Category Archives: Resistance

Now there are tanks

Fierce Planet Posted on by

Believe me I am aware of how strange it may seem that I, an old-fashioned peace activist who spent years working with Quaker pacifists, stand 100% with Ukraine as it wages a war of self-defense. My approach to this situation arises from discussions I’ve had with other activists about the nature of pacifist beliefs, and what it means to engage in nonviolent resistance. The discussions back then mostly focused on objections from those of us who were committed to a feminist vision of the future, a vision that definitely included the right of women to defend ourselves from predation. But … Continue reading →

Rejecting democracy

Fierce Planet Posted on by

I’ve been watching the attempted insurrection in Brazil, not with much shock, but with some anger. This is, of course, another expression of the right-wing authoritarians who are doing their best to fracture political systems around the world. They stormed Brazil's National Congress and set fire to the carpet. They attacked presidential offices, rifled through papers and tried to barricade themselves inside. Videos show Jair Bolsonaro's supporters rioting in Brazil’s government offices. https://t.co/dpVKpXYIdo pic.twitter.com/eMDQGA0rpf — The New York Times (@nytimes) January 9, 2023 Apparently Bolsonaro has been working with Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and perhaps other Trump-aligned fascist types, which … Continue reading →

This was predicted, and here it is…

Fierce Planet Posted on by

You might recall that I posted earlier about my certainty conservatives would begin to target people who provide or use medications for early-stage abortions: Medication abortion – will we lose that too? I was concerned as well that they might start to push against even informational pages like the one I keep on this site. Unfortunately, it looks like I was right, starting of course in the states where abortion has been banned. (gift link, no paywall for a while) Conservatives complain abortion bans not enforced, want jail time for pill ‘trafficking’ Six months after their Supreme Court victory, conservatives … Continue reading →

What have we done with the Internet?

Fierce Planet Posted on by

What it is, is up to us. — Howard Rheingold, author of The Virtual Community I think of myself as an OG Internet inhabitant, because I was one of the early commercial consumers who arrived online after NSFNet began to release control of the network to corporate actors. For me, that began in 1993. I had been hanging around bulletin board systems (BBSs) for a year or two, after peace activists I worked with started to use computers for communication and organizing. I ended up on a system I’d heard of some years before, The Well, created in 1985 and … Continue reading →

Two podcasts ~ Choose a side

Fierce Planet Posted on by

This weekend I caught up with a couple of podcasts, and I’d like to highlight a few things. First is a segment on Pod Save America. I’ve set this up so it goes directly to an interview with Strict Scrutiny‘s Kate Shaw, a lawyer talking here about the Supreme Court hearing Moore v. Harper last week. (Strict Scrutiny itself is another excellent podcast, if you’re looking for some top-notch legal minds discussing the issues of the day.) This case presents the “Independent State Legislature Theory”, which you will no doubt hear about a lot in the near future. It is … Continue reading →

To the ones who keep the passion, respect…

Fierce Planet Posted on by

I’m writing a very personal post, which as usual means I’m half-blocked and writing very slowly. Can’t be helped, this is my only process. So while that goes on, let’s celebrate Jane Fonda, who at the age of 84, after five arrests and recent treatment for cancer, once again leads the Fire Drill protests that began years ago, before Covid. (gift link should get you past the firewall). Their goal is to increase awareness of the continual dangers of climate change, and to pressure Congress to take action now. Fonda retakes the Hill: ‘Cancer is scary, but the climate crisis … Continue reading →

The liberation of Kherson

Fierce Planet Posted on by

Kherson, the largest Ukrainian city that Russia managed to occupy, has been fully liberated and returned to Ukrainian control. Kherson was always a site of fierce resistance, resistance that was met with brutality (gift link). Atrocities of this sort have been found everywhere the Russians took over, but in Kherson they were particularly widespread. Witnesses recount detentions, torture, disappearances in occupied Kherson …Days after Russian forces fled in retreat, surrendering the only regional capital Russia had managed to seize since the start of its invasion, the horrors that occurred in this stately 18th-century port city are just starting to come … Continue reading →

Where we stand

Fierce Planet Posted on by

I still feel good about the election this week, though the Congressional side of things will remain unsettled for a while longer. But democracy has survived to fight another day, and that matters a lot. Women in particular turned out in defense of abortion rights and every state that had a vote on the issue upheld the right to choose. There is also a strong likelihood that Democrats will continue to hold the Senate, and there was no red wave in the House or anywhere else. The Secretary of State positions have been kept out of the hands of the … Continue reading →

Violence continues

Fierce Planet Posted on by

The violence I worried about in an earlier post is continuing, and escalating, as we move towards this decisive election. I’m sure you heard about this. (gift link, no paywall for a while) Assailant shouted ‘Where is Nancy?’ in break-in at speaker’s home, attack on Paul Pelosi The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was violently assaulted with a hammer during an early-morning break-in Friday at the couple’s San Francisco home, a chilling escalation in a string of violence and threats directed at political leaders across the country. The suspect, identified by police as 42-year-old David DePape, was searching … Continue reading →