benjamin, Medea

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The pernicious lies of neoliberalism still haunt us — threatening the future of life on Earth
 Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies October 21, 2021   In country after country around the world, people are rising up to challenge entrenched, failing neoliberal political and economic systems, with mixed but sometimes promising results.
Progressive leaders in the U.S. Congress are refusing to back down on the Democrats' promises to American voters to reduce poverty, expand rights to healthcare, education and clean energy, and repair a shredded social safety net. After decades of tax cuts for the rich, they are also committed to raising taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations to pay for this popular agenda.
Germany has elected a ruling coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats that excludes the conservative Christian Democrats for the first time since 2000. The new government promises a $14 minimum wage, solar panels on all suitable roof space, 2% of land for wind farms and the closure of Germany's last coal-fired power plants by 2030.
Iraqis voted in an election that was called in response to a popular protest movement launched in October 2019 to challenge the endemic corruption of the post-2003 political class and its subservience to U.S. and Iranian interests. The protest movement was split between taking part in the election and boycotting it, but its candidates still won about 35 seats and will have a voice in parliament. The party of long-time Iraqi nationalist leader Muqtada al-Sadr won 73 seats, the largest of any single party, while Iranian-backed parties whose armed militias killed hundreds of protesters in 2019 lost popular support and many of their seats.
Chile's billionaire president, Sebastian Piñera, is being impeached after the Pandora Papers revealed details of bribery and tax evasion in his sale of a mining company, and he could face up to 5 years in prison. Mass street protests in 2019 forced Piñera to agree to a new constitution to replace the one written under the Pinochet military dictatorship, and a convention that includes representatives of indigenous and other marginalized communities has been elected to draft the constitution. Progressive parties and candidates are expected to do well in the general election in November.
Maybe the greatest success of people power has come in Bolivia. In 2020, only a year after a U.S.-backed right-wing military coup, a mass mobilization of mostly indigenous working people forced a new election, and the socialist MAS Party of Evo Morales was returned to power. Since then it has already introduced a new wealth tax and welfare payments to four million people to help eliminate hunger in Bolivia.
The Ideological Context
Since the 1970s, Western political and corporate leaders have peddled a quasi-religious belief in the power of "free" markets and unbridled capitalism to solve all the world's problems. This new "neoliberal" orthodoxy is a thinly disguised reversion to the systematic injustice of 19th-century laissez-faire capitalism, which led to gross inequality and poverty even in wealthy countries, famines that killed tens of millions of people in India and China, and horrific exploitation of the poor and vulnerable worldwide.
For most of the 20th century, Western countries gradually responded to the excesses and injustices of capitalism by using the power of government to redistribute wealth through progressive taxation and a growing public sector, and ensure broad access to public goods like education and healthcare. This led to a gradual expansion of broadly shared prosperity in the United States and Western Europe through a strong public sector that balanced the power of private corporations and their owners.
The steadily growing shared prosperity of the post-WWII years in the West was derailed by a combination of factors, including the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, Nixon's freeze on prices and wages, runaway inflation caused by dropping the gold standard, and then a second oil crisis after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Right-wing politicians led by Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in the U.K. blamed the power of organized labor and the public sector for the economic crisis. They launched a "neoliberal" counter-revolution to bust unions, shrink and privatize the public sector, cut taxes, deregulate industries and supposedly unleash "the magic of the market." Then they took credit for a return to economic growth that really owed more to the end of the oil crises.
The United States and the United Kingdom used their economic, military and media power to spread their neoliberal gospel across the world. Chile's experiment in neoliberalism under Pinochet's military dictatorship became a model for U.S. efforts to roll back the "pink tide" in Latin America. When the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe opened to the West at the end of the Cold War, it was the extreme, neoliberal brand of capitalism that Western economists imposed as "shock therapy" to privatize state-owned enterprises and open countries to Western corporations.
In the United States, the mass media shy away from the word "neoliberalism" to describe the changes in society since the 1980s. They describe its effects in less systemic terms, as globalization, privatization, deregulation, consumerism and so on, without calling attention to their common ideological roots. This allows them to treat its impacts as separate, unconnected problems: poverty and inequality, mass incarceration, environmental degradation, ballooning debt, money in politics, disinvestment in public services, declines in public health, permanent war, and record military spending.
After a generation of systematic neoliberal control, it is now obvious to people all over the world that neoliberalism has utterly failed to solve the world's problems. As many predicted all along, it has just enabled the rich to get much, much richer, while structural and even existential problems remain unsolved.
Even once people have grasped the self-serving, predatory nature of this system that has overtaken their political and economic life, many still fall victim to the demoralization and powerlessness that are among its most insidious products, as they are brainwashed to see themselves only as individuals and consumers, instead of as active and collectively powerful citizens.
In effect, confronting neoliberalism—whether as individuals, groups, communities or countries—requires a two-step process. First, we must understand the nature of the beast that has us and the world in its grip, whatever we choose to call it. Second, we must overcome our own demoralization and powerlessness, and rekindle our collective power as political and economic actors to build the better world we know is possible.
We will see that collective power in the streets and the suites at COP26 in Glasgow, when the world's leaders will gather to confront the reality that neoliberalism has allowed corporate profits to trump a rational response to the devastating impact of fossil fuels on the Earth's climate. Extinction Rebellion and other groups will be in the streets in Glasgow, demanding the long-delayed action that is required to solve the problem, including an end to net carbon emissions by 2025.
While scientists warned us for decades what the result would be, political and business leaders have peddled their neoliberal snake oil to keep filling their coffers at the expense of the future of life on Earth. If we fail to stop them now, living conditions will keep deteriorating for people everywhere, as the natural world our lives depend on is washed out from under our feet, goes up in smoke and, species by species, dies and disappears forever.
The Covid pandemic is another real-world case study on the impact of neoliberalism. As the official death toll reaches 5 million and many more deaths go unreported, rich countries are still hoarding vaccines, drug companies are reaping a bonanza of profits from vaccines and new drugs, and the lethal, devastating injustice of the entire neoliberal "market" system is laid bare for the whole world to see. Calls for a "people's vaccine" and "vaccine justice" have been challenging what has now been termed "vaccine apartheid."
Conclusion
In the 1980s, U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher often told the world, "There is no alternative" to the neoliberal order she and President Reagan were unleashing. After only one or two generations, the self-serving insanity they prescribed and the crises it has caused have made it a question of survival for humanity to find alternatives.
Around the world, ordinary people are rising up to demand real change. The people of Iraq, Chile and Bolivia have overcome the incredible traumas inflicted on them to take to the streets in the thousands and demand better government. Americans should likewise demand that our government stop wasting trillions of dollars to militarize the world and destroy countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, and start solving our real problems, here and abroad.
People around the world understand the nature of the problems we face better than we did a generation or even a decade ago. Now we must overcome demoralization and powerlessness in order to act. It helps to understand that the demoralization and powerlessness we may feel are themselves products of this neoliberal system, and that simply overcoming them is a victory in itself.
As we reject the inevitability of neoliberalism and Thatcher's lie that there is no alternative, we must also reject the lie that we are just passive, powerless consumers. As human beings, we have the same collective power that human beings have always had to build a better world for ourselves and our children — and now is the time to harness that power.
Medea Benjamin is cofounder of CODEPINK for Peace, and author of several books, including Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist, a researcher with CODEPINK and the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq.FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES'Joker': A harsh indictment of neoliberalism and gangster capitalism ... ›America has arrived at one of history's great crossroads - Alternet.org ›'They've turned into raging monsters': Noam Chomsky links GOP lies ... ›RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEBNeoliberalism: the deep story that lies beneath Donald Trump's ... ›Economists Have Been Lying to Us for Decades | by Glen Hendrix ... ›The fatal flaw of neoliberalism: it's bad economics | Economics | The ... ›<div>=</div><div>521 gaza</div><div>The world is reeling in horror at the latest Israeli massacre of hundreds of men, women and children in Gaza. Much of the world is also shocked by <a href="https://progressive.org/dispatches/united-states-killing-palestinians-benjamin-davies-210518/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">the role of</a> the United States in this crisis, as it keeps providing Israel with weapons to kill Palestinian civilians, in violation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_Export_Control_Act" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">U.S.</a> and international law, and has repeatedly blocked action by the UN Security Council to impose a ceasefire or hold Israel accountable for its war crimes.In contrast to U.S. actions, in nearly every speech or <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-60-minutes-interview-transcript" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">interview</a>, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken keeps promising to uphold and defend the "rules-based order." But he has never clarified whether he means the universal rules of the United Nations Charter and international law, or some other set of rules he has yet to define. What rules could possibly legitimize the kind of destruction we just witnessed in Gaza, and who would want to live in a world ruled by them?We have both spent many years protesting the violence and chaos the United States and its allies inflict on millions of people around the world by violating the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-1" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">UN Charter's</a> prohibition against the threat or use of military force, and we have always insisted that the U.S. government should comply with the rules-based order of international law.But even as the United States' illegal wars and support for allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia have reduced <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/us-coalition-raqqa-isis-civilian-deaths-amnesty-international-report-uk-france-a8383416.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">cities to rubble</a> and left country after country mired in intractable violence and chaos, U.S. leaders have refused to even <a href="https://www.nysun.com/editorials/a-kosovo-democrat/84514/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">acknowledge</a> that aggressive and destructive U.S. and allied military operations violate the rules-based order of the United Nations Charter and international law.President Trump was clear that he was not interested in following any "global rules," only supporting U.S. national interests. His National Security Advisor John Bolton explicitly prohibited National Security Council staff attending the 2018 G20 Summit in Argentina from even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/21/trump-administration-america-first-multilateralism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">uttering the words</a> "rules-based order."So you might expect us to welcome Blinken's stated commitment to the "rules-based order" as a long-overdue reversal in U.S. policy. But when it comes to a vital principle like this, it is actions that count, and the Biden administration has yet to take any decisive action to bring U.S. foreign policy into compliance with the UN Charter or international law.For Secretary Blinken, the concept of a "rules-based order" seems to serve mainly as a cudgel with which to attack China and Russia. At a May 7 UN Security Council meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov<a href="http://thesaker.is/foreign-minister-sergey-lavrov/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> suggested</a> that instead of accepting the already existing rules of international law, the United States and its allies are trying to come up with "other rules developed in closed, non-inclusive formats, and then imposed on everyone else."The UN Charter and the rules of international law were developed in the 20th century precisely to codify the unwritten and endlessly contested rules of customary international law with explicit, written rules that would be binding on all nations.The United States played a leading role in this <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Foundations-World-Order-International-Relations/dp/0822323648" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">legalist movement</a> in international relations, from the Hague Peace Conferences at the turn of the 20th century to the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945 and the revised Geneva Conventions in 1949, including the new Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians, like the countless numbers killed by American weapons in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Gaza.As President Franklin Roosevelt described the plan for the United Nations to a<a href="http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/11/2/530.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> joint session</a> of Congress on his return from Yalta in 1945:"It ought to spell the end of the system of unilateral action, the exclusive alliances, the spheres of influence, the balances of power, and all the other expedients that have been tried for centuries - and have always failed. We propose to substitute for all these a universal organization in which all peace-loving nations will finally have a chance to join. I am confident that the Congress and the American people will accept the results of this conference as the beginning of a permanent structure of peace."But America's post-Cold War triumphalism eroded U.S. leaders' already half-hearted commitment to those rules. The neocons argued that they were no longer relevant and that the United States must be ready to <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Project_for_the_New_American_Century" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">impose order</a> on the world by the unilateral threat and use of military force, exactly what the UN Charter prohibits. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/30/usa.afghanistan" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Madeleine Albright</a> and other Democratic leaders embraced new doctrines of <a href="https://archive.globalpolicy.org/qhumanitarianq-intervention.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">"humanitarian intervention"</a> and a <a href="https://archive.globalpolicy.org/qhumanitarianq-intervention/51395-how-to-end-mass-atrocities.html?itemid=id" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">"responsibility to protect"</a> to try to carve out politically persuasive exceptions to the explicit rules of the UN Charter.America's "endless wars," its revived Cold War on Russia and China, its blank check for the Israeli occupation and the political obstacles to crafting a more peaceful and sustainable future are some of the fruits of these bipartisan efforts to challenge and weaken the rules-based order.Today, far from being a leader of the international rules-based system, the United States is an outlier. It has failed to sign or ratify <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_treaties_unsigned_or_unratified_by_the_United_States" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">about fifty</a> important and widely accepted multilateral treaties on everything from children's rights to arms control. Its unilateral sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and other countries are themselves <a href="https://countercurrents.org/2021/04/us-sanctions-on-venezuela-violate-the-human-rights-that-they-claim-to-protect-says-un-special-rapporteur-on-sanctions/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">violations</a> of international law, and the new Biden administration has shamefully failed to lift these illegal sanctions, ignoring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/06/sanctions-amid-covid-19-pandemic-will-lead-humanitarian-catastrophe/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">request to suspend</a> such unilateral coercive measures during the pandemic.So is Blinken's "rules-based order" a recommitment to President Roosevelt's "permanent structure of peace," or is it in fact a renunciation of the United Nations Charter and its purpose, which is peace and security for all of humanity?In the light of Biden's first few months in power, it appears to be the latter. Instead of designing a foreign policy based on the principles and rules of the UN Charter and the goal of a peaceful world, Biden's policy seems to start from the premises of a $753 billion U.S. military budget, 800 overseas military bases, endless U.S. and allied wars and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/us-coalition-raqqa-isis-civilian-deaths-amnesty-international-report-uk-france-a8383416.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">massacres</a>, and massive weapons sales to repressive regimes. Then it works backward to formulate a policy framework to somehow justify all that.Once a "war on terror" that only fuels terrorism, violence and chaos was no longer politically viable, hawkish U.S. leaders—both Republicans and Democrats—seem to have concluded that a return to the Cold War was the only plausible way to<a href="https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> perpetuate</a> America's militarist foreign policy and multi-trillion-dollar war machine.But that raised a new set of contradictions. For 40 years, the Cold War was justified by the ideological struggle between the capitalist and communist economic systems. But the U.S.S.R. disintegrated and Russia is now a capitalist country. China is still governed by its Communist Party, but has a managed, mixed economy similar to that of Western Europe in the years after the Second World War - an efficient and dynamic economic system that has lifted <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">hundreds of millions</a> of people out of poverty in both cases.So how can these U.S. leaders justify their renewed Cold War? They have floated the notion of a struggle between "democracy and authoritarianism." But the United States supports too many horrific dictatorships around the world, especially in the Middle East, to make that a convincing pretext for a Cold War against Russia and China.A U.S. "global war on authoritarianism" would require confronting repressive U.S. allies like Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, not arming them to the teeth and shielding them from international accountability as the United States is doing.So, just as American and British leaders settled on non-existent "WMD"s as the pretext they could <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/wmd-just-convenient-excuse-war-admits-wolfowitz-106754.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">all agree on</a> to justify their war on Iraq, the U.S. and its allies have settled on defending a vague, undefined "rules-based order" as the justification for their revived Cold War on Russia and China.But like the emperor's new clothes in the fable and the WMDs in Iraq, the United States' new rules don't really exist. They are just its latest smokescreen for a foreign policy based on illegal threats and uses of force and a doctrine of "might makes right."We challenge President Biden and Secretary Blinken to prove us wrong by actually joining the rules-based order of the UN Charter and international law. That would require a genuine commitment to a very different and more peaceful future, with appropriate contrition and accountability for the United States' and its allies' systematic violations of the UN Charter and international law, and the countless violent deaths, ruined societies and widespread chaos they have caused.Medea Benjamin is cofounder of<a href="https://www.codepink.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> CODEPINK for Peace</a>, and author of several books, including<a href="https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/inside-iran-medea-benjamin/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran</a>.
Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist, a researcher with CODEPINK and the author of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Our-Hands-American-Destruction/dp/193484098X/ref=mt_paperback?encoding=UTF8&me=" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq</a>.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2012/03/why_the_american_empire_was_destined_to_collapse/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Why the American Empire Was Destined to Collapse - Alternet.org ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2014/01/why-moby-dick-explains-american-empire/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Why 'Moby Dick' Explains the American Empire - Alternet.org ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/american-empire/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">The real tragedy behind the collapse of the American empire ... ›</a></li></ul><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 10px;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="http://www.americanyawp.com/text/19-american-empire/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">19. American Empire | THE AMERICAN YAWP ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Empire" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">American Empire - Wikipedia ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/15/the-us-hidden-empire-overseas-territories-united-states-guam-puerto-rico-american-samoa" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">How the US has hidden its empire | US news | The Guardian ›</a></li></ul></div></div><div>=</div>=mb <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/american-empire/">https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/american-empire/</a>In 2004, journalist Ron Suskind quoted a Bush White House advisor, reportedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/faith-certainty-and-the-presidency-of-george-w-bush.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Karl Rove</a>, as boasting, "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality." He dismissed Suskind's assumption that public policy must be rooted in "the reality-based community.""We're history's actors," the advisor told him, "…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."Sixteen years later, the American wars and war crimes launched by the Bush administration have only spread chaos and violence far and wide, and this historic conjunction of criminality and failure has predictably undermined America's international power and authority. Back in the imperial heartland, the political marketing industry that Rove and his colleagues were part of has had more success dividing and ruling the hearts and minds of Americans than of Iraqis, Russians or Chinese.The irony of the Bush administration's imperial pretensions was that America has been an empire from its very founding, and that a White House staffer's political use of the term "empire" in 2004 was not emblematic of a new and rising empire as he claimed, but of a decadent, declining empire stumbling blindly into an agonizing death spiral.Americans were not always so ignorant of the imperial nature of their country's ambitions. George Washington described New York as "the seat of an empire," and his military campaign against British forces there as the "pathway to empire." New Yorkers eagerly embraced their state's identity as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Empire State</a>, which is still enshrined in the Empire State Building and on New York State license plates.The expansion of America's territorial sovereignty over Native American lands, the Louisiana Purchase and the annexation of northern Mexico in the Mexican-American War built an empire that far outstripped the one that George Washington built. But that imperial expansion was more controversial than most Americans realize. Fourteen out of fifty-two U.S. senators voted against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Guadalupe_Hidalgo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">1848 treaty</a> to annex most of Mexico, without which Americans might still be visiting California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah and most of Colorado as exotic Mexican travel spots.In the full flowering of the American empire after the Second World War, its leaders understood the skill and subtlety required to exercise imperial power in a post-colonial world. No country fighting for independence from the U.K. or France was going to welcome imperial invaders from America. So America's leaders developed a system of neocolonialism through which they exercised overarching imperial sovereignty over much of the world, while scrupulously avoiding terms like "empire" or "imperialism" that would undermine their post-colonial credentials.It was left to critics like President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana to seriously examine the imperial control that wealthy countries still exercised over nominally independent post-colonial countries like his. <a href="https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/neo-colonialism/introduction.htm" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">In his book</a>, Neo-Colonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism, Nkrumah condemned neocolonialism as "the worst form of imperialism." "For those who practice it," he wrote, "it means power without responsibility, and for those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress."So post-World War Two Americans grew up in carefully crafted ignorance of <a href="https://original.antiwar.com/Nicolas_Davies/2019/01/02/the-hidden-structure-of-us-empire/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">the very fact</a> of American empire, and the myths woven to disguise it provide fertile soil for today's political divisions and disintegration. Trump's "Make America Great Again" and Biden's promise to "restore American leadership" are both appeals to nostalgia for the fruits of American empire.Past blame games over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_of_China" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">who lost China</a> or Vietnam or Cuba have come home to roost in an argument over who lost America and who can somehow restore its mythical former greatness or leadership. Even as America leads the world in allowing a pandemic to ravage its people and economy, neither party's leaders are ready for a more realistic debate over how to redefine and rebuild America as a post-imperial nation in today's multipolar world.Every successful empire has expanded, ruled and exploited its far-flung territories through a combination of economic and military power. Even in the American empire's neocolonial phase, the role of the U.S. military and the CIA was to kick open doors through which American businessmen could "follow the flag" to set up shop and develop new markets.But now U.S. militarism and America's economic interests have diverged. Apart from a few military contractors, American businesses have not followed the flag into the ruins of Iraq or America's other current war-zones in any lasting way. Eighteen years after the U.S. invasion, Iraq's largest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_leading_trade_partners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">trading partner</a> is China, while Afghanistan's is Pakistan, Somalia's is the UAE (United Arab Emirates), and Libya's is the European Union (EU).Instead of opening doors for American big business or supporting America's diplomatic position in the world, the U.S. war machine has become a bull in the global china shop, wielding purely destructive power to destabilize countries and wreck their economies, closing doors to economic opportunity instead of opening them, diverting resources from real needs at home, <a href="https://www.mintpressnews.com/polls-us-greatest-threat-peace-world-today/230660/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">and damaging</a> America's international standing instead of enhancing it.When President Eisenhower warned against the "<a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/eisenhower001.asp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">unwarranted influence</a>" of America's military-industrial complex, he was predicting precisely this kind of dangerous dichotomy between the real economic and social needs of the American people and a war machine that costs more than the next<a href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/05/the-united-states-spends-more-on-defense-than-the-next-10-countries-combined" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> ten militaries</a> in the world put together but cannot win a war or vanquish a virus, let alone reconquer a lost empire.China and the EU have become the major <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_leading_trade_partners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">trading partners</a> of most countries in the world. The United States is still a regional economic power, but even in South America, most countries now trade more with China. America's militarism has accelerated these trends by squandering our resources on weapons and wars, while China and the EU have invested in peaceful economic development and 21st century infrastructure.For example, China has built the largest <a href="https://welcometochina.com.au/the-evolution-of-high-speed-rail-in-china-7726.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">high-speed rail</a> network in the world in just 10 years (2008-2018), and Europe has been building and expanding its high-speed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_Europe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">network</a> since the 1990s, but high-speed rail is still just on the <a href="http://ushsr.com/projects/highspeedrailplan.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">drawing board</a> in America.China has lifted <a href="https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/business-human-welfare-asia-greater-china-social-affairs-1097647e596d392557cd146830d56027" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">800 million</a> people out of poverty, while America's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">poverty rate</a> has barely budged in 50 years and child poverty has increased. America still has the weakest social safety net of any developed country and no universal healthcare system, and the inequalities of wealth and power caused by extreme <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">neoliberalism</a> have left <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/10/16/yes-half-americans-are-or-near-poverty-heres-more-evidence" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">half of Americans</a> with little or no savings to live on in retirement or to weather any disruption in their lives.Our leaders' insistence on siphoning off 66% of U.S. federal <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/current-us-discretionary-federal-budget-and-spending-3306308" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">discretionary spending</a> to preserve and expand a war machine that has long outlived any useful role in America's declining economic empire is a debilitating waste of resources that jeopardizes our future.Decades ago Martin Luther King Jr. <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyond-vietnam" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">warned us</a> that "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."As our government debates whether we can "afford" COVID relief, a Green New Deal and universal healthcare, we would be wise to recognize that our only hope of transforming this decadent, declining empire into a dynamic and prosperous post-imperial nation is to rapidly and profoundly shift our national priorities from irrelevant, destructive militarism to the programs of social uplift that Dr. King called for.Medea Benjamin is cofounder of <a href="https://www.codepink.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">CODEPINK for Peace</a>, and author of several books, including <a href="https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/inside-iran-medea-benjamin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran</a>.Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist, a researcher with CODEPINK and the author of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Our-Hands-American-Destruction/dp/193484098X/ref=mt_paperback?encoding=UTF8&me=" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;"> Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq</a>.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/12/trumps-broken-promise/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Trump's broken promise shows how the American empire is rotting ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/12/american-empire/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">The rise and fall of American empire: Trump brought a message ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/american-empire/" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">The signs that our American empire is crumbling - Alternet.org ›</a></li></ul><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 10px;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 589.446px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691177052/american-empire" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">American Empire | Princeton University Press ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="http://www.americanyawp.com/text/19-american-empire/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">19. American Empire | THE AMERICAN YAWP ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Empire-Realities-Consequences-Diplomacy/dp/0674013751" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: lighter; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">American Empire: The Realities and Consequences ... - Amazon.com ›</a></li></ul></div>

=an 320h<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/heres-what-the-imprisonment-of-brave-saudi-women-exposes-about-the-crown-prince-and-his-western-allies/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.4; display: inline !important;">ere’s what the imprisonment of brave Saudi women exposes about the crown prince and his Western allies</a><a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/medea-benjamin/" title="Posts by Medea Benjamin" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; text-align: right; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Medea Benjamin</a>, <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/ariel-gold/" title="Posts by Ariel Gold" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; text-align: right; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Ariel Gold</a> / <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/independent-media-institute/" title="Posts by Independent Media Institute" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; text-align: right; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Independent Media </a><div></div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/07/10/multimillion-dollar-ad-campaigns-aim-influence-congressional-votes">https://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/07/10/multimillion-dollar-ad-campaigns-aim-influence-congressional-votes</a></div><div>
</div><div>7/15</div><div>
