Norman Schwarzkopf's Rule System: "Rule 13 says, okay, I've got it. When placed in command, I take charge. But what do I do? The answer is Rule 14: Do what's right. Because we all know, all of us know, basically, when placed in those circumstances, what the moral, what the ethical, what the correct thing to do is. We all know it. So, the true modern leader of today is the one that's, number one, willing to take charge, and willing to do what's right. That's the secret of leadership."

Retired U.S. general Norman Schwarzkopf died Thursday in Tampa at age 78. Known as “Stormin’ Norman,” Schwarzkopf was the commander in chief of the U.S. central command in the five-week Persian Gulf War in 1991 and was regaled for freeing Kuwait from its Iraqi occupiers. In the aftermath, Schwarzkopf was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H.W. Bush, and Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary knight. He overcame prostate cancer almost 20 years ago, and he died Thursday from complications from pneumonia.

NYT:

Old official photographs show a medaled military mannequin, a 6-foot-3-inch 240-pounder with grim determined eyes. But they miss the gentler man who listened to Pavarotti, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan; who loved hunting, fishing and ballet; and, like any soldier, called home twice a week from the war zone.

Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. was born on Aug. 22, 1934, in Trenton, one of three children of the man whose name he shared and the former Ruth Bowman. At 18, he dropped the Jr. and his first name but kept the initial. His father, New Jersey’s first state police superintendent, investigated the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping; he was also a West Point graduate, fought in World Wars I and II, became a major general and trained Iran’s national police in the 1940s.

As a boy, General Schwarzkopf attended Bordentown Military Institute near Trenton. But from 1946 to 1950 he lived in Iran, Switzerland, Germany and Italy with his father. Fluent in French and German at 17, he enrolled at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa., played football and was a champion debater.

At West Point, he was on the football and wrestling teams and sang in the choir. He loved history and dreamed of leading men in battle. “He saw himself as Alexander the Great,” recalled Gen. Leroy Suddath, his old roommate, “and we didn’t laugh when he said it.” In 1956, he graduated 43rd in a class of 480.

On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.

While Schwarzkopf later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of the first Gulf War and its impact on the second Gulf War, he told The Washington Post in 2003, "You can't help but ... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, `Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today.'"

Schwarzkopf is survived by his wife, Brenda, and their three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.

This is a call to unemployed and precarious people, workers, retired, students, undocumented migrants, homeless… Let us all demonstrate together on the same day all over Europe against poverty-inducing policies in order to build transnational solidarity and to move forward in the convergence of our various movements.

In the wake of the European general strike on November 14, Agora99, a European conference of social movements meeting in Madrid in November (http://99agora.net/) calls for a European day of action against precariousness on December 1 as well as to the drafting of a new charter of social rights.

What new chart can we imagine and how to defend our rights together? On December 1 let us organize public debates, popular assemblies, cacerolas, marches, direct actions, occupations, etc.

http://europeanstrike.org/1d-european-day-of-action

http://www.facebook.com/events/274694712632997

Via:

As a police captain and a bishop, Ray Lewis and George Packard inhabit roles in society that don't lend themselves to activism. But they bucked convention and sided with the people they vowed to counsel and protect. Other police officers were not as kind to the Occupy Movement, and other clergy were certainly not as brave as Episcopal Bishop George Packard, who challenged Trinity Church, one of the largest landowners in New York City, when it denied much-needed space to Occupy Wall Street.

The director, producer and executive producer of these pieces—David Sauvage, Seth Cohen and Lawrence Taubman, respectively—are the founders of Occupy.com. Beth Bogart, one of the original members of the OWS PR Working Group, worked with David and Seth to produce the piece and connected them with the Captain and the Bishop.

Retired Navy Commander Leah Bolger to plead guilty to interrupting the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to tell the truth about the only things needed to fix the federal budget, "Tax the rich, end the wars!"

Bolger spent 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy and retired in 2000 at the rank of Commander. She is currently a full-time peace activist and serves as the President of Veterans For Peace. She was also a member of Occupy D.C. at Freedom Plaza. Bolger was arrested on October 26, 2011 for an act of civil disobedience, and will plead guilty at her hearing on these charges, which is scheduled for April 12, 2012.

A press conference will be held at 8:30 am, Thursday April 12th in front of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 500 Indiana Ave NW, Washington DC. Those scheduled to speak and/or answer questions include:

Leah Bolger, defendant, President of Veterans For Peace (VFP)

Mark Goldstone, attorney for the defendant

Art Brennan, NH Retired Superior Court Associate Justice, member of VFP

Kevin Zeese, Co-director, Its Our Economy, organizer of Occupy Washington, DC

David Swanson, author, activist, radio host, member of VFP

Ike Libby is the owner of Hometown Energy in Dixfield, Maine. He drives the truck that delivers heating oil to homes in the area that residents depend on for heat in the cold, winter months. Many people are struggling to keep their homes warm this year after cutbacks reduced the budget for the federal Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) from $56.5 million to $39.9 million there.

Mr. Libby is a kind-hearted man, who isn't able to turn away customers who can't afford to pay for their heating fuel. One of his customers, the Hartfords, are a disabled and retired couple who have been hit especially hard by the budget cuts to LIHEP.. They need to survive on a fixed income of $1,200 a month. The couple offered Libby the title to their only vehicle until they could pay off their heating oil bill.

"Its tough to tell somebody you can't bring them oil," Libby said. "We have been in business for eight years and we are further in the hole than when we started."

Libby often tries to help those that he can. He will make small deliveries, wave service fees or set up payment plans that often leave his checkbook empty.

"He didn't even know us," Hartford said. "He just has a heartbeat beyond most people."

Libby was interviewed for an article that appeared in the New York Times on Saturday about the struggle faced by the people in Maine to keep their homes warm during these difficult economic times. The article featured the story of the Hartfords.

Since the article appeared, Hometown Energy has been swamped at the office, with phone calls from people wishing to donate money to Mr. Libby to help ensure that people in need have enough heating oil to keep warm. The business that he has run from his heart touched the hearts of complete strangers who have so far donated $100,000. Libby is now in the process of setting up a trust fund for people in the community having trouble paying for their fuel.

The Hartfords received some donations directly, as well.

You can help, too:

To donate to a trust set up to help people who cannot afford heating oil, contact Hometown Energy at 562-8822 or mail checks to Hometown Energy at P.O. Box 485, Dixfield, ME 04224 or through www.HometownEnergyMaine.com.