Monday, September 21, 2009

Today is International Day of Peace

Please click on headline above to open link to more information.
TODAY IS THE UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE‏
From: Omnicenter Communications (omninews@listserv.uark.edu) on behalf of Dick Bennett (jbennet@uark.edu)
Sent: Mon 9/21/09 10:50 AM
To: OMNINEWS@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU
OMNI INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE NEWSLETTER, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009, Compiled by Dick Bennett for OMNI’s Culture of Peace Mission. (Newsletter #1 September 20, 2008.)

Yesterday the 20th was the birthday of Thich Nhat Hanh.



CONTENTS

United Nations Day of Peace

Education for Peace

William Blum vs. Militarism and Empire

Contact Your Congressional Representatives






International Peace Day is September 21.
Check out the new UN web site that covers disarmament issues



1. International Day Of Peace
www.peacedirect.org Join local people promoting peace around the world.

Search Results

1. Home - International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace NGO Committee in association with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations. Includes information on the day ...
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2. - International Day of Peace

Sep 14, 2009 ... The Broadcast will feature Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Message for the UN International Day of Peace; as well as interviews with present ...
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Show more results from internationaldayofpeace.org

3. International Day of Peace Vigil

Aug 18, 2008 ... Welcome to the International Day of Peace Vigil site. This global 24-hour spiritual observation for peace is meant to demonstrate the power ...
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4. News results for iNTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE



As UN marks International Day of Peace, Ban makes appeal for ...‎ - 2 hours ago

“On this International Day of Peace, I have a simple message for all: We Must Disarm! We must have peace.” The Secretary-General's 100-day campaign on ...

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Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots International Day of Peace ...‎ - Emediawire (press release) - 3 related articles »

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5. International Day of Peace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The International Day of Peace occurs annually on September 21. It is dedicated to peace, or specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by ...
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6. ReadWriteThink: September 21, 2009: Today is the International Day ...

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7. Welcome to Peace One Day: Peace One Day – 21 September 2009

Peace One Day is a non-profit organisation committed to raising awareness of Peace Day, 21st September, an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence.
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8. International Day of Peace, 21 September

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9. International Day of Peace 2009 - UN Peace Day

International Day of Peace: September 21, 2009. "There has never been a network of Peace Makers on Earth; at one time, of one heart, of one mind, ...
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12. Image results for iNTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

- Report images


EDUCATION FOR PEACE


September 21, 2009












The United Nations has declared September 21 as the Inter- national Day of Peace. In a message commemorating the Day in 1995, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali stated that “the world, once more, cries out for peace. And for the economic and social development that peace alone can assure... Let us keep our goal clear and simple... Let us work for peace.”

image © 2009 www.clipart.com





Today is the International Day of Peace.


CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

For middle and high school students:

1. Have students brainstorm a list of conflicts that are happening around the world: Israel-Palestine, Iraq, etc.

2. Ask students to generate a list of reasons why people fight: religion, economics, etc.

3. Have students form groups and assign each group one reason from the list they generated above. In groups, students should discuss and be ready to present possible solutions that could address the causes. It is important to emphasize that students are not trying to solve a particular world crisis, but rather are trying to identify solutions that can work in general (education, tolerance, debt relief, etc.).

4. The groups could then create posters that promote their particular solution. See the lesson plan Designing Effective Poster Presentations for tips and ideas on making posters.

For elementary-age students, follow the same process as above, but instead of looking at the world, ask students to focus on conflicts, reasons, and solutions in their school.







Lesson Plans

Peace Poems and Picasso Doves: Literature, Art, Technology, and Poetry
This lesson for grades 3–5 asks students to apply think-aloud strategies to reading, as well as to the composition of artwork and poetry, as they research symbols of peace and compose their own poetry.

The Peace Journey: Using Process Drama in the Classroom
In this lesson, high school students participate in a simulation of a “Peace Journey” as they engage in a variety of literacy activities.

Exploring Author’s Voice Using Jane Addams Award-Winning Books
The middle school lesson uses Jane Addams Award-winning books, given to children’s books that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community and the equality of the sexes and all races, to explore author’s voice and style.