</div><div><div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="fielditems" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="fielditem even" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div itemprop="articleBody" style="box-sizing: inherit;">A nuclear deal with Iran could be a game changer for US foreign policy and for the Middle East. The P5+1 (the U.S., China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom, plus Germany) and Iran have been developing a comprehensive agreement that would freeze Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon and start the process of sanctions relief.  If it succeeds, this deal would dramatically decrease the probability of another costly war in the Middle East and could usher in an historic rapprochement between the US and Iran after 34 years of hostilities. US-Iranian collaboration against extremist groups from ISIL to Al Qaeda could help damp down the fires raging across the Middle East.   Key US allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, oppose the deal. Both nations harbor long-standing hostilities toward Iran and both want to preserve their preferential relationship with the US.  But the American people, frustrated by over a decade of US involvement in Middle East wars, support the initiative. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that 6 in 10 Americans support a plan to lift international economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.   Democrats back the agreement by an overwhelming majority of five to one, but even a plurality of Republican voters support the Iran nuclear deal. Why, then, will there be such a tough battle in Congress to approve a deal that the Obama administration has worked so hard to achieve and is supported by most Americans?   Some Republicans have a knee-jerk reaction to anything the Obama administration puts forth. And certain Republican and Democrat Congress members fundamentally distrust Iran, believe it is sponsoring militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and think a deal will strengthen Iran to the detriment of Israel.   But the most compelling reason that so many elected officials will oppose the deal is the power of lobby groups and think tanks, backed by hawkish billionaires who are determined to quash a deal they see as bad for Israel.   Little known to the public, here are some of the groups:   <a href="http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">United Against Nuclear Iran</a>: Founded in 2008, UANI boasts a bipartisan powerhouse advisory board of former politicians, intelligence officials and policy experts. Cofounders Richard Holbrooke and Dennis Ross, and its president Gary Samore, have all worked in Obama’s White House.    In June, UANI announced a multimillion-dollar TV, print, radio, and digital campaign with the message that “America Can’t Trust Iran, Concessions have gone too far.” Mark Wallace, UANI’s chairman and George Bush’s US ambassador to the UN, said, “We have a multi-million-dollar budget and we are in it for the long haul. Money continues to pour in.”    <a href="http://www.secureamericanow.org/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Secure America Now</a>: Founded in 2011 by pollsters John McLaughlin and Pat Cadell, it is linked to right-wing pro-Israel factions in the US and abroad. The Advisory Board includes Col. Richard Kemp, who denounces the “global conspiracy of propaganda aimed at the total de-legitimization of the state of Israel” and former UN Ambassador John Bolton, who insists that “the biggest threat to our national security is sitting in the White House.”    The group labels Iran “the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism” and recently launched its own $1 million ad campaign against the nuclear deal. One ad features an American woman saying her father was killed by an IED in Iraq, followed by a menacing voice claiming “Iran has single-handedly supplied thousands of IEDs that have killed or maimed America’s troops overseas. Today, negotiators are pushing for a nuclear deal with Iran that would give them access to nuclear weapons.” It tells Americans to call their Senators and “speak out against a bad deal.”   <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Democracies" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Foundation for the Defense of Democracies</a>: Founded just after the 9/11 attacks, this neoconservative think tank pushes for an aggressive military response in the Middle East and also follows a hawkish pro-Israel line. It advocates for crippling sanctions on Iran, including medicines, as a way to cause domestic hardship and internal turmoil and its experts are leading advocates for a US military strike on Iran.   <div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://american-security.co/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">American Security Initiative</a>: This is a new group, also bipartisan, formed in 2015 by three former senators: Norm Coleman, Evan Bayh and Saxby Chambliss. In 2014 Norm Coleman, a Republican from Minnesota, became a registered lobbyist for the repressive Saudi regime, providing the Saudis with legal services on issues including “policy developments involving Iran.”   Its first campaign was a successful effort to pass the Corker-Menendez bill, which forces President Obama to submit the agreement to Congress before signing it. In March, the group launched a $1.4 million ad campaign aimed at Senator Schumer and other key senators with the message that the deal (which had not even been released) is “great for Iran, and dangerous for us.” One over-the-top, fear-mongering ad showed a suicide-bombing truck driver in an American city detonating a nuclear bomb, apparently on behalf of Iran. The message, albeit a crazy one, is that if Iran is allowed to get a nuclear weapon, it will attack the US.   <a href="http://action.aipac.org/start/1210?gclid=CjwKEAjwq-OsBRDd95aryprR9wQSJACQnU3GSepBqwtx9C5S4NEq8Q4wFfgS0z4FaCXYPsYnwqe2RRoC8ljw_wcBhttp://action.aipac.org/start/1210?gclid=CjwKEAjwq-OsBRDd95aryprR9wQSJACQnU3GSepBqwtx9C5S4NEq8Q4wFfgS0z4FaCXYPsYnwqe2RRoC8ljw_wcB" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">AIPAC</a>: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is the largest pro-Israel lobby group. AIPAC, too, has been pushing sanctions and opposing the nuclear deal. It claims that Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and is racing toward a nuclear weapons capability. AIPAC spends millions of dollars lobbying but its real financial clout lies with the pro-Israel Political Action Committees (PACs) it is tied to.   In addition to lobbying against a deal in Washington, over the past several years AIPAC has also been promoting state-level bills mandating divestment of public funds from foreign companies doing business with Iran.   Dozens of states have <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/13/us-iran-nuclear-states-idUSKBN0N40CX20150413" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">passed such bills</a>, and many are likely to stay in place even after a nuclear deal, complicating the federal sanctions relief that is a key element of the negotiations.   What is the source of the millions of dollars now being poured into the effort to squash the nuclear deal? Most comes from a handful of super-wealthy individuals. Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus gave over $10 million to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Other multimillion donors are hedge fund billionaire and Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs board member Paul Singer, and Charles Bronfman of the Seagram liquor empire and board chair of Koor Industries, one of Israel’s largest investment holding companies.   The largest donor is Sheldon Adelson, a casino and business magnate who contributed almost $100 million to conservative candidates in the 2012 presidential campaign, outspending any other individual or organization. He publicly advocated for the Obama administration to bomb Iran. Peter Beinart, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/where-are-the-anti-war-democrats-on-iran/390108/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> “Every Republican politician knows that Adelson conditions his checks on their Iran vote.”   Congress has 30 days from the day the deal is introduced to vote in support or opposition (or 60 days if the negotiations are delayed). To block the deal, Congress needs a veto-proof majority, which is precisely what these groups and individuals are attempting to buy.   “I’ve been around this town for about 30 years now and I’ve never seen foreign policy debate that is being so profoundly affected by the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in the American political system,” said former six-term Congressman Jim Slattery. Congresspeople face a dilemma: they fear a backlash by the billionaires if they vote for the deal, but most of their constituents support the deal. The pathetic irony is that the democratic move of giving Congress a say in the Iran deal (instead of leaving the administration with the authority to seal the agreement), the billionaires have a better shot at drowning out the voices of the American people.  </div></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-author-profile field--type-entityreference field--label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 50px 0px;"><div class="fielditems" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="fielditem even" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><div id="cdreams-profile-6771" class="cdreams-profile teaser author" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="content clearfix grid-size-16" style="box-sizing: inherit;">
<div class="field field--name-field-desc field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="fielditems" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="fielditem even" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/author/medea-benjamin" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Medea Benjamin</a>, co-founder of <a href="http://www.globalexchange.org/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Global Exchange</a> and <a href="http://www.codepinkalert.org/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">CODEPINK: Women for Peace</a>, is the author of the new book, <a href="http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/inside-iran-medea-benjamin/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran</a>. Her previous books include: <a href="http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/kingdom-of-the-unjust-by-medea-benjamin/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection</a>; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935928813?ie=UTF8&tag=commondreams-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1935928813" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control</a>; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/006097205X?tag=commondreams-20/ref=nosim" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Don’t Be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart</a>, and (with Jodie Evans) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D4Y3A2?ie=UTF8&tag=commondreams-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B004D4Y3A2" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Stop the Next War Now (Inner Ocean Action Guide)</a>. Follow her on Twitter: <a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/medeabenjamin" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">@medeabenjamin</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div></div>---an 220<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/bombshell-report-finds-iraqi-officials-doubt-trumps-basis-for-escalating-to-the-brink-of-war/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/bombshell-report-finds-iraqi-officials-doubt-trumps-basis-for-escalating-to-the-brink-of-war/</a>no lnx‘Bombshell’ report finds Iraqi officials doubt Trump’s basis for escalating to the brink of warPresident Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, senior White House advisors and senior military personnel, delivers remarks during a national televised address Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, from the Cross Hall of the White House, responding to the retaliatory missile strikes against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq on Tuesday by the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
Written by Jake Johnson / Common Dreams February 7, 2020In a “bombshell” revelation that calls into question one of the Trump administration’s stated justifications for assassinating Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani—a move that nearly sparked a region-wide military conflict—Iraqi intelligence officials told the New York Times that they believe ISIS, not an Iran-linked militia, was likely responsible for the Dec. 27 rocket attack that killed an American contractor at an airbase near Kirkuk, Iraq.
The Times reported Thursday that “Iraqi military and intelligence officials have raised doubts about who fired the rockets… saying they believe it is unlikely that the militia the United States blamed for the attack” was responsible.
“All the indications are that it was Daesh,” Brigadier General Ahmed Adnan, the Iraqi chief of intelligence for the federal police at the K-1 air base, told the Times, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “We know Daesh’s movements.”
The Trump administration has not released a single piece of evidence showing that the Iraqi militia Khataib Hezbollah, which has ties to Iran, was responsible for the attack on K-1. The group has denied carrying out the attack.
The U.S. responded to the rocket attack days later with deadly airstrikes on Khataib Hezbollah targets in Iraq and Syria, setting off a dangerous escalatory spiral that brought Iran and the U.S. to the brink of war.
On Jan. 2, the U.S. assassinated Soleimani with a drone strike in Baghdad ordered by President Donald Trump. Following the assassination, which was widely condemned as an act of war, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a statement claiming without evidence that Soleimani “orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months—including the attack on December 27th—culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel.”
But Iraqi officials told the Times that “based on circumstantial evidence and long experience in the area where the attack took place,” there is good reason to be skeptical about U.S. claims that Khataib Hezbollah was behind it.
As the Times reported:The rockets were launched from a Sunni Muslim part of Kirkuk Province notorious for attacks by the Islamic State, a Sunni terrorist group, which would have made the area hostile territory for a Shiite militia like Khataib Hezbollah.
Khataib Hezbollah has not had a presence in Kirkuk Province since 2014.The Islamic State, however, had carried out three attacks relatively close to the base in the 10 days before the attack on K-1. Iraqi intelligence officials sent reports to the Americans in November and December warning that ISIS intended to target K-1, an Iraqi air base in Kirkuk Province that is also used by American forces…
These facts all point to the Islamic State, Iraqi officials say.“We as Iraqi forces cannot even come to this area unless we have a large force because it is not secure,” Brig. Gen. Adnan said of the area from which the rocket attack was launched. “How could it be that someone who doesn’t know the area could come here and find that firing position and launch an attack?”
In response to the Times report, Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, tweeted: “Al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. on 9/11 and we went to war with Iraq. If this report is true, ISIS attacked the U.S. and we nearly went to war with Iran.”Sina Toossi@SinaToossiThis is huge: Iraqi military & intelligence officials say it’s highly unlikely that a rocket attack that killed an Iraqi-American contractor in early January—& led to an escalation cycle that almost started a war—was carried out by an Iran-allied militia.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/world/middleeast/iraq-iran-hezbollah-evidence.html …Iraqi soldiers at the K-1 base, which was struck by rockets on Dec. 27.Was U.S. Wrong About Attack That Nearly Started a War With Iran?Iraqi military and intelligence officials have raised doubts about who fired the rockets that started a dangerous spiral of events.
nytimes.com1843:57 PM - Feb 6, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy119 people are talking about this
CODEPINK@codepinkThe US almost started WWIII based on questionable evidence.After all of the violence  in the Middle East following the attack on US bases, #Iraqi officials are now questioning the US's claim that the #Iran-backed militia Khataib Hezbollah are to blame. https://buff.ly/31CpWqT 
Iraqi soldiers at the K-1 base, which was struck by rockets on Dec. 27.Was U.S. Wrong About Attack That Nearly Started a War With Iran?Iraqi military and intelligence officials have raised doubts about who fired the rockets that started a dangerous spiral of events.
nytimes.com471:15 PM - Feb 6, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy44 people are talking about thisU.S. officials insisted to the Times that they have “solid evidence” showing that Khataib Hezbollah carried out the attack, but they have not released any of this evidence to the public or to Iraqi officials.
“We have requested the American side to share with us any information, any evidence, but they have not sent us any information,” Lt. Gen. Muhammad al-Bayati, chief of staff for former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, told the Times.
Ilan Goldenberg, Middle East security director at the Center for a New American Security think tank, tweeted that the U.S. Congress “must ask questions about this and get the intel.”
Responsible Statecraft managing editor Benjamin Armbruster agreed.
