You don't realize how important and delicate your Achilles tendon is until you damage it, which I did on my bicycle just about two weeks ago. It is the largest tendon in the body, it supports all of the body's weight every time you take a step, it normally doesn't get a lot of blood flow so it can take a long time to heal. The most extreme damage requires surgery and other than than it needs rest and maybe cold compresses.
Fortunately, my injury was nowhere near surgery. In fact, after the pedal hit the ankle and the initial jolt of pain, I shook it off and went on with my ride. It was days later that it got sore and troublesome. What I Iearned about it on the Internet was this was the type of pain that I should listen to rather than fight through, so I did my best to stay off my feet [and on the computer] for the next week or so. When it started to wear my patience, I decided to have a doctor take a look. I scheduled an 8am appointment on Friday and got out of the Venice Family Clinic just in time to catch a shuttle headed for LAX.
As one way of making some desperately needed money, I was looking forward to selling some DVDs at several events over the weekend, so in anticipation of that, I put together two new video collections on DVDs while I stayed [mostly] off my feet.
Each focuses on an "Arab Spring" uprising that became an armed struggle and a revolution. They are, of course, the same two struggles that have consumed much of my attention in the past year, the revolutions in Libya and Syria. Both are collections from the YouTube videos I have used in my diaries at the DailyKos over the past year.
I realize that not everybody can see these on-line, and now with some of them, nobody can see them on-line. I started downloading and preserving the YouTube videos I've used in my reports when I noticed that some of them were starting to disappear. They would generally be replaced by the stark message that "This video is no longer available because this account has been terminated." I think YouTube should change that message, terminated is a bad word to use in relation to activist videographers in Syria.
These two new titles are now available at Linux Beach for $12.95 each. They are the first of a number of volumes along these lines that I plan to produce.
Roseann Barr spoke at a Peace & Freedom Party rally at the Church of Ocean Park in Santa Monica on Saturday. It was a lively event and well attended, in fact, so well attended that there was no room for a separate table, although the PFP allowed me to put a stack of my most important title, Vietnam: American Holocaust, on their table.
While that event had the best attendance, I spent most of the weekend in a booth I rent at the Peace Fest organized by ICUPJ and a number of other Los Angeles peace groups. That took place at the Iman Center in Culver City on Friday, Saturday and Peace Sunday. I saw old friends, met some new ones and had some great conversations. Attendance was less than expected and so were my sales. After I paid the booth fees there was very little profit to show for the effort but even the fees went to a good cause.
I know that I am largely responsible for my current predicament but I have no regrets. I spent a month delving into unpublished files obtained by Wikileaks, and doing that research and writing resulted in Barack Obama's Courtship with Bashar al-Assad and the release of 26 new documents by Wikileaks. That 16,000 word effort exposed the little known and largely secret dealings between our present government in Washington and the murderous one in Damascus over a three year period. When I saw that it had been re-published by uruknet.info, a Middle East website that I have read and respected since the start of the Iraq War, I knew that it was starting to have an effect on the dialog seeking a solution to the violence in Syria simply by revealing what had been hidden and that is far more important than any hardship I might face.
The bottom-line is I still really need your support. With rent due now in a matter of days, I am still trying to piece together the nut to pay it. I have some handyman work I will be doing later today and tomorrow, and I have good prospects for computer consulting work going forward. I often think that if I got a nickel for every time someone watched Vietnam: American Holocaust, I would be on easy street, but even though Google runs ads against it, they won't allow me to, so after 400,000 free views on YouTube, I feel that I am being forced to withdraw it to the pay-per-view market.
More than I ever have before. I need your support to help Linux Beach continue the work of getting out the news and views of myself and others that may not turn a profit but are part of a dialog that is essential for humanity going forward. If you are in a position to make a contribution is this work, no matter how small, I urge you to do so. [I am channeling Amy Goodman here.] You may make a contribution safely via PayPal to Linux Beach here. Tax deductible contributions towards the completion of our film in progress, Vietnam: People's Victory, can be made through our fiscal sponsor, "From the Heart." Checks can be made to "Linux Beach" and sent to the address below. Even if you can only afford to buy a DVD, that would be a great help. Don't you know a school or library that still doesn't have a copy of Vietnam: American Holocaust, or anything else that tells the anti-war side of that story, on its shelves? That film, graciously narrated by Martin Sheen, which Ron Kovic called "essential viewing for all Americans" is available at Amazon, and all my titles, including the two new ones, are available at Linux Beach.
In Solidarity,
Clay Claiborne
Linux Beach Productions
116 Rose Ave #9
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 581-1536
Here are my diaries on Syria:
Syria: Secret source of rebel arms revealed
BREAKING: Amnesty on Syria - Assad Regime guilty on indiscriminate slaugther
Syrian Revolution Digest shows "disgusting" photos!