Web Links

The International Day of Peace
This site contains a number of links to other websites dealing with ways to become active in promoting peace around the world and in the local communities.

Peace Education
This site, part of the United Nations Cyberschool Bus, contains five curricular units that focus on ecology, tolerance, critical thinking, social justice, and global citizenship.

The Nobel Peace Prize
Read about the outstanding people who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on the official site for the award. The site includes biographies, lectures, and additional information for all the award winners as well as educational material.

Peace Corps Kids World
This kid-friendly site explores the services of the U.S. Peace Corps.



Texts

Schell, Jonathan. 2003. The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People. Metropolitan Books.
Schell argues in this book that military power is no longer the main arbiter of justice in the world, and that promoting nonviolence will be the key to world security.

Pierce, Linda Breen. 2000. Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World. Gallagher Press.
Peace also starts at home and work, and this book offers solutions to working for peace in our own lives.

Gilley, Jeremy. 2005. Peace One Day. Putnam Juvenile.
Gilley, a British filmmaker, shares his successful efforts to have the United Nations declare a day to celebrate peace. The book includes descriptions and images of Gilley’s experiences in war-torn areas.






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Last Modified: 09/18/2009 14:32:29



WILLIAM BLUM, Anti-Empire Report, September 2, 2009

http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer73.html



OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, OUR REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT: WE WILL NOT HAVE WORLD PEACE AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE UNTIL OUR REPRESENTATIVES BELIEVE IN THEM.



BLANCHE LINCOLN



355 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4843
Fax (202) 228-1371

912 West Fourth Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 375-2993
Fax (501) 375-7064
Toll Free 1-800-352-9364



MARK PRYOR

Little Rock Office
The River Market
500 Clinton Ave
Suite 401
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: (501) 324-6336
Fax: (501) 324-5320

Toll Free from AR:
(877) 259-9602

Washington, D.C. Office
255 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2353
Fax: (202) 228-0908



JOHN BOOZEMAN



Addresses and Phone Numbers

Washington, DC Office:
1519 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4301
Fax: (202) 225-5713

Lowell Office:
213 W. Monroe, Suite K
Lowell, AR 72745
Phone: (479) 725-0400
Fax: (479) 725-0408

Fort Smith Office:
4943 Old Greenwood Road
Suite 1
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Phone: (479) 782-7787
Fax: (479) 783-7662

Harrison Office:
North Arkansas College
303 North Main Street
Suite 102
Harrison, Arkansas 72601
Phone: (870) 741-6900
Fax: (870) 741-7741



END OF OMNI INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 21, 2009





--
Dick Bennett
jbennet@uark.edu

International Day of Peace

Today is International Day of Peace‏
From: Omnicenter Communications (omninews@listserv.uark.edu) on behalf of Gladys tiffany (gladystiffany@yahoo.com)
Sent: Mon 9/21/09 10:28 AM
To: OMNINEWS@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU
1 attachment
logo.png (70.7 KB)


Culture of Peace Initiative
September 2009

Dear Culture of Peace Initiative Participants (CPI),

We have more Peace Day news and events to share, along with very important news about the upcoming worldwide focus on the environment.

POST YOUR EVENTS: It is the weekend before Peace Day, and many people will be seeking events to attend. Please share your event at www.cultureofpeace. org or www.internationalda yofpeace. org. Note: Events posted on either site will automatically show up on both websites! There are about 600 events from all over the planet listed already! Take a moment to browse the calendar and imagine all of the people around the world building peace in their community. It is truly inspiring. It reflects the work of thousands of people preparing venues and outreaching to their friends, family and neighbors!

VISIT OUR BLOG: We plan to make frequent updates to the Culture of Peace Initiative blog in the next few days and the week of Peace Day! Take a visit in this upcoming week for posts on Peace Day events, videos and news!