“Congress needs to investigate ASAP,” Armbruster tweeted.<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">omfg land mines 120, </div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/absolutely-horrific-trump-reportedly-prepares-to-roll-back-restrictions-on-use-of-landmines/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/absolutely-horrific-trump-reportedly-prepares-to-roll-back-restrictions-on-use-of-landmines/</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">no lnx</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">‘Absolutely horrific’: Trump reportedly prepares to roll back restrictions on use of landmines</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Written by Jake Johnson / Common Dreams January 31, 2020</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to roll back established constraints on the U.S. military’s ability to use landmines overseas despite the weapons’ long history of killing and maiming civilians around the world.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div>CNN, citing multiple anonymous Defense Department officials, reported Thursday that the Trump administration is expected to loosen landmine restrictions in the coming days by rescinding a 2014 order by former President Barack Obama that limited U.S. landmine use to the Korean Peninsula.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“President Obama’s policy brought the U.S. policy closely in line with the obligations of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty,” Jody Williams, an anti-war activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines, told Common Dreams in an email. “Mr. Trump’s policy rollback is a step toward the past, like many of his other decisions, and sends exactly the wrong message to those working to rid the world of the scourge of landmines.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">More than 160 nations have ratified the Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, which prohibits the stockpiling, production, and use of landmines. The United States is one of just 32 U.N. member states that have not ratified the treaty.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The beauty of the treaty is that it has established a new norm and even countries outside the treaty felt the stigma related to landmines and changed policies, even if they didn’t join the treaty,” said Williams. “Mr. Trump’s landmine move would be in line with all of his other moves to undercut arms control and disarmament in a world much in need of them. The landmine ban movement will do what it has always done with governments that still remain outside the Mine Ban Treaty—push back and continue the push to universalize the treaty—including the U.S.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, a non-governmental research initiative, estimated in a November 2019 report that 130,000 people were killed by landmines between 1999 and 2018. The majority of the deaths were civilians.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to CNN, the Trump administration’s new policy will place the authority to use landmines in the hands of “commanders of the U.S. military’s combatant commands, usually a four-star general or admiral, such as the commanders of U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Central Command which oversee operations on the African continent and the Middle East respectively.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The new policy… is expected to permit the operational use of landmines only if they have a 30-day self-destruction or self-deactivation feature,” CNN reported. “The new policy would also allow for the development, production, and procurement of landmines only if they have these features.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The decision to rescind the Obama administration’s 2014 policy was recommended following a Pentagon review launched in 2017 by then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.</div><div style="">
</div><div style="">“So horrific that after decades of international efforts to rid the world of landmines, Trump is about to ‘make landmines great again’ by loosening restrictions on their use,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of anti-war group CodePink, told Common Dreams.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Advocacy group Public Citizen echoed that reaction on Twitter.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“Is this what Make America Great Again means? Who in their right mind can justify this?” the group asked. “Landmines have a long history of killing and wounding civilians and are banned by more than 160 countries. Absolutely horrific.”</div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div>=</div><div>big pix 4 horse</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/the-failure-of-militarized-neoliberalism-is-laid-bare-in-iraq-and-haiti/">https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/the-failure-of-militarized-neoliberalism-is-laid-bare-in-iraq-and-haiti/</a></div><div>
</div><div><div>no lnx</div><div>
</div><div>The failure of militarized neoliberalism is laid bare in Iraq and Haiti </div><div>
</div><div>Written by Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies October 10, 2019</div><div>
</div><div>This season could be called the Autumn of Discontent, as people from the Middle East to Latin America and the Caribbean have been rising up against corrupt neoliberal governments. Two of the countries in crisis, Haiti and Iraq, are on opposite ends of the earth but have something important in common. Not only are they reeling from protests against government corruption and austerity programs, like Ecuador and Algeria, but in both Haiti and Iraq, their corrupt neoliberal governments were imposed on them by the use of U.S. military force.</div><div>
</div><div>In 2003 and 2004 respectively, U.S. forces illegally invaded Iraq and Haiti, removed their internationally recognized governments from power and replaced them with U.S.-backed regimes. Both countries have since been governed in line with the dominant neoliberal ideology that the U.S. and its allies have imposed on most of the world since the 1980s. The protests and savage repression in Iraq and Haiti today are only the latest evidence of the utter failure of neoliberalism and the extraordinary human cost of U.S. efforts to impose it by military force on countries that resist.</div><div>
</div><div>In the first week of October, more than 100 people were killed and 6,000 wounded in Baghdad, Nasiriyah and other Iraqi cities, as the Iraqi Army and police fired into large demonstrations. Young Iraqis have risen up against government corruption, unemployment and poverty that leave them with dismal prospects, even as record oil production fills the pockets of the ruling elite in Baghdad’s Green Zone.</div><div>
</div><div>Meanwhile, at least 17 people have been killed in the Haitian government’s repression of protests calling for the resignation of U.S.-backed President Jovenel Moise. Public anger has boiled over into the streets as Moise faces credible charges of embezzlement and corruption. His government has utterly failed to improve the lives of most Haitians. Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with a per capita GDP of only $870 per year and 60 percent of the population living below a poverty line of $2.41 per day.</div><div>
</div><div>In a Foreign Affairs article in January 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren explained how the U.S.:</div><div>
</div><div>began to export a particular brand of capitalism, one that involved weak regulations, low taxes on the wealthy, and policies favoring multinational corporations. And the United States took on a series of seemingly endless wars, engaging in conflicts with mistaken or uncertain objectives and no obvious path to completion.</div><div>
</div><div>The impact of these policy changes has been devastating.</div><div>
</div><div>What Senator Warren skated over, without connecting the dots, was that the real objective of those wars, coups and other regime change operations was precisely to impose the “particular brand of capitalism” she described, and, if necessary, to do so by the illegal and deadly use of military force.</div><div>
</div><div>While Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved the Soviet empire and made peace with the West, the U.S. exported neoliberal capitalism to Eastern Europe without needing to use its war machine it had squandered our country’s wealth for 45 years to build.</div><div>
</div><div>Instead, Western political and economic experts like Jeffrey Sachs fanned out across the region reciting Margaret Thatcher’s dictum that “there is no alternative” to neoliberalism. They convinced Eastern European leaders to surrender their countries and their people to the “shock therapy” of corporate conquest, privatization, drastic cuts in public services and plutocratic oligarchy, superficially legitimized by Western-style multi-party elections.</div><div>
</div><div>But the U.S. and its allies then faced two thorny dilemmas. What should they do about countries that remained obstinately independent from their neoliberal empire, countries like Iraq, Iran, Libya, Cuba and North Korea? And what should they do with the U.S. and NATO war machine that Gorbachev’s peacemaking had rendered redundant?</div><div>
</div><div>U.S. officials of both major parties, from neoconservatives like Paul Wolfowitz to “humanitarian interventionists” like Madeleine Albright, peddled the simplistic notion that the U.S. war machine could be repurposed to impose neoliberalism by force on dissident countries around the world. Twenty years on, the results of those policies have been universally catastrophic.</div><div>
</div><div>Even in the U.S., at the very heart of the neoliberal empire, a new generation raised on the myths of neoliberalism now rejects its absurdities: trickle-down economics; the magic of the market; union-busting; privatized health care and education; the best Congress money can buy; the shrinking middle class; the rampant destruction of the natural world; and so on. As British economist J.M. Keynes reportedly said in the 1930s, “Laissez-faire capitalism is the absurd idea that the worst people, for the worst reasons, will do what is best for all of us.”</div><div>
</div><div>But as corrosive as neoliberalism has been to working people in the U.S., it has been far more destructive wherever the U.S. and its allies have tried to impose it by military force.</div><div>
</div><div>Afghanistan and Iraq</div><div>
</div><div>In Afghanistan, after 18 years of war, 80,000 U.S. bombs and missiles dropped in U.S.-led airstrikes, and hundreds of thousands of violent deaths, the Afghan people are so disillusioned with the U.S.-sponsored “democratic system” that only 25 percent turned out to vote in the September presidential elections, a record low. The unending violence and the unbridled corruption of successive U.S.-backed governments have enabled the Taliban to make a comeback and set up a viable shadow government across more and more of the country.</div><div>
</div><div>In Iraq, 16 years after the U.S. invasion, a succession of corrupt U.S.-backed governments has boosted oil production to about 4.6 million barrels per day, the second-highest production in OPEC. But in line with U.S. neoliberal orthodoxy, the profits have been pocketed by Iraq’s new U.S.-installed ruling class, not redistributed to provide universal health care, education, housing and other public services as they were under Iraq’s nationalist and Baathist governments between 1958 and 2003, including under Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorship.</div><div>
</div><div>Iraq was plunged back into full-scale war in 2014, as the alienated population in the north and west of the country fell under the sway of the Islamic State. The U.S. military responded with a campaign of air and artillery bombardment that destroyed most of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and many other towns and cities across Iraq and Syria, killing tens of thousands of civilians in Mosul alone.</div><div>
</div><div>The U.S. invasion and the unending waves of violence and chaos it unleashed have destroyed Iraq. The U.S.-imposed neoliberal model has empowered a series of corrupt governments to steal and squander Iraq’s oil wealth, while the rest of the population still struggles to recover from this unending “Made in the U.S.A.” national trauma. Voter turnout in Iraqi elections declined from 80 percent in 2005 to 45 percent in 2018. Now a desperate and angry new generation of Iraqis is taking to the streets to demand a government that will finally share their country’s wealth with its people.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>The Tragedy of Haiti</div><div>
</div><div>In 2000, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president, was elected for a second term on a platform that explicitly rejected the neoliberal “free market,” debt and austerity policies imposed on Haiti by the U.S., the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.</div><div>
</div><div>The U.S. responded to Aristide’s reelection by cutting off foreign aid to Haiti and setting up training camps in the Dominican Republic, where up to 200 U.S. special operations forces trained Haitian death squads to cross the border, assassinate Aristide’s supporters and terrorize the population.</div><div>
</div><div>In February 2004, these U.S.-trained death squads joined forces with a militia called the Cannibal Army in Gonaives, where they sacked the police station and took control of the city. Two weeks later, they seized Cap Haitien, Haiti’s second-largest city.</div><div>
</div><div>As the U.S.-trained death squads threatened to march on the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, a U.S. embassy official and U.S. special operations forces entered the Presidential Palace and “persuaded” Aristide and his family to leave with them. A thousand U.S. Marines, plus French, Canadian and Chilean troops, invaded and occupied Haiti.</div><div>
</div><div>The U.S. flew Aristide to Antigua and then to the Central African Republic (CAR), where General Francois Bozize had just seized power in a Western-backed military coup. The Jamaican government rescued Aristide and his family from the CAR and brought them to Jamaica for a few months until they were granted permanent sanctuary in South Africa. Aristide was finally allowed to return to Haiti in 2011, and he is still widely seen as the only popular democratic leader Haiti has ever had.</div><div>
</div><div>Since 2004, when Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas party was banned, elections in Haiti have been so obviously rigged and illegitimate that voter turnout has declined from at least 50 percent in 2000 (despite an opposition boycott), when Aristide won 92 percent of the votes, to 22 percent in 2011, 29 percent in 2015 and 18 percent in 2016, allowing every election to be won by openly corrupt U.S.-backed right-wing politicians and parties.</div><div>
</div><div>After the devastating 2010 earthquake, the 2011 election was won by Michel Martelly, a Haitian pop singer supported by Bill and Hillary Clinton. He was quickly mired in scandal over a $2.6 million bribe from a Dominican construction firm to whom he awarded $200 million in no-bid contracts for post-earthquake rebuilding work, triggering large anti-corruption protests in 2013, 2014 and 2015.</div><div>
</div><div>The latest election in 2016 was another fiasco. Evidence of massive election fraud triggered huge anti-government demonstrations before Jovenel Moise, the declared winner, even took office. Exit polls showed Moise only winning 6 percent of the votes in the first round, a small fraction of his official 33 percent share that won him a place in the run-off.</div><div>
</div><div>Now Haitian government auditors have released a 600-page report detailing how Moise has embezzled millions of dollars, mainly from the PetroCaribe fund. Under this program, Venezuela supplied Haiti with oil but deferred payment for 25 years so that Haiti could spend the money on badly needed infrastructure, hospitals and social programs. The audit revealed how Moise siphoned millions of dollars from these funds into his own personal bank accounts.</div><div>
</div><div>Haiti remains under UN military occupation to this day. UN troops have used force against the public and unleashed a cholera epidemic. The UN mandate for the remaining 1,275-member UN police force, supported by about 300 Indian troops, finally expires on October 15, when it is due to be replaced by a 30-member UN political mission.</div><div>
</div><div>Neoliberalism Begets Resistance</div><div>
</div><div>Neoliberalism is an inherently corrupt system. It creates a vicious circle in which ruling classes can leverage their wealth to gain dominant political power and then use that power to cut taxes and rewrite laws to further enrich themselves. This is a powerful engine to generate ever more concentrated wealth and political power for the 1 percent, with impoverishment and political marginalization for everybody else.</div><div>
</div><div>Neoliberalism reduces politics mainly to a choice between politicians and parties who represent factions of the same corrupt ruling class, which retains a monopoly on power whichever party wins. But the fatal flaw in the neoliberal view of the world is the presumption that ruling classes can safely ignore the 99 percent of the population they disenfranchise, exploit or even kill.</div><div>
</div><div>This idea that only the elites in each country matter has led directly to the U.S. policy of “regime change,” in which leaders who resist neoliberalism are overthrown by whatever means necessary. It should be no surprise that the new governments installed by all these U.S. wars and coups are among the most corrupt regimes on earth.</div><div>
</div><div>But as U.S.-led occupation armies have discovered in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, and as we can see right now in Iraq and Haiti, ordinary people still insist on having their say about the future of the world we all live in. U.S. policy is largely responsible for the life or death predicaments now facing young people in these countries, so they deserve our solidarity as they rise up to resist.</div><div>
</div><div>Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK for Peace, is the author of Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection.</div><div>
</div><div>Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist, a researcher for CODEPINK, and the author of Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq.</div><div>
</div><div>This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.</div></div><div></div>will <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/09/will-americans-let-trump-trigger-world-war-iii-for-saudi-arabia-and-israel/" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.4; display: inline !important;">Americans let Trump trigger World War III for Saudi Arabia and Israel?</a><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="mag-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 19px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="grid-post-box-meta mag-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 7px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/medea-benjamin/" title="Posts by Medea Benjamin" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Medea Benjamin</a>, <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/nicolas-j-s-davies/" title="Posts by Nicolas J. S. Davies" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Nicolas J. S. Davies</a> / <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/independent-media-institute/" title="Posts by Independent Media Institute" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Independent Media Institute</a></div></div><div class="mag-excerpt entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">On Saturday, September 14, two oil refineries and other oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia were hit and set ablaze by 18 drones and 7 cruise missiles</div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div>Code Pink: Women for Peace is an internationally active <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization" title="Non-governmental organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">NGO</a> that describes itself as a "grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally and to redirect our resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities". In addition to its focus on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war_movement" title="Anti-war movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anti-war</a> issues, it has taken action on issues such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_combat_aerial_vehicle" title="Unmanned combat aerial vehicle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">drones</a> (including protests, trips to meet with drone victims in Pakistan and Yemen, bringing them to the US), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_prison" class="mw-redirect" title="Guantanamo Bay prison" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Guantanamo Bay prison</a> (including a delegation that included former prisoners and yearly protests at the White House), Palestinian statehood (including its involvement in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDS_movement" class="mw-redirect" title="BDS movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">BDS movement</a> to protest Ahava, SodaStream, ReMax, and AirBnB), the Iran nuclear deal, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Saudi Arabia</a> (including protests to end U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia, its airstrikes on Yemen, and its executions of its political dissidents), and Women Cross DMZ. The organization characterizes itself as women-initiated.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a> It has regional offices in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles,California" class="mw-redirect" title="Los Angeles, California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Los Angeles, California</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington, D.C.</a>, and many more chapters in the U.S. as well as several in other countries.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-cpab-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a>With members wearing the group's signature <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink" title="Pink" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">pink</a> color,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-WaPo2007-06-10-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a> Code Pink has conducted <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonstration(people)" class="mw-redirect" title="Demonstration (people)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">marches</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest" title="Protest" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">protests</a>, and high-visibility actions in order to promote its goals. Although women initiated and lead the group, Code Pink encourages people of all genders to participate in its activities.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-CodePink_website-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Demonstrations_at_Walter_Reed_Medical_Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Demonstrations at Walter Reed Medical Center</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Tucker_Carlson_interview" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Tucker Carlson interview</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Ground_the_Drones" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Ground the Drones</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Halloween_2009_White_House_protest" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Halloween 2009 White House protest</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Gaza_activities" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Gaza activities</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#National_Rifle_Association_Protest_2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7National Rifle Association Protest 2012</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Protest_against_intervention_in_Syria" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8Protest against intervention in Syria</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Protesting_American_intervention_against_ISIS" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9Protesting American intervention against ISIS</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#Arrest_during_Sessions_confirmation_hearing" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10Arrest during Sessions confirmation hearing</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">11See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">12References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">13External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">History[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson(39025312181).jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson%2839025312181%29.jpg/220px-161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson%2839025312181%29.jpg" width="220" height="146" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson%2839025312181%29.jpg/330px-161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson%2839025312181%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson%2839025312181%29.jpg/440px-161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson%2839025312181%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1199" data-file-height="798" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson(39025312181).