Truthout

"Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow was invited by the Los Angeles Times to compose a statement defending her film against accusations that it promotes the tolerance of torture and actually endorses torture in certain situations.  The following is what Bigelow presented, with some opposing commentary.  She begins with some description of the difficulties she and screenwriter Mark Boal had to overcome to bring "ZD30" to the screen.

Then came the controversy. Now that "Zero Dark Thirty" has appeared in cinemas nationwide, many people have asked me if I was surprised by the brouhaha that surrounded the film, while it was still in limited release, when many thoughtful people were characterizing it in wildly contradictory ways.

Four years ago, people across the world watched intently as the United States inaugurated its first black president. Thousands of people expressed hope that policies implemented under previous administrations - including wars, torture and detention, and inadequate economic support of developing nations - would change. While many acknowledge some of the progress made, there is also criticism. FSRN reporters in five countries, Canada, Mexico, Haiti, Cameroon and Pakistan, spoke to residents about the legacy of President Obama so far and what they’d like to see in the future.

Florida's discredited 'Tea Party' Republican Gov. Rick Scott — the man who restricted voter registration until blocked by a federal judge; attempted to remove thousands of legal voters from the rolls; presided over 6 hour voting lines after cutting Early Voting days in half and refusing to extend those Early Voting hours despite those completely predictable lines, and even went to federal court to (unsuccessfully) uphold even further restrictions on Early Voting — issued a statement today endorsing election reforms in the Sunshine State.

In 2006, Neil Young told the Los Angeles Times that the silence of young songwriters during the Bush era compelled him to retake the stage as a protest singer: "I was waiting for someone to come along, some young singer eighteen-to-twenty-two years old, to write these songs and stand up. I waited a long time. Then I decided that maybe the generation that has to do this is still the '60s generation."

We live in a culture of violence.  Violence is so prevalent, like the proverbial fish in the sea, we aren't even aware that it surrounds us, conditions us.  We are so accustomed to violence that we mistakenly believe it is a natural state of being.  Being submerged in violence has dulled and numbed our sensitivity to our own humanity; our concept of what it means to be human has been impaired.  And like any other belief, until it is challenged, until we become aware to another way of being, until we awaken to what is our natural loving, nonviolent state, it continues.

Haiti faces a little-publicized hunger crisis at today's 3-year anniversary of the devastating Earthquake of January 12, 2010. The rhetoric about revitalizing Haitian agriculture by aid groups and governments has not translated into effective support on the ground. International groups partnering directly with family farmer organizations across Haiti are warning of a worsening hunger situation. Most urgently, there is a need for resources to be provided to rural organizations so that they can again purchase and distribute locally-available seeds for planting to those who used up their planting seed during repeated crop failures in 2012.

If you watched the news you probably think that Hostess was bankrupted by greedy union workers. That's incredibly far from the truth. And it's all detailed in an article and short movie by former Hostess employee Mike Hummel. 

As a journalist and political activist I've often wondered which secret government databases might include my name. I am certainly not a secessionist or a political extremist (although I was once accused of being a "big government liberal"), but like many of my independent and alternative media colleagues, I sometimes worry that the stories I choose to cover or my outspoken editorials might be interpreted by the wrong people as "anti-government" in nature.

I am, of course, not opposed to my own government since I believe that, as per the preamble to the US Constitution, "We The People" are the government! This has been the basis of my activism and journalism throughout my entire life.

...I looked at the future as a path of infinite possibilities, and I felt big feelings, thought big thoughts, and dreamed big dreams. Blessed with an endless imagination, I daydreamed about all that I could be when I grew up— a marine biologist, or an architect, or an orthopedic surgeon, or the first professional female ice hockey player. I was given space to bumble about in my childhood, making mistakes and learning along the way. Even in my most painful moments, later on, when I was desperately uncomfortable in my skin, confused about my identity, and feeling isolated from family and friends, I intuitively knew that I belonged in the world, and to the world. I didn't know it in my mind— indeed, as I reached puberty, my thoughts often made me feel more alone— but I felt it in my heart, and it emanated from me, driving me forward with clumsy, awkward childhood determination. You see, until the age of fourteen, I had a right to all of these things: to feel my human spirit, to own my body, my emotions, and my mind. To own the right to define myself.

As we come upon both the day commemorating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and with Black History Month just around the corner, I imagine (hopefully) that many of us will be reflecting on our history, progress, and shared collective responsibility in the midst of many ongoing injustices. The difficulty of celebrating civil rights achievements lies in the fact that we are simultaneously reminded of how far we must go to improve the conditions all marginalized people in this country. In this moment, many of us might feel overwhelmed. Sometimes it may seem as if we can do little to fight the chronic disease of disparity afflicting this country. And as we listen to speakers, watch documentaries, and read articles, the inevitable question will arise—but what can I do?