Syria: The Killing Field the World is Learning to Live With
Barack Obama's Courtship of Bashar al-Assad
LIVE VIDEO: “World Silence is Killing #Syria” Rally in #DC
Free #Syria responds to Robert Fisk
UPDATED: #Assad: "#Syria doesn't need a green light!"
#Obama opposes French support for #Assad's opposition in #Syria
BREAKING: Amnesty site hacked, Assad propaganda posted
BREAKING: 630 Slaughtered in new massacre in Syria
Special message from Syrian children to Obama
Assad's Redline and Obama's Greenlight!
General Meade at Gettysburg
Tell US gov't to stop endangering Syrian activists
UPDATED: #Obama "green lights" #Assad's slaughter in #Syria
Syria: Turning Battlegrounds into Playgrounds
BREAKING: Bashar al-Assad is alive as deaths in Syria reach 25,000
The Left and the Arab Spring
Iran increasing its intervention in Syria
Syria: Images from the Battle of Aleppo
Fears grow of WMD attack in Syria
UPDATED: FSA says it killed Russian General in Syria
BREAKING: Syria releases new images of Bashar al- Assad | Are they fakes?
NOT BREAKING NEWS: Just another massacre in Syria
UPDATED: Syrian prime minister defects
Syria: FSA says Iranian pilgrims really Republican Guard
Syria: Aleppo under Siege!
BREAKING: UN votes to condemn Assad Regime as Reuters posts fake story on Syria
BREAKING: Kofi Annan resigns as envoy to Syria
Syria: Bashar al-Assad not heard from on Armed Forces Day!
BREAKING: Senior Syrian diplomat to Armenia defects
BREAKING: Big Explosion hits #Damascus #Syria
UPDATED: Syria's Charge D'Affaires Quits London Post
BREAKING: Ground assault on Aleppo begins!
BREAKING: Protests across Syria in spite of Assad regime violence
ALEPPO: Step outside the Matrix and witness the Horror
UPDATED: US fears massacre in #Aleppo, #Syria
BREAKING: Reports of clashes between Jordan Army & Assad's Syrian army
BRAKING: Obama stops Putin from re-arming Assad in Syria
Syria: Foreign meddling increases as crisis builds
BREAKING: Aleppo, Syria bombed with fighter jets
BREAKING: Syria issues a correction, it has no WMD to use
BREAKING: Arab League asks Assad to step down!
Bashar al-Assad: New images released as slaughter continues in Syria
no blood for oil
BREAKING: Activists report toxic gas attack in Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Glenn Greenwald sees Islamist Terrorism as main issue in Syria
Will Syria's Assad make a chemical attack in Damascus on Saturday?
BREAKING: I know where Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is!
BREAKING: Massive Fire near #Assad's Presidential Palace in #Damascus, #Syria
BREAKING: Is Syria's Bashar al-Assad dead or dying?
BREAKING: Damascus explosion kills Defense Minister, other key figures
The battle for Damascus is coming
BREAKING: General Strike in Damascus
BREAKING: Intense fighting reported in Damascus now!
BREAKING: Syrian defector spills beans as important new defection reported.
Does Syria's Assad have something on Kofi Annan?
Tremseh Massacre in Syria: What we know
BREAKING: ~227 reported massacred by Assad's forces in Tremseh, Syria today!
Syria: Is Assad regime on the verge of collapse?
BREAKING: Russian Warships reported in Syria
BREAKING: #Russia changing on #Assad but not as fast as conditions in #Syria
UN Observers say violence in Syria is ‘Unprecedented’
BREAKING: Defection of major Assad insider reported in Syria
BREAKING: WikiLeaks releases 2.4 million #Syria emails
When did "Never Again" become "Whenever?" | #Douma
BREAKING: Incredible mass rally in Aleppo, Syria today!
BREAKING: HRW releases torture report on Syria
BREAKING: Syrian General defects with 293 to Turkey
BREAKING: Items not in the MSM on Syria
My response to Phyllis Bennis: Where is the non-violent opposition in Syria?
BREAKING: Syrian Air Force attacks Douma, 10m from Damascus, thousands flee
BREAKING: As Syria Burns, UN Blows More Smoke
BREAKING: Kofi Annan to propose Syrian unity gov't sans Assad!