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:161_Code_Pink_at_Senator_Nelson(39025312181).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Code Pink protests Democrat senators who supported </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabian-led_intervention_in_Yemen" title="Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen</a>, December 2017</div></div></div>Code Pink was founded on November 17, 2002 by Americans <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodie_Evans" title="Jodie Evans" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jodie Evans</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin" title="Medea Benjamin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medea Benjamin</a> and other activists.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-cpab-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a> The group's name is a play on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security" title="United States Department of Homeland Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Department of Homeland Security</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Security_Advisory_System" title="Homeland Security Advisory System" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">color-coded alert system</a> in which, for example, Code Orange and Code Red signify the highest levels of danger.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-PinkFAQ-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a>In February 2003, just weeks before the invasion of Iraq, Code Pink organized its first trip to that nation, and subsequently led five delegations there. These delegations included parents who had lost their children in Iraq, and parents of active soldiers. Additionally, they brought six Iraqi women on a tour of the United States, and published a report about how the U.S. occupation affected the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights_in_Iraq" class="mw-redirect" title="Women's rights in Iraq" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">status of Iraqi women</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-TN2006-03-20-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a>On its website, Code Pink lists allegations of U.S. war crimes, and states that thousands of civilians were killed in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallujah" title="Fallujah" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Fallujah</a> in 2004 due to the actions of the U.S. military.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a> Along with other groups, they gave over $600,000 worth of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_aid" title="Humanitarian aid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">humanitarian aid</a> to refugees of Fallujah in 2004.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Demonstrations at Walter Reed Medical Center[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Demonstrations at Walter Reed Medical Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Code Pink has also joined in vigils at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Reed_Medical_Center" class="mw-redirect" title="Walter Reed Medical Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Walter Reed Medical Center</a> in Washington, D.C. The group has been criticized for actions at the vigils: the criticism has centered on tactics such as displaying <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin" title="Coffin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">coffins</a> and chanting aggressive slogans. Speaking about the display of coffins, Kevin Pannell, an amputee and former patient at the hospital, said it "was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever. We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_guilt" title="Survivor guilt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">survivors' guilt</a> is the worst thing you can deal with."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Cybercast-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a> To those that faulted aggressive chants and signs, Code Pink responded that certain of the disruptive protesters were not part of their group and that they have asked these protesters to be respectful.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-vigil-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a> Code Pink says that the purpose of the vigils is to highlight the lack of care for veterans and claims that the vigils have helped spur improvements in that care.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-vigil-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Tucker Carlson interview[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Tucker Carlson interview" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Conservative talk-show host <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_Carlson" title="Tucker Carlson" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tucker Carlson</a> criticized Pink leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin" title="Medea Benjamin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medea Benjamin</a> for her support of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez" title="Hugo Chávez" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hugo Chávez</a>. She was quoted as saying that the charge in sections of the US media that Chavez had cracked down on free speech and civil rights in Venezuela was a myth.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Carlson-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> In an interview on his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSNBC" title="MSNBC" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">MSNBC</a> show, Benjamin was asked, "Do you want to revise that given the news that Hugo Chávez has closed the last nationally broadcast opposition television station for criticizing him?" Benjamin replied that it was not true and that Chavez simply did not renew the license because the station "participated in a coup against a democratically elected government, his [Chavez's] government." Benjamin also said "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru" title="Peru" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Peru</a> recently did not renew a license. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Uruguay</a> didn‘t renew a license. Why do you hold Venezuela to a different standard?"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Carlson-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a> Carlson responded that a 360-page Venezuelan government-published book accused RCTV of showing lack of respect for authorities and institutions. Carlson asked Benjamin, "I would think, as a self-described liberal, you would stand up for the right of people to 'challenge authorities and institutions.' And yet you are apologizing for the squelching of minority views. Why could that be?" Benjamin replied that, "They [RCTV] falsified information. They got people out on the street. They falsified footage that showed pro-Chavez supporters killing people, which did not happen. They refuse to cover any of the pro-Chavez demonstrations."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Carlson-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Ground the Drones[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Ground the Drones" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>In the summer of 2009, Code Pink began their "Ground the Drones" campaign.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Blanchard-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a> This campaign was a response to the Obama administration's continued and increased use of unmanned drones in the "war on terror," specifically in regions surrounding Pakistan and Afghanistan. Code Pinks claims that many of the drone strikes intended to target terrorist leaders and strongholds often miss their targets, causing the unnecessary deaths of innocent civilians.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Pink-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a>"Ground the Drones" was fashioned as a form of non-violent, civil disobedience, similar to protests earlier that spring, by groups such as Voices for Creative Non Violence.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Blanchard-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a> Code Pink targeted Creech Air Force base in Indian Springs, Nevada, claiming it is the “epicenter” for controlling drone activity.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Pink-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> The goal of the protest was "halting unmanned aircraft strikes controlled via satellite links from Creech and other bases."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Blanchard-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a> The group continued protesting at Creech AFB through until November and December 2009. Code Pink returned to Creech AFB in October 2011, along with other protest groups, to mark the 10th anniversary of the occupation of Afghanistan. Protesters dubbed it as the "largest anti-war demonstration ever at Creech Air Force Base.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a>In August 2013, Code Pink's national coordinator, Alli McCracken, disrupted the annual Aerial Unmanned Vehicles Systems Integrated summit, in Washington, DC. During a speech advocating the full automation of unmanned drones, McCracken interrupted by shouting “Are you going to talk about the innocent people who have been killed by the drones?,” while producing a "STOP KILLER DRONES" banner, until she was escorted out by security.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-codepinkalert.org-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a>In November 2013, Code Pink organized a "Ground the Drones." The summit took place over two days and was held at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C. The summit featured films pertaining to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_strike" title="Drone strike" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">drone warfare</a>, as well as a variety of guest speakers from various human rights and civil liberties organizations. Topics of the summit included ethical and legal arguments surrounding drone warfare, as well as concerns over the use of drones domestically.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Pink-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a>"Ground the Drones" has also attempted to involve American citizens in the fight to end drone warfare. Code Pink's website advises readers to take action by, among other ways, contacting their local representatives, organizing film-screenings, and distributing pamphlets.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Pink-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Halloween 2009 White House protest[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Halloween 2009 White House protest" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>On October 31, 2009, Code Pink organized a protest rally outside the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House" title="White House" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">White House</a> to coincide with President and Mrs. Obama's official Halloween party. As many of the guests were family members of military personnel, the Code Pink press release encouraged attendees to dress as "zombie soldiers".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-CP_Press_release-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a> The event gained some notoriety when complaints surfaced about Reuters' characterization of their protest as "taunting" children, a characterization that Reuters stood by.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Reuters_GBU-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Gaza activities[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Gaza activities" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Code Pink has organized more than seven delegations to Gaza, some of them at the invitation of the United Nations. Critics have since accused Code Pink of working "closely with terrorist organizations and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Sponsors_of_Terrorism" class="mw-redirect" title="State Sponsors of Terrorism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">states sponsors of terrorism</a>" in Gaza and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran" title="Iran" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iran</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a> Prior to the Gaza Freedom March, Code Pink endorsed the “Cairo Declaration to End Israeli Apartheid", which calls for comprehensive boycott of Israel.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a>During the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Freedom_March" title="Gaza Freedom March" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gaza Freedom March</a>, Code Pink co-founder <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin" title="Medea Benjamin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medea Benjamin</a> coordinated the organization's stay with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas" title="Hamas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hamas</a> government. Members resided in the Commodore, a Hamas-owned hotel in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_City" title="Gaza City" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gaza City</a>. Hamas security officials accompanied activists as they visited Palestinian homes and Gaza-based NGOs.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Hass-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a> Prior to the march, Benjamin said the Hamas government had "pledged to ensure our safety."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a> However, Code Pink leaders claimed Hamas had hijacked the initiative from the onset after imposing prohibitions on the organization's movements around Gaza. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amira_Hass" title="Amira Hass" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Amira Hass</a> referred to the event as "an opportunity for Hamas cabinet ministers to get decent media coverage in the company of Western demonstrators."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Hass-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a>Code Pink helped to organize an International Women's Day Delegation to Gaza in March 2014. Upon arrival at the Cairo airport on March 3, 2014, Medea Benjamin was detained and assaulted by Egyptian authorities. She was deported to Turkey after the authorities had dislocated her shoulder.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a> Other members of the international delegation, including American, French, Belgian, and British citizens, who arrived the next day were also deported. Some members made it into Cairo, although no one from the delegation made it to Gaza.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">National Rifle Association Protest 2012[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: National Rifle Association Protest 2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Code Pink protesters were present at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association" title="National Rifle Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Rifle Association</a>'s first press conference following the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Hook_Elementary_School_shooting" title="Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting</a>, where N.R.A.'s Executive Vice President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_LaPierre" title="Wayne LaPierre" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Wayne LaPierre</a> advocated placing armed guards in schools and said "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Protest against intervention in Syria[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Protest against intervention in Syria" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>About ten activists of Code Pink demonstrated in U.S. Congress against military attacks in retaliation for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria" title="Syria" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Syria</a>'s suspected <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction" title="Syria and weapons of mass destruction" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">use of chemical weapons</a> against its own people.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Protesting American intervention against ISIS[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Protesting American intervention against ISIS" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Code Pink activists demonstrated in Capitol Hill against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_military_intervention_against_the_Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant" class="mw-redirect" title="2014 military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American intervention in Syria and Iraq</a> to stop <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISIS" class="mw-redirect" title="ISIS" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISIS</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Arrest during Sessions confirmation hearing[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Arrest during Sessions confirmation hearing" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Code Pink member Desiree Fairooz was arrested for laughing after a description of Senator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sessions" title="Jeff Sessions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jeff Sessions</a> by Alabama U.S. Senator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Shelby" title="Richard Shelby" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Richard Shelby</a> of the nominee as having a history of his "treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented," during the January 2017 confirmation hearing as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General" title="United States Attorney General" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Attorney General</a>. After she had been convicted at trial, that verdict was reversed by the chief District Court Judge Robert Morin. The judge said Fairooz should not have been tried for laughing, only for speaking out as she was being removed, and called a mistrial. Instead of dismissing the case, Morin set her retrial for September.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a> Fairooz faced up to a year in prison and $2,000 in fines for disruptive and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disorderly_conduct" title="Disorderly conduct" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">disorderly conduct</a> and obstructing and impeding passage on US Capitol grounds.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a> On November 6, 2017, District of Columbia U.S. Attorney <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_K.Liu" title="Jessie K. Liu" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jessie K. Liu</a> filed a notice of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolle_prosequi" title="Nolle prosequi" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">nolle prosequi</a> in the case against Desiree Fairooz.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Charges-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a> Upon the decision, Code Pink released a statement calling the 3 trials a waste of time and tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars. And that these sentences are designed to discourage <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissent" title="Dissent" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">dissent</a> and prevent activists from engaging in the daily protests that are taking place during a tumultuous time.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a> From the January 20th protests of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration" title="Inauguration" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">inauguration</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Donald Trump</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice" title="United States Department of Justice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Department of Justice</a> is prosecuting 200 people on multiple felony charges.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink#cite_note-Charges-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">See also[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Code_Pink&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portal plainlist tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);"><ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0.1em; line-height: 13.09px; display: table; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 175px; background: rgb(249, 249, 249); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px; display: table-row;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_coloured_voting_box.svg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="icon" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg/28px-A_coloured_voting_box.svg.png" width="28" height="28" class="noviewer thumbborder" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg/42px-A_coloured_voting_box.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg/56px-A_coloured_voting_box.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="160" data-file-height="160" style="border: 1px solid rgb(234, 236, 240); vertical-align: middle;" /></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politics" title="Portal:Politics" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Politics portal</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0px; display: table-row;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Peace_sign.svg/28px-Peace_sign.svg.png" width="28" height="28" class="noviewer" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Peace_sign.svg/42px-Peace_sign.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Peace_sign.svg/56px-Peace_sign.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="250" data-file-height="250" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Social_movements" title="Portal:Social movements" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Social movements portal</a></li></ul></div><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war_movement" title="Anti-war movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Anti-war movement</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_anti-war_organizations" title="List of anti-war organizations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">List of anti-war organizations</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_peace_activists" title="List of peace activists" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">List of peace activists</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raging_Grannies" title="Raging Grannies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Raging Grannies</a></li></ul>Medea Benjamin (born Susan Benjamin; September 10, 1952) is an American political activist, best known for co-founding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink" title="Code Pink" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Code Pink</a> and, along with activist and author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)" title="Kevin Danaher (activist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kevin Danaher</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade" title="Fair trade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">fair trade</a> advocacy group <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Exchange" title="Global Exchange" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Global Exchange</a>. Benjamin was also the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Green_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Green Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green Party</a> candidate in California in 2000 for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Senate</a>. She currently contributes to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpEdNews" title="OpEdNews" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">OpEdNews</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Huffington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="The Huffington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Huffington Post</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a>In 2003, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Los_Angeles_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="The Los Angeles Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Los Angeles Times</a> described her as "one of the high profile leaders" of the peace movement.