24 HOUR WORLD PEACE CELEBRATION & GLOBAL BROADCAST for the International Day of Peace will be available at www.cultureofpeace. org. This broadcast will highlight the vitally important work of the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies with video presentations of the "UN in Action". The program will include the official ceremony at UN Headquarters, mentioned below. In addition, this "Peace Day" internet broadcast will include the work of many organizations and individuals around the world dedicated to creating a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. Also featured will be Michael Franti's "Power to the Peaceful" celebration in San Francisco and The Jane Goodall Institute's 'Roots and Shoots' Day of Peace Festival in Santa Monica, CA.

UN WEBCAST: This year's ceremonies at UN Headquarters will be available live and for future viewing at the the following link: www.un.org/webcast. The program will feature presentations by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other UN dignitaries, as well as UN Messengers of Peace Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, Elie Weisel, and Princess Haya of Jordan. There will be performances by a choir from Japan and musicians from the Vermont Peace Academy; films from Yemen and Albania; and large screen video-conferencing with students in Iraq, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sudan and Timor-Leste. These will be followed by a presentation of Pledges for Peace, the Minute of Silence, the Ringing of the Peace Bell, and a Flags of the World Ceremony by the World Peace Prayer Society.

NEWS

PRESIDENT CARTER TO RECEIVE NONVIOLENCE AWARD: On Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace, President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will be awarded the second Mahatma Gandhi Global Nonviolence Award from James Madison University’s Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, which promotes education, peace and social justice in memory of Mahatma Gandhi. After leaving the White House, the former first couple founded the Carter Center, a non-profit organization that promotes nonviolence and social justice. The organization has helped farmers multiply grain production in 15 African countries, mediated civil and international conflicts, worked to prevent the spread of disease in Latin America and Africa, and strove to diminish the stigma against mental illness. The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence presents the award every two years. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the first award in 2007. He, like Carter, is a Nobel laureate and a member of the Elders, an international alliance of senior statesmen. Read more...

THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE SUMMIT: Just launched its website featuring live broadcasts and chats from the summit in Costa Rica this week. There are also forums, blogs and information in 42 languages! One of their goals is to get all nations to establish a Department or Ministry of Peace. As part of this, they are asking all nations to recognize the International Day of Peace. The Dalai Lama and Yoko One have already sent messages of support. www.gasummit. org

MORE MEDIA ATTENTION: We receive alerts from media outlets all over the world. We are happy to report that our group effort to capture the media's and peoples' attention to this global observance seems to be working. Please keep it up. Here are selected items that we have recently received. Ban Ki-moon mentioned it at the UN NGO conference in Mexico; Yahoo is offering ideas for Peace Day observances; the Bushnell, Connecticutt' s largest performing arts center, is hosting a celebration with notable speakers; Ode Magazine wrote an article about it; so did Whole Life Times; Friends Meetings (Quakers) are hosting events open to the public; libraries are now also participating in the Pinwheels for Peace program; the newspaper in Tampa Bay, FL is calling for a citywide candlelighting ceremony; Vassar College is having a Peace Week (with films, discussions, vigils and more), the Huffington Post covered it; there are veteran's luncheons in some cities; Amma & Shiva Rea are doing an observance together; the city council of Ashland, Oregon has approved a budget for a city wide observance; it was in the Kiwanis International newsletter; several environmental organizations have written about it in their newsletters; there are Montessori schools observing it; churches are planting and dedicating Peace Poles; and Juanes' concert in Cuba being televised worldwide.

A FEW MORE NOTABLE EVENTS

FAST FOR LIFE - In a show of solidarity with the people of Darfur, Mia Farrow, Richard Branson, Peter Gabriel and many government and religious leaders are promoting - and participating in - the Fast for Life on the International Day of Peace. The video on their home page is very moving. fastdarfur.org

OTTAWA PEACE FESTIVAL - Is Ottawa the city with the most peacebuilders? The Canadian Department of Peace Initiative (CDPI) and the United Nations Association of Canada, together with several Ottawa peace and justice groups, invite people to take part in a 13-day Festival of Peace! The Third Annual Peace Festival with the theme of Peace, Unity and Harmony will mark two important dates, the UN International Day of Peace September 21 and October 02, the birth of Mahatma Gandhi 140 years ago. There will be dozens of events, including: forums, walks, school activities, films, proclamations, performances, speeches, diversity discussions, religious observances, environmental panels, exhibits, a trade show, and more. Learn more at: www.cicr-icrc. ca

