Greenpeace

DEMOCRACY NOW! had this story on Friday, and it's still stuck in my head.  It's an issue that occasionally will get some coverage, but not nearly enough.  I hate it when things like this happen in my name.  Here's a taste:

"Meanwhile in Europe, the Spanish government has admitted Spain may have been used as a stopover for secret CIA flights in the practice of transferring prisoners known as extraordinary rendition - what others call kidnapping. The news comes a week after President Bush acknowledged for the first time that the CIA has been operating a secret network of overseas prisons. "

Full (rush) transcript here.

Everybody's talking about the United Nations, as happens every year around this time with the opening of the General Assembly session.  I actually have some sort of bizarre fascination with the UN system (it's one of the few fascinations those of us who major(ed) in international relations have).  Perhaps it's because my introduction to the high-octane and action-packed world of parliamentary procedure and negotiation was during high school Model UN conferences.  But, as I've grown older, had better excuses to explore NYC and Washington, and had my eyes opened wide to the realities of the global diplomacy system, I can't help but wonder what really is going on up there.

I don't understand how any body with the word "security" in its name can have any sort of veto mechanism that stems from who was on the winning side of a war that ended more than fifty years ago.  There.  I said it.

I don't know why it's considered controversial to move the UN headquarters to the Global South.

The preamble of the UN lays it out.  It says that they're DETERMINED "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war."  Looks like we need a little less determination and a little more saving.

I don't think there are better fora to have these debates, and it's certainly not completely broken, but it never ceases to amaze me how every year we hear how controversial these UN meetings can be.  (Last year was my personal favorite.)  For another point of view, check out this article on the U.S./Iran debate.  Best quote from President Jacques Chirac: "We do not aim to call regimes into question."  The sweet, sweet smell of freedom fries.  Vive la différènce! 

"We do not aim to call regimes into question."

from this story by Deb Riechmann of AP:

 "We don't believe freedom belongs only to the United States of America. We believe that liberty is universal in its applications. We also believe strongly that as the world becomes more free, we'll see peace."*
___________________________________________________________

*Some restrictions apply. Void where prohibited.

solo una notita para compartir este imagen de mis companeros en el barco Greenpeace, Esperanza, que ahoritita esta navegando el pacifico... La llegada de la luna sobre el oceano.  Que ganas tengo yo estar en este barco. Me queda solamente un mes hasta mi llegada.

Birthdays are special occasions.  And, when you're Greenpeace, they're something even more special to celebrate.

On saturday, September 9, Greenpeace (unofficially) turned 35.  Guess all those hippies who used to say "don't trust anyone over 30" are eating their words right about now.  The important part is that we weren't alone in celebrating. Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, one of the coolest cats ever, also celebrated his birthday with us at a party in Hollywood that left hundreds wanting more.  

Hollywood's a funny place.  Some people love it. some people hate it. Some say it's fake, Others say it's the most real manifestation of humankind on the planet. Whatever I believed before this, I'm not too sure, but it was great to know that there are people out there willing to support Greenpeace and wish Dave, a truly awesome guy, a happy birthday.

Dave is in the process of recording a song with some of his recording industry friends to commemorate Greenpeace's 35th year of kicking ass and taking names, and a big focus of the night was to record some of these folks belting out what will surely become the "We Are the World" for our very own movement. Artists who have already been recorded for the song include Annie Lennox, Sarah McLachlan, Ozomatli, Candy Dulfer, Nadirah X, Imogen Heap, Gina Gershon, Carina Round and others. Dave and his buddies Glen Ballard, Curt from Tears for Fears, Harry Dean Stanton (not just a great actor), and some of the folks above came together on the 9th at a major recording studio on Sunset Blvd to record, jam, exchange birthday wishes, and spread the word about Greenpeace.

Dave gathered 200 of his closest friends- including Anthony Hopkins, Dennis Hopper, Anastacia, Debi Mazar and others- and wished us a happy 35th. Hopefully you caught at least some of the live webcast and maybe caught a glimpse of Greenpeace staffers Mark and Nathan handing Dave his framed piece of sail cloth from the Rainbow Warrior as our birthday present to him.

As the bands raged and the crowds mingled, everyone was spreading the buzz about GP as cameras from AP, Reuters, Getty, and others captured the moment. The Hollywood set definitely was treated to a great fiesta thrown for us by one of our biggest fans who's also one of the best things ever.

In times like these, we should all be glad to know that people are eager to come out to support us and honor the Greenpeace cause while governments and companies try to stop us in our tracks. It was pretty magical to know that Dave was inspiring a whole new group of people for us (and the planet) and that such a great event could be undertaken in our name.  And in a room of celebrities and other Hollywood-types, it was pretty incredible that they saw Greenpeace as the true star of the night.

Big thanks to everyone for all of their help to pull this off. This is the start of great things to come, so stay tuned and join us in being more than grateful to Dave Stewart for honoring 35 years of Greenpeace in this way and for getting some amazing people to stand with us in looking forward to many more. 

Anyway, sorry for the delay in reporting on this, folks.  It was an amazing night, and has taken a few days to sink in as to what an amazing experience it was. There are too many people to thank for an awesome night, most especially Dave and his crew at WME. They haven't seen the last of us, so do yourselves a favor and buy every single record from all of the artists listed above (oh- and this wouldn't make a bad birthday gift, either).