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-LAtimes-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="background: none; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: 0px; display: inline; line-height: 1.3;">Contents</h2>  [<a role="button" tabindex="0" class="togglelink" style="background: none; cursor: pointer;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Early_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Early life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Career</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Organizations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.1Organizations</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Politics" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.2Politics</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Protest_actions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Protest actions</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Organization_efforts" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Organization efforts</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Labor_rights_and_corporate_responsibility" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.1Labor rights and corporate responsibility</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Israel/Palestine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.2Israel/Palestine</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Iraq" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.3Iraq</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Drones" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.4Drones</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Other_campaigns" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.5Other campaigns</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Support_for_Cuba_and_Venezuela" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.6Support for Cuba and Venezuela</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#WTO_protest_violence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.7WTO protest violence</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Anybody_But_Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.8Anybody But Bush</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Views_on_United_States_involvement_in_Middle_East" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.9Views on United States involvement in Middle East</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Arrest_In_Egypt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.10Arrest In Egypt</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Awards_and_accolades" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Awards and accolades</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Personal_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#Books" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8Books</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">10External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Early life[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Early life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Susan Benjamin grew up in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeport,New_York" title="Freeport, New York" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Freeport, New York</a>, on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island" title="Long Island" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Long Island</a>, a self-described "nice Jewish girl".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a> According to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Research_Center" title="Capital Research Center" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Capital Research Center</a>, Benjamin received millions of dollars from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_fund" class="mw-redirect" title="Trust fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">trust funds</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-CRC-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a>During her first year at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufts_University" title="Tufts University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tufts University</a>, she renamed herself after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology" title="Greek mythology" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Greek mythological</a> character <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea" title="Medea" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medea</a> and joined the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_a_Democratic_Society" title="Students for a Democratic Society" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Students for a Democratic Society</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-DISCOVER-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a> She then dropped out of school and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchhike" class="mw-redirect" title="Hitchhike" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">hitchhiked</a> through Europe and Africa, teaching English classes to earn money.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-DISCOVER-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a> She later returned to the United States and received master's degrees in public health from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University" title="Columbia University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Columbia University</a> and in economics from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_School" title="The New School" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New School</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-DISCOVER-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a>Benjamin worked for ten years as an economist and nutritionist in Latin America and Africa for the United Nations <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization" title="Food and Agriculture Organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Food and Agriculture Organization</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a> the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization" title="World Health Organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Health Organization</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_International_Development_Agency" class="mw-redirect" title="Swedish International Development Agency" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Swedish International Development Agency</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Food_and_Development_Policy" class="mw-redirect" title="Institute for Food and Development Policy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Institute for Food and Development Policy</a>.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]From 1979 to 1983, Benjamin lived and worked in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cuba</a>, and married the coach of the Cuban national basketball team. She worked for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist" class="mw-redirect" title="Communist" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">communist</a> newspaper, initially describing the nation as "heaven". However, after writing a piece about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba" title="Censorship in Cuba" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">censorship in Cuba</a>, Benjamin was deported.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-DISCOVER-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a> After returning to the US, she met her current husband, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)" title="Kevin Danaher (activist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kevin Danaher</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-DISCOVER-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Career[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Career" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Organizations[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Organizations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 252px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medea_Benjamin_5.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medea_Benjamin_5.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Benjamin speaking at a Code Pink rally.</a></div></div></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medea_Benjamin_5.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">In 1988, with her husband, </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)" title="Kevin Danaher (activist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kevin Danaher</a>, and Kirsten Moller, Benjamin co-founded the San Francisco-based <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Exchange" title="Global Exchange" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Global Exchange</a>, which advocates <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade" title="Fair trade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">fair trade</a> alternatives to what she describes as corporate globalization. In 2002, she co-founded the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism" title="Feminism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">feminist</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anti-war</a> group <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Pink:Women_for_Peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Code Pink: Women for Peace" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Code Pink: Women for Peace</a>, which advocated an end to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iraq War</a>, the prevention of future wars, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice" title="Social justice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">social justice</a>. Benjamin has also been involved with the anti-war organization <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_for_Peace_and_Justice" title="United for Peace and Justice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United for Peace and Justice</a>.She later went on to create the Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad (IOWC) to monitor the United States military, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraq war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">war's</a> effect on civilian populations. Through this center, she brought U.S. military family members to see the conditions under which enlisted personnel served, and to speak out against the war, in Congress and at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United Nations</a>, in 2003.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Peace_Memorial-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Politics[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Politics" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In 2000, Benjamin ran for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Senate</a> on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Green_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Green Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green Party</a> ticket from California. She campaigned on such issues as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage" title="Living wage" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">living wage</a>, education, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_healthcare" class="mw-redirect" title="Universal healthcare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">universal healthcare</a>. She garnered 99,716 votes, 74%, in the primary,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a> and 326,828 votes, 3.08% of the general election total ballots.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a> Since then she has remained active in the Green Party and has also supported efforts by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Democrats_of_America" title="Progressive Democrats of America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Progressive Democrats of America</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Orgs_1-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Orgs_2-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a> She is a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Tree_Foundation_for_the_Democratic_Revolution" title="Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Liberty Tree</a> Board of Advisers.As of April 2015, she serves on the Green <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Cabinet" title="Shadow Cabinet" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Shadow Cabinet</a> of the United States as "Secretary of State".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Protest actions[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=5&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Protest actions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medea_Benjamin_at_2007_State_of_the_Union_protest.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Medea_Benjamin_at_2007_State_of_the_Union_protest.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" viewbox="%220" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="%22smallbox%22" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%23000%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M-1.499" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" e="E" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" c="C" g="g" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" user-select="user-select" none="none" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Medea Benjamin speaks at a rally during the </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_State_of_the_Union_Address" title="2007 State of the Union Address" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2007 State of the Union Address</a> in Washington, D.C.</div></div></div>From 2002 to 2009, Benjamin engaged in numerous protests involving U.S. Secretary of Defense <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld" title="Donald Rumsfeld" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Donald Rumsfeld</a>; U.S. President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">George W. Bush</a>; U.S. Secretary of State <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice" title="Condoleezza Rice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Condoleezza Rice</a>; and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Prime_Minister" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraqi Prime Minister" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iraqi Prime Minister</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouri_al-Maliki" title="Nouri al-Maliki" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nouri al-Maliki</a>, among others. Benjamin engaged in similar protest actions at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Democratic_National_Convention" title="2004 Democratic National Convention" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2004 Democratic National Convention</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Republican_National_Convention" title="2004 Republican National Convention" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2004 Republican National Convention</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a> On December 4, 2007, she was arrested by plainclothes police in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore" title="Lahore" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Lahore</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pakistan</a>, detained by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-Services_Intelligence" title="Inter-Services Intelligence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISI</a> for eight hours, and deported after protesting the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_arrest" title="House arrest" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">house arrest</a> of lawyers (including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aitzaz_Ahsan" title="Aitzaz Ahsan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Aitzaz Ahsan</a>).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a> In 2009, Benjamin joined the steering committee for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Freedom_March" title="Gaza Freedom March" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gaza Freedom March</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a> In February 2012 Benjamin was arrested and deported<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a> for illegal entry to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bahrain</a> and participating in an illegal protest.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a>During 2005–2010, she worked to oppose US threats of a possible impending war with Iran, including lobbying Congress, taking peace delegations to Iran, and bringing Iranian youth to Congress.Benjamin repeatedly interrupted a major speech by U.S. President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Barack Obama</a> regarding United States policy in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror" title="War on Terror" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">War on Terror</a> at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_University" title="National Defense University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Defense University</a> on May 23, 2013.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Medea_Benjamin_v.President_Obama-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-business_insider_obama_speech_heckle-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a> After Benjamin was removed for her actions, Mr. Obama then went off script. "The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to," he said. "Obviously I do not agree with much of what she said. And obviously she wasn't listening to me and much of what I said. But these are tough issues. And the suggestion that we can gloss over them is wrong.""If he had indeed made significant policy changes, I wasn't going to say anything," Benjamin told <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Beast" title="The Daily Beast" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Daily Beast</a> afterward. "I would have preferred that option, but given that he didn't make those kind of changes I was looking for, I was glad to be given the opportunity to speak out."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a>On July 21, 2016, Benjamin disrupted <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J.Trump" class="mw-redirect" title="Donald J. Trump" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Donald J. Trump</a>'s acceptance speech at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Republican_National_Convention" title="2016 Republican National Convention" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republican National Convention</a> with a sign that read "Build bridges not walls".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Organization efforts[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Organization efforts" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Labor rights and corporate responsibility[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Labor rights and corporate responsibility" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>During the 1990s, Benjamin focused her efforts on countering what she believed was unfair trade as promoted by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization" title="World Trade Organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Trade Organization</a>. She participated in an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-sweatshop_movement" title="Anti-sweatshop movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anti-sweatshop movement</a>, initiating campaigns against Nike and clothing companies such as the GAP. In 1999 Benjamin helped expose the problem of indentured servitude among garment workers in the United States territory of Saipan (the Marianas Islands), which led to a billion-dollar lawsuit against 17 United States retailers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a>[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NOTRS" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:NOTRS" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">better source needed</a>] In 1999, she produced the documentary "Sweating for a T-Shirt" about the sweatshop industry.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a>During the World Trade Organization meeting in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle" title="Seattle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Seattle</a> in December 1999, Benjamin's organization, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Exchange" title="Global Exchange" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Global Exchange</a>, helped organize the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Seattle_WTO_protests" title="1999 Seattle WTO protests" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1999 Seattle WTO protests</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Bogardus-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a>In 2000, she helped a campaign to pressure <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbucks" title="Starbucks" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Starbucks</a> to carry <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade_coffee" title="Fair trade coffee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">fair trade coffee</a> in all their cafes. As a result, in October 2000, Starbucks introduced whole bean Fair Trade Certified coffee at over 2,300 stores.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a>For 2001, Benjamin focused on California's energy crisis, assisting low-income ratepayers and small businesses. She headed a coalition of consumer, environmental, union and business leaders working for clean and affordable power under public control.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a>In September 2003, Benjamin was in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canc%C3%BAn" title="Cancún" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cancún</a>, Mexico challenging the policies of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization" title="World Trade Organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Trade Organization</a> (WTO) and in November, she was in Miami protesting the proposed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Trade_Area_of_the_Americas" title="Free Trade Area of the Americas" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Free Trade Area of the Americas</a>(FTAA) while trying to bring attention to global peace and economic justice movements.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-globalexchange1-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a>After several fact-finding visits to China, Benjamin co-sponsored with the International Labor Rights Fund an initiative to improve the labor and environmental practices of United States multinationals in China. The ensuring Human Rights Principles for US Businesses in China have been endorsed by major companies such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco" class="mw-redirect" title="Cisco" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cisco</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel" title="Intel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Intel</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reebok" title="Reebok" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Reebok</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss" title="Levi Strauss" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Levi Strauss</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattel" title="Mattel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mattel</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Israel/Palestine[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=8&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Israel/Palestine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In 2006, Benjamin organized humanitarian aid for war refugees in Lebanon and spoke out against Israeli bombing. In 2008 during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cast_Lead" class="mw-redirect" title="Operation Cast Lead" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Operation Cast Lead</a> Israeli invasion of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip" title="Gaza Strip" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gaza</a>, she organized a daily protest at the hotel where President-elect <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Barack Obama</a> was staying, and then went to Gaza to see the immediate effects of the bombing. She brought humanitarian aid and helped put together six other delegations to Gaza. She was one of the lead organizers of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Freedom_March" title="Gaza Freedom March" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gaza Freedom March</a>, where 1,350 people from dozens of countries came together in Cairo to try to march to Gaza. Benjamin criticized the United States government for passing legislation to send <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel" title="Israel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Israel</a> $3 billion in aid, lobbied Congress and sailed on the U.S. Flotilla to Gaza in November 2011. Days after Israel launched its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillar_of_Defense" class="mw-redirect" title="Pillar of Defense" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pillar of Defense</a> operation targeting Gaza targets in November 2012, Benjamin led a delegation to deliver medical supplies to the Shifa hospital and the Palestinian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Crescent" class="mw-redirect" title="Red Crescent" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Red Crescent</a> in Gaza.