state charges, including unlawful assembly, failure to disperse, and parading without a permit. Two were charged but not taken into custody. Some were blockading the highway leading into Fort Benning with a sign that read, "Stop: This is the End of the Road for the SOA". Many of those arrested were not intending to risk arrest but were swept up as they walked back to their cars after they left the permitted protest following the vigil on Saturday. These included journalists and a Columbus, Georgia resident who came out of a barber shop to take a photo of the protest. The SOA Watch Legal Collective is collecting testimony and photos of the indiscriminate arrests that took place on Saturday afternoon. Stay tuned!

On Sunday, November 21, Columbus Recorder's Court Judge Michael Cielinski found 21 of the 24 who were arrested by the city guilty on all charges. Two were convicted in a state court the next day. All were released from jail by Monday, with fines and bonds as high as $4,152.50. The SOA Watch community stepped up in a big way, supporters maxed out their credit cards at ATMs to ensure that no one had to stay another day in the Muscogee County Jail. Those who were arrested still have to answer state charges, and expect to be arraigned in January.

For more information about the Ft. Benning protest, visit www.SOAW.org.

Photos from the November Vigil:

To view more photos by Linda Panetta, click here!




To view more photos by Linda Panetta, click here!

Contact us.

Our mailing address is:
SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA

Our telephone: (202) 234 3440

Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA.

"Time to write a book, and move on." SL

I suspect my primary focus this next month will be writing
a book. 

My personal Salvation from living Hell was helped by nothing
more than books of "Quotations,"  Gandhi, Teresa of
Calcutta, MKL Jr, Jesus, Tolstoy.... 
I don't yet grasp why that is, but somehow
the truth that Saves can be contained in a sentence, or
is is not the Truth that Saves.

I'm not sure I'll ever grasp why so much of my writing has
been discrete sentences of the form '"xxx xxxx xxx" SL' written, as you've
so often suffered from me.  I'm amused by it.  But I'm amused by
most of my life these last 10 years.  50% of me feels like
a bystander, and observer for the other 50% of me - watching
with interest, wonder, confusion and amazement what I
do, say, think....

So I think it is time for me to consolidate my writings thus
far into something like "Back toward the Sustainable way of Being.
Start Loving in Its Own Words."  Maybe, some day, it
will be a stepping stone for someone, as it has been for me.
I expect to put it up and leave it up on the internet.

I invested literally everything I had and was in the Nov
election - a decisive final battle of the Civil War, and the
North lost - never really fought, actually; just laid back
and got raped and plundered.  So, I lost;
and it is exactly what was needed from me.  But now
it is time to figure and lead to where humanity needs
to go now.  NOW.

A couple
of things that came out of my head and fingers this
morning:

"Every $ you spend creates or destroys someone's meaningful job." SL

"Western Culture is Terminal now.
A New Way of Being's Salvation, or there is none."  SL

"The purpose of Life is to help the neediest Live. Period." SL

"Start Loving; Everything less is Genocide." SL

"Every Heroic act of Love is activism.  Nothing else is."  SL

"The purpose of Death, Cancer is to give pleasure to me and mine." SL

I suspect (but am not certain, and don't care)
there are many more months and years for me
here at the vigil - I sense it is massively powerful work for me,
tho it would appear to most, otherwise.  But mentally, I think
I'm seeing that the societal current order is Terminal, and the termination
is so much at hand, that I need to move significantly from
the role I've been playing of making the current system change,
to being a more deliberate tip of the spear in terms of creating
the new way of being for those who survive the pending total demise
of the current civilization.

xx

sl


11.16.2010