BREAKING: Douma, Syria under massive attack, another massacre feared
BREAKING: Another mass defection from Syrian army
BREAKING: #NATO says No War in #Syria shoot down of #Turkey jet
NATO meetup tomorrow as more defect from Syria
BREAKING: Turkey calls for NATO consult on downing of jet by Syria
BREAKING: Senior Syrian Officers Defect
UPDATED: Russia reported to be preparing to evacuate from Syria
BREAKING: Syria fighter pilot defects
BREAKING: Britain stops Russian ship carrying attack helicopters for Syria
BREAKING: Russian troops headed to Syria
Qaddafi forces Strike Back in Libya
BREAKING: UN suspends mission in Syria
Libya & Syria - two videos - no comment
BREAKING: Russia denies supplying Syria with NEW attack helicopters
Syrian people rise up against the massacre
Another "Houla style" massacre in Syria
Fake Houla Massacre Photo: Was the BBC set up?
Idlib, Syria protest today on anniversary of Kent State killings
BREAKING: Massive protests in Syria following Friday pray
Syria is bleeding
Syria: Ceasefire faltering as mass protests breakout
These are my articles on the Libyan Revolution:
Libya: This is what democracy looks like - protesters take over HQ of Ansar al-Sharia
My answer to Secretary Clinton Re: US Death in Libya
Women and the Libyan Revolution
The Left and the Arab Spring
Libya's elected congress to take power today
The Elections and Libya's Violent Militias
#Libya at the crossroads: The ballot or the bullet
Is Libya better off than it was?
Libyan Elections to be held July 7th
Qaddafi forces Strike Back in Libya
Libya & Syria - two videos - no comment
BREAKING: Libyan High Court strikes down anti-free speech law
Where should Libya's Saif Qaddafi be tried?
MSM plays Hankey Panky with Libya
Qaddafi lies live on after him
Another "Houla style" massacre in Syria
Libya's Qaddafi helped US & Israel against Iran in Olympic Games
Why is Russia demanding NATO boots on the ground in Libya?
#LyElect Libyans register to vote 1st time in 60 years
Libya's Revolution: How We Won - The Internationale in the 21st Century
Good News from Libya
On Libya & Glenn Greenwald: Are the anti-interventionists becoming counter-revolutionaries?
UN: NATO killed 60 civilians in Libya
Libya in the news today
Amnesty International on Libya again
The Current Situation in Libya
Democracy Now & Amy Goodman gets it wrong again.
Why is Chris Hedges calling for "boots on the ground" in Libya?
The Worm Has Turned: Good Film on Libyan Revolution from PressTV
Why NATO's mission in Libya isn't over yet
Libya's Freedom Fighters: How They Won
Racism in Libya
Abdul Rahman Gave his Eyes to See the End of Qaddafi
BREAKING: Secret files reveal Dennis Kucinich talks with Qaddafi Regime
BREAKING: Libyan TNC won't extradite Lockerbie bomber
Who really beat Qaddafi?
#Feb17: @NATO Please help MEDEVAC wounded from #Libya
What should those that opposed NATO's intervention in Libya demand now?
BREAKING: Qaddafi's Tripoli Compound Falls!
Does PDA Support Qaddafi?
BREAKING: Operation Mermaid Dawn, the Battle to Liberate Tripoli is Joined
Helter Skelter: Qaddafi's African Adventure
Qaddafi's Long Arm
SCOOP: My Lai or Qaddafi Lie? More on the 85 Civilians presumed killed by NATO
Did NATO kill 85 Libyan Villagers As Qaddafi Regime Contends?
CCDS Statement on Libya - a Critique
The Assassination of General Abdul Fattah Younis
NATO over Tripoli - Air Strikes in the Age of Twitter
How Many Libyans has NATO Killed?
Qaddafi Terror Files Start to Trickle Out!
Have Libyan Rebels Committed Human Rights Abuses?
Tripoli Green Square Reality Check
Behind the Green Curtain: Libya Today
Gilbert Achcar on the Libyan situation and the Left
NATO slammed for Libya civilian deaths NOT!
2011-07-01 Qaddafi's Million Man March
NATO's Game Plan in Libya
February 21st - Tripoli's Long Night
Did Qaddafi Bomb Peaceful Protesters?
Tripoli Burn Notice
Libyans, Palestinians & Israelis
'Brother' Qaddafi Indicted plus Libya & Syria: Dueling Rally Photofinishs
An Open Letter to ANSWER
ANSWER answers me
2011-06-22 No Libyans allowed at ANSWER Libya Forum
Are they throwing babies out of incubators yet?
Continuing Discussion with a Gaddafi Supporter
Boston Globe oped supports Gaddafi with fraudulent journalism
2011-04-13 Doha summit supports Libyan rebels
Current Events in Libya
Amonpour Plays Softball with Gaddafi
Arming Gaddfi
North African Revolution Continues
Is Libya Next? Anonymous Debates New Operation