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a> She also helps organize a yearly gathering in Washington, D.C., to expose the "negative influence" of the United States lobby group AIPAC (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-Israel_Public_Affairs_Committee" class="mw-redirect" title="American-Israel Public Affairs Committee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American-Israel Public Affairs Committee</a>).[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]<h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Iraq[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=9&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Iraq" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>After the United States invaded Iraq, she created the Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-globalexchange1-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a> to monitor the United States military and the war's effect on civilian populations. Through this center she brought Iraqi women to the United States to speak about the occupation, organized delegations of U.S. military family members to see the conditions of their children serving in Iraq, and documented United States abuses, including at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_prison" title="Abu Ghraib prison" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Abu Ghraib prison</a> long before the scandal involving it broke in the United States media. She also organized medical aid delegations to Iraq to civilians harmed by the United States military.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]She testified in Congress and the United Nations against the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraq war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iraq war</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a>In 2005, she focused on the abuses of United States military contractors such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton" title="Halliburton" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Halliburton</a>, the goal of which was to expose the awarding of corrupt no-bid contracts to corporations with close ties to the Bush administrations. Along with this, Benjamin also exposed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Worldwide" class="mw-redirect" title="Blackwater Worldwide" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Blackwater Worldwide</a>'s illegal activities, including protests at the headquarters of the International Association of War Contractors.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Peace_Memorial-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a>In opposition to indefinite detention in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp" title="Guantanamo Bay detention camp" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Guantanamo</a>, in 2007, Benjamin organized a delegation of prisoners' family members to Guantanamo Naval Base prison camp in Cuba, demanding its closing.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a> In 2007 as well, she continued to protest weekly outside the Justice Department concerning water boarding and indefinite detention, and called for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>] She was arrested many times for protests in Congressional hearings.On October 31, 2009, Benjamin led a group of Code Pink protestors at a protest aimed at military families queued up for a White House Halloween Party hosted by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">President Obama</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Obama" title="Michelle Obama" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">First Lady Michelle Obama</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Code_Pink_Press_Release-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a>The event raised controversy when a Reuters News photo showing the protesters (dressed as wounded soldiers), including one identified as Medea, were described as "taunting" the children.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Reuters_photo&blog-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Big_Gvt-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Drones[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=10&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Drones" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In 2009, Benjamin began her efforts to bring attention to the effects of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan" class="mw-redirect" title="Drone attacks in Pakistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">drone warfare</a>, participating in demonstrations at United States bases where drones are piloted and at headquarters of drone manufacturers. On April 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C., she was responsible for organizing the first ever International Drone Summit with lawyers, scientists, academics, and activists to kick off an international campaign to rein in the use of drones in the U.S. and abroad.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a>On April 30, 2012, Benjamin bemoaned the "innocent civilians murdered" by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan" class="mw-redirect" title="Drone attacks in Pakistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">drone strikes in Pakistan</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Enduring_Freedom%E2%80%93_Horn_of_Africa#Drone_attacks" title="Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Somalia</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_Yemen#US_air_attacks" title="Terrorism in Yemen" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yemen</a>, by interrupting a speech on United States counterterrorism strategy given by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O.Brennan" title="John O. Brennan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">John Brennan</a> at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_International_Center_for_Scholars" title="Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Woodrow Wilson Center</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a>In October 2012, she organized a 34-person delegation to Pakistan to protest U.S. drone warfare. While in Pakistan she allegedly met with drone victims, family members, lawyers, academics, women's groups, and Pakistani leaders, as well as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Ambassador_to_Pakistan" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a> The delegation made international headlines when they joined a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan#Rally_in_South_Waziristan" title="Imran Khan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">caravan to Waziristan</a> organized by prominent political leader and former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_national_cricket_team" title="Pakistan national cricket team" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pakistani cricket</a> captain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan" title="Imran Khan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Imran Khan</a>, a staunch opponent of American involvement in Pakistan. (See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN" title="CNN" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">CNN</a> video,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The New York Times</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Washington Post</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera" title="Al Jazeera" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Al Jazeera</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a> the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC" title="BBC" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">BBC</a>, and over 100 major news outlet,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a>09/28 – October 14, 2012). She also organized a public fast in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad" title="Islamabad" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Islamabad</a> in sympathy with alleged drone victims.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a>In 2012, she authored Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, published by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OR_Books" title="OR Books" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">OR Books</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a> and toured the country speaking out against drone warfare.<h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Other campaigns[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=11&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Other campaigns" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>As part of Code Pink's mission, Benjamin helped organize many <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day" title="International Women's Day" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Women's Day</a> Marches and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day(United_States)" title="Mother's Day (United States)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mother's Day</a> Calls for Peace, the latter to bring back the original intent of Mother's Day as women mobilizing against war. These included bringing women from war torn countries such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iraq</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Palestine" title="State of Palestine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Palestine</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Afghanistan</a> to the U.S. to speak about their experiences. Between 2003 and 2010, Benjamin helped organized anti-war mass mobilizations in Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]Benjamin organized the campaign Bring Our War Dollars Home,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-48" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[48]</a> which fought to divert money from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pentagon" title="The Pentagon" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">the Pentagon</a> into social programs at home.<h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Support for Cuba and Venezuela[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=12&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Support for Cuba and Venezuela" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Benjamin has drawn criticism for her support of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Chavez" class="mw-redirect" title="Hugo Chavez" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hugo Chavez</a> and her attacks on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_Cuba" title="United States embargo against Cuba" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. embargo</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro" title="Fidel Castro" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Fidel Castro</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cuba</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Horowitz(conservative_writer)" class="mw-redirect" title="David Horowitz (conservative writer)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">David Horowitz</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FrontPageMag" class="mw-redirect" title="FrontPageMag" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">FrontPageMag</a> described her as "a long-time Castro acolyte", and wrote:<blockquote class="templatequote" style="overflow: hidden; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 40px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Many of the causes that Ms. Benjamin espouses are Communist in nature. The Washington peace rally at which she spoke last month, for instance, was organized by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers_World_Party" title="Workers World Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Workers World Party</a>, a Communist organization ... In years past, she staunchly opposed United States military aid to those fighting against Communist forces in Central America ... She favors the creation of a government-sponsored <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care" title="Universal health care" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">universal health care</a> system funded by taxpayer dollars. She exhorts the United States government to lift its trade embargo against Cuba – a nation she notably lauds as a place where people have managed to "thrive despite the odds" against them.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Quote_1-1-49" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[49]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Quote_1-2-50" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[50]</a></blockquote><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">WTO protest violence[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=13&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: WTO protest violence" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>During the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement" title="Anti-globalization movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anti-globalization movement</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization_Ministerial_Conference_of_1999_protest_activity" class="mw-redirect" title="World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle" title="Seattle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Seattle</a> some alleged Benjamin said that anarchists who engaged in property destruction should have been arrested by the police. Benjamin said that the quote was "distorted" and "taken out of context" and said she did not support the tactics of that group of anarchists.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Quote_2-51" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[51]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Anybody But Bush[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=14&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Anybody But Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Benjamin has been criticized by some Greens for her support for "Anybody But Bush" in 2004. Explaining why she supported this movement, she said:<blockquote class="templatequote" style="overflow: hidden; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 40px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">... maybe it's time for the people who voted for Bush in 2000, the people who didn't vote at all in 2000, and yes, people like myself who voted for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader" title="Ralph Nader" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ralph Nader</a> in 2000, to admit our mistakes. I'll say mine — I had no idea that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">George Bush</a> would be such a disastrous president. Had I known then what I know now, and had I lived in a swing state, I would have voted for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore" title="Al Gore" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gore</a> instead of Ralph Nader.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Quote_3-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a></blockquote><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Chretien" class="mw-redirect" title="Todd Chretien" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Todd Chretien</a>, a leading member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Socialist_Organization" title="International Socialist Organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Socialist Organization</a>, responded:<blockquote class="templatequote" style="overflow: hidden; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 40px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Medea Benjamin ... and many other liberal and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States" title="Progressivism in the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">progressive</a> leaders tell us that a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kerry" title="John Kerry" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kerry</a> regime "would be less dangerous" than Bush ... But, even if Kerry is "less dangerous", he will be more capable of wreaking havoc on Iraq, Palestine, Venezuela, abortion, gay rights, civil rights and unions if we sacrifice our political movement to getting behind him ... any movement that ever aims to win, must learn to stand up for itself precisely when it is darkest.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-Quote_4-53" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a></blockquote><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Views on United States involvement in Middle East[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=15&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Views on United States involvement in Middle East" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Benjamin writes in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Huffington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="The Huffington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Huffington Post</a> that the U.S. needs to end <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_interventionism" class="mw-redirect" title="Military interventionism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">military interventionism</a> and that the "U.S. military should close all foreign military bases and use our soldiers to protect us here at home."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a>Benjamin also writes in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Huffington_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="The Huffington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Huffington Post</a> that the United States never had any "justification for invading Iraq", that there is no "justification for continuing the war in Afghanistan", and that in Pakistan, the United States "drone attacks are only fueling the violence and creating more <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_Bin_Laden" class="mw-redirect" title="Osama Bin Laden" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Osama Bin Ladens</a>". Regarding the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_bin_Laden" class="mw-redirect" title="Killing of bin Laden" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">killing of bin Laden</a>, she says "Let us not sink into a false sense of triumphalism in the wake of Bin Laden's passing."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-55" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[55]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Arrest In Egypt[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=16&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Arrest In Egypt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>On March 3, 2014, Benjamin was arrested in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Egypt</a>. She had flown there en route to participating in a women's conference in the Palestinian territory of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip" title="Gaza Strip" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gaza</a>. Upon her arrival at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_International_Airport" title="Cairo International Airport" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cairo International Airport</a>, Benjamin was detained by airport police and held overnight, during which time she said she was assaulted by police officers, resulting in a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. She was later deported to Turkey. Questions arose regarding the role of the United States Embassy in her detention, as embassy spokesman Mofid Deak said that Benjamin left the country following assistance from the embassy, while Code Pink's Alli McCracken said the embassy did not help Benjamin.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-56" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[56]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Awards and accolades[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=17&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Awards and accolades" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>In 2010, she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_of_Reconciliation" title="Fellowship of Reconciliation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Fellowship of Reconciliation</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a> In 2012, she won the Marjorie Kellogg National Peacemaker Award, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton_Center_Peace_Award" class="mw-redirect" title="Thomas Merton Center Peace Award" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Thomas Merton Center Peace Award</a>, and the Peace Foundation Memorial Award "in recognition of her creative leadership on the front lines of the antiwar movement".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a> In 2014, she received the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi_Peace_Award" title="Gandhi Peace Award" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gandhi Peace Award</a> from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promoting_Enduring_Peace" title="Promoting Enduring Peace" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Promoting Enduring Peace</a> "to honor her for her unyielding advocacy for social justice of more than 30 years".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Personal life[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=18&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Personal life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Benjamin is married to activist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)" title="Kevin Danaher (activist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kevin Danaher</a> and has one daughter, Arlen, from her first marriage in Cuba and another daughter, Maya, from her marriage with Danaher. Her daughter Arlen is named after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista" class="mw-redirect" title="Sandinista" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sandinista</a>revolutionary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlen_Siu" title="Arlen Siu" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arlen Siu</a>, with her daughter once writing "I grew up believing that protest lines and teach-ins were normal family outings ... I was born in Cuba to an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban" title="Afro-Cuban" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Afro-Cuban</a> father and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish-American" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jewish-American</a> mother, and the fact that I was named for the first woman to die fighting for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Revolution" title="Nicaraguan Revolution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nicaraguan [Sandinista] Revolution</a> gives you an idea of my politically oriented upbringing".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-LAtimes-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a>Benjamin lives in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,DC" class="mw-redirect" title="Washington, DC" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Washington, DC</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin#cite_note-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[61]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">See also[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medea_Benjamin&action=edit&section=19&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_peace_activists" title="List of peace activists" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">List of peace activists</a></li></ul> =https://www.alternet.org/local-peace-economy/why-vatican-meeting-larry-fink pope’s June 9 meeting with Larry Fink—CEO of the investment firm BlackRock—and other executives on the issue of climate change couldn’t be more timely. Back in 2015, the pope issued an <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=//w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNHN3C76cL56uAQSLsqspE7gDyJxcQ" href="https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">encyclical on climate change</a>, highlighting that unchecked consumption and greed cause massive devastation to our planet. The pope has repeatedly brought climate change to the forefront of international discussions, including connecting <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=//www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2017/to-fight-hunger-and-forced-migration-end-war-arms-trade-pope-says.cfm&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNFBG4dO7bdHFkFIBaARWxKhD1zHRA" href="https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2017/to-fight-hunger-and-forced-migration-end-war-arms-trade-pope-says.cfm" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the issue of worldwide hunger with war and climate change.</a>Forced migrations, hunger, water pollution/scarcity, increased poaching, escalating global insecurity, and the lack of political will to find sustainable solutions are just a few of the common connections between war and climate change. Considering the countless conflicts that have raged across the world and the continued threat of climate change, it’s well past time to hold institutions accountable for profiting on the backs of global destruction.<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNE0cxUwBJdyFTEhHEIOmdQkR3zbxw" href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">In October 2017</a>, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink announced that he was going to start holding companies accountable to be good corporate citizens. BlackRock is the world’s largest investment firm, controlling more than $3 trillion in assets. Some of these assets are linked to weapons manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, meaning that Mr. Fink should follow his own advice and set an example for Wall Street.  C <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=//www.codepink.org/blackrock&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNHTBXKTQZX1smaTTbCj5rLQJk0nNQ" href="https://www.codepink.org/blackrock" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ODEPINK has been calling on BlackRock to stop investing in weapons of war</a>. There should be no profit in war (or climate destruction). The pope has been meeting with financial and oil executives because their leadership is needed to pull us out of a spiraling climate crisis. We also recommend that the pope speak to corporate leadership about ending war, as it compounds and escalates the impacts of climate change. In the pope’s 2015 Climate Encyclical he states, “The environment is one of those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces.”Peace, like the environment, should not be dictated by market forces. When a company’s bottom line is driving decisions, its executives are not considering the impacts of their products on others. BlackRock invests in companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing. These companies make the bombs, missiles, tanks, and warplanes that destroy other communities. Their legacy of environmental contamination includes polluting groundwater and leaving behind depleted uranium in soil for generations.The legacy of war and climate change also includes the destruction of families. Whether through forced migrations or death, families are ripped apart. Pope Francis raised the issue of refugees and forced migrations during <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20171113_messaggio-51giornatamondiale-pace2018.html&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNEqHS3QTfuANjYQpn0KzQyA8G1A7w" href="https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20171113_messaggio-51giornatamondiale-pace2018.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">his 2018 World Peace Day address.</a> There are over 65 million forcibly displaced people in the world. U.S. military interventions and U.S. produced weapons have played a leading role in displacing millions around the globe. Conservative estimates state that since 2001, U.S. interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have displaced <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=//watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNG_yNh26TpZi7cfBrMY8es8JE8UZw" href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">10 million people</a>.The impacts of war and climate change disproportionately impact those who have less, while an elite few let profits drive their decisions and line their pocketbooks. This is why we must <a href="https://www.divestfromwarmachine.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Divest From War</a> and invest in solutions like renewable energy. Our investments—personal and public—should reflect the needs and priorities of our local communities, not the bottom lines of Wall Street.Learn more about how you can be a part of the solution at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=//www.divestfromwarmachine.org/&source=gmail&ust=1529421351407000&usg=AFQjCNGVkBQDXE23JmXTaiIHCtTxAQv7og" href="https://www.divestfromwarmachine.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">www.divestfromwarmachine.org</a>.=jared pal (po'd qattar did not fund real estate, dad sez wd refuse $<a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/22/reformer_or_war_criminal_saudi_crown" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/22/reformer_or_war_criminal_saudi_crown </a>President Trump met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, where the two leaders finalized a $12.5 billion weapons deal. This comes less than a year after Trump announced a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis. During the meeting, Trump held up posters of recent Saudi weapon purchases from the United States and said, “We make the best equipment in the world.” Human rights groups warn the massive arms deal may make the United States complicit in war crimes committed in the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. We speak with Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan and Medea Benjamin of CodePink....evin Danaher is an author and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-globalization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anti-globalization</a> activist. With his wife <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin" title="Medea Benjamin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medea Benjamin</a> and activist Kirsten Irgens-Moller, he co-founded <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Exchange" title="Global Exchange" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Global Exchange</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a> a social justice and anti-globalization <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization" title="Non-governmental organization" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">non-governmental organization</a> based in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco,California" class="mw-redirect" title="San Francisco, California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">San Francisco, California</a>. He is the founder and executive co-producer of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Festivals" title="Green Festivals" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Green Festivals</a> and he is executive Director of the Global Citizen Center. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Santa_Cruz" title="University of California, Santa Cruz" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>.<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="background: none; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: 0px; display: inline; line-height: 1.3;">Contents</h2>  [<a role="button" tabindex="0" class="togglelink" style="background: none; cursor: pointer;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#Personal_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#Activism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Activism</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#Professional_background" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Professional background</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#Bibliography" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Bibliography</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#Filmography" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Filmography</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6External links</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7References</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Personal life[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Danaher(activist)&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Personal life" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Kevin Danaher was born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey" title="New Jersey" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">New Jersey</a>, on March 7, 1950.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a>Danaher is from an Irish Catholic family and is the youngest of three children. His father, who was a bus driver, had immigrated from Ireland. He had an interest in politics and had been a messenger for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army" title="Irish Republican Army" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Irish Republican Army</a>. In a 2003 article for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfgate" class="mw-redirect" title="Sfgate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sfgate</a> by Tom Abate, Danaher said that the stories he heard from his father about the IRA made him what he is today.He graduated from high school in 1968 and flunked his physical to avoid being drafted. In those days he was working as a truck driver and bricklayer. His night times were spent as a bass guitarist for a band that did the rounds playing strip joints and topless bars. Eventually drifting westward, he met a woman in Los Gatos and decided to stay there. California marked a change in the direction his life took. By the time he had finished with the classes he took at De Anza College in Cupertino, and then his doing his time at Sonoma State University, picking up an undergraduate degree in sociology, he had undertaken Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz. He had also written a thesis on the boycott movement against the apartheid regime of South Africa.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a>His wife comes from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island,N.Y." class="mw-redirect" title="Long Island, N.Y." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Long Island, N.Y.</a>. They have two daughters.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Activism[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Danaher(activist)&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Activism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>In an interview with Miguel Bocanegra in February, 2000, Danaher said that his government's trying to send him to Vietnam caused him to question what his government was doing, namely the bombing of people who were no threat to the U.S.. In the early days, he wrote a dissertation on U.S. policy towards South Africa in what he saw as U.S. policy being supportive of the white minority against the black majority.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a>He has been critical and vocal about the invasion of Iraq.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a> Along with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Ritter" title="Scott Ritter" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Scott Ritter</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ellsberg" title="Daniel Ellsberg" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Daniel Ellsberg</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jody_Williams" title="Jody Williams" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jody Williams</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mailer" title="Norman Mailer" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Norman Mailer</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky" title="Noam Chomsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Noam Chomsky</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_Benjamin" title="Medea Benjamin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Medea Benjamin</a>, he appeared in the film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijacking_Catastrophe" title="Hijacking Catastrophe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Professional background[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Danaher(activist)&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Professional background" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>From 1979 to 1983, Danaher was with American University in Washington, DC, as an adjunct professor. By 1982 he had earned a Ph.D. in sociology at UC Santa Cruz. In 1984, having moved to the Bay area, he was working with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_First" title="Food First" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Food First</a> as a senior analyst.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Bibliography[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Danaher(activist)&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Bibliography" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots. With Shannon Biggs and Jason Dove Mark. (September 2007) PoliPoint Press. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9778253-6-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-9778253-6-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">978-0-9778253-6-3</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Insurrection: The Citizen Challenge to Corporate Power. With Jason Dove Mark, foreword by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianna_Huffington" title="Arianna Huffington" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arianna Huffington</a>. (2003) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routledge" title="Routledge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Routledge</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-94677-8" title="Special:BookSources/0-415-94677-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">0-415-94677-8</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">10 reasons to abolish the IMF & World Bank. Forward by Anuradha Mittal. (2001) Seven Stories. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-58322-464-5" title="Special:BookSources/1-58322-464-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1-58322-464-5</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Globalize This! The Battle Against the World Trade Organization and Corporate Rule with Roger Burbach. (2000) Common Courage Press. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56751-196-1" title="Special:BookSources/1-56751-196-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1-56751-196-1</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Corporations Are Gonna Get Your Mama: Globalization and the Downsizing of the American Dream. (1997) Common Courage Press. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56751-112-0" title="Special:BookSources/1-56751-112-0" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1-56751-112-0</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Fifty Years is Enough: The Case Against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. (1994) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_End_Press" title="South End Press" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">South End Press</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89608-495-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-89608-495-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">0-89608-495-7</a></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Filmography[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Danaher(activist)&action=edit&section=5&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Filmography" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><table class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable jquery-tablesorter" style="background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); margin: 1em 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-collapse: collapse;"><caption style="font-weight: bold;">Film</caption><thead><tr><th scope="col" class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2221%22" height="%229%22" viewbox="%220" e="E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M14.5" l-4="l-4" zm14.5="zM14.5" l-4-4-4="l-4-4-4" z="z" c="C" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-position="background-position" right="right" center="center" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Title</th><th scope="col" class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2221%22" height="%229%22" viewbox="%220" e="E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M14.5" l-4="l-4" zm14.5="zM14.5" l-4-4-4="l-4-4-4" z="z" c="C" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-position="background-position" right="right" center="center" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Role</th><th scope="col" class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2221%22" height="%229%22" viewbox="%220" e="E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M14.5" l-4="l-4" zm14.5="zM14.5" l-4-4-4="l-4-4-4" z="z" c="C" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-position="background-position" right="right" center="center" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Director</th><th scope="col" class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 21px 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2221%22" height="%229%22" viewbox="%220" e="E" cpath="Cpath" d="%22M14.5" l-4="l-4" zm14.5="zM14.5" l-4-4-4="l-4-4-4" z="z" c="C" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-position="background-position" right="right" center="center" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Year</th><th scope="col" class="unsortable" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: center;">Notes #</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th scope="row" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: left; font-weight: normal;">Timber GAP</th><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Himself</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">James Ficklin, Kay Rudin</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2000</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;" /></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: left; font-weight: normal;">Trading Freedom: The Secret Life of the FTAA</th><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Himself</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;" /><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2002</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Suzuki" title="David Suzuki" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">David Suzuki</a> appears as well</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: left; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijacking_Catastrophe" title="Hijacking Catastrophe" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire</a></th><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Himself</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Jeremy Earp, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sut_Jhally" title="Sut Jhally" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sut Jhally</a></td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2004</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;" /></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: left; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannity%26_Colmes" title="Hannity & Colmes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hannity & Colmes</a>
Episode dated 25 January 2006</th><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Himself</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;" /><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2006</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberly_Guilfoyle" title="Kimberly Guilfoyle" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kimberly Guilfoyle</a> also appears</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background-color: rgb(234, 236, 240); text-align: left; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Censored_the_Movie" title="Project Censored the Movie" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Project Censored the Movie</a></th><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Himself</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">Doug Hecker, Christopher Oscar</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;">2013</td><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher(activist)#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></td></tr></tbody><tfoot /></table><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">External links[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Danaher(activist)&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: External links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><table role="presentation" class="mbox-small plainlinks sistersitebox" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 4px 0px 4px 1em; box-sizing: border-box; width: 238px; line-height: 1.25em; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image" style="border: none; padding: 2px 0px 2px 0.9em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" width="30" height="40" class="noviewer" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></td><td class="mbox-text plainlist" style="border: none; padding: 0.25em 0.9em; width: 165.844px;">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kevin_Danaher" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Kevin Danaher" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kevin Danaher</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229.5%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%2300528c%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/eureka/concourse/8751/edisi04/danaher.htm&date=2009-10-25+21:55:28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Interview with Kevin Danaher on Globalism and Its Discontents</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xRDnbwIx58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">www.youtube.com − 2008 Interview with Kevin Danaher</a> on Building the Green Economy (27 minutes)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://greenfestivals.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Green Festivals Home Page</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://globalcitizencenter.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%2212%22" height="%2212%22%3E" cpath="Cpath" fill="%22%23fff%22" stroke="%22%2336c%22" d="%22M9.995" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" e="E" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" c="C" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data">Global Citizen Center Home Page</a></li></ul><a href="https://kpfa.org/episode/letters-and-politics-november-14-2016/" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://kpfa.org/episode/letters-and-politics-november-14-2016/</a><a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/08/17/medea-benjamins-kingdom-of-the-unjust/" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/08/17/medea-benjamins-kingdom-of-the-unjust/</a>For years and years, activists demanded that the U.S. government make public 28 (turned out to be 29) pages it had censored from a report, because it was suspected they would show a Saudi Arabian role in funding and facilitating the crimes of September 11, 2001. When the pages were finally made public, they showed a great deal of evidence of exactly that. But the U.S. government and its pet media outlets buried the story on a Friday evening, declared that verily this is that, and moved on.If you happen to have caught wind of this and smelled a rat, you’ll be interested in another 203 pages, those making up Medea Benjamin’s new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1944869026/counterpunchmaga" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Kingdom of the Unjust</a>. If you live in the United States, you should be aware of how much effort your government puts into facilitating and defending the crimes of Saudi Arabia in the United States, in Saudi Arabia, and in places like Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, etc. If you pay U.S. taxes, you should know what you’re buying. If you work for a U.S. weapons maker, you should know who’s buying what you make, and what they’re using it for. If you drive a car, you may be helping to destroy the earth’s climate while funding the Saudi royalty.</div>