ENVIRONMENT ONLINE (ENO) is a global virtual school and network for sustainable development, based in Finland. Since 2004, the ENO Programme has arranged tree plantings to celebrate Peace Day. There have been hundreds of participants in 124 countries. In 2008, over 300,000 trees were planted by 2000 schools. A special tree planting song and play have been created to celebrate the day. Their website includes photo galleries of past Peace Day tree plantings, instructions and a registration form for your school or group. A charity concert "Trees Rock For Peace" will be organized in Finland to provide tree seedlings to ENO schools in Africa. According to ENO Director Mika Vanhanen, this year 73 schools from Cuba alone will have a tree planting for peace! www.enotreeday. net, www.enoprogramme. org

CONCERT IN HONOR OF PEACE - at Carnegie Hall, NY by pianists Nimrod David Pfeffer and Bashara Haroni, on Sept. 23rd to support the Jezreel Valley Music Center in Israel, a multicultural community center where people from Israel’s northern region come together to sing, play, and study music. Its choir and ensembles are made up of Jewish and Arab people representing and combining their distinct musical traditions. Read more...

THE HAGUE MARKS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE - In keeping with its worldwide reputation as International City of Peace, Justice and Security, The Hague is taking a special initiative on 21 September. The day will begin with a breakfast in the Peace Palace. Ambassadors, cabinet members, representatives of international organisations and companies, and the Municipal Executive will participate in the breakfast. The vice-president of the International Court of Justice His Excellency A.S. Al-Khasawneh will deliver a message of peace. Breakfast will be followed by a parade involving schoolchildren. There will then be a musical performance by Brainpower and The Party Squad. The local radio station Den Haag FM will broadcast live from the procession under the name of Radio Peace. The live performances will be broadcast on the radio and the schoolchildren will be asked questions about war and peace on the radio. The event will conclude with a lecture by the British historian Jonathan Irvine Israel. Mr. Israel is one of the world’s leading authorities on the Dutch philosopher Spinoza and the issues of peace and security. Read more...

SEASON FOR INTERFAITH CELEBRATION & 11 DAYS OF GLOBAL UNITY (September - December 2009) - Join hundreds of task forces around the world in prayer gatherings and workshops focusing on interfaith communication and harmony. Since 2008, AGNT has been partnering with Unity for 11 Days of Global Unity, a celebration of oneness from September 11 - 21. For more, visit www.agnt.org, http://www.wethewor ld.org/11days200 7/About11Days. html

Important Dates: September 11: Unity World Day of Prayer, 102 years since the birth of Gandhian Nonviolence. December 2nd: New Thought Delegation Pre-Conference at Parliament of the World's Religions. December 3-9: New Thought participates as a unified movement in Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, Australia.

IDP VIGIL - Since the G-20 Summit is in Pittsburgh, the IDP (International Day of Peace) Vigil Campaign, which happens to be based in Pittsburgh, has organized large observances throughout the Pittsburgh area. They have asked "all religious groups throughout the Pittsburgh metropolitan area take this historic opportunity to use their day of worship to link peace and the G-20 gathering. As nuclear disarmament is the UN's major theme of this year’s International Day of Peace, this also presents an excellent opportunity to address the horror of nuclear war." They have delivered a message of peace from Pope Benedict XVI to these religious groups. They have asked that these religious groups focus the worship’s sermon message on peace; use songs of peace, observe a minute of silence at Noon on the IDP, light a candle or ring a bell for peace, and encourage families, teens and children to observe the day. One church is hosting a Peace Pole planting and Flags of the World Ceremony; several churches are having interfaith services on the International Day of Peace. The IDP Vigil Campaign facilitates hundreds of vigils worldwide; many of these have turned into very large events - especially this year's observances in Australia and Malaysia. www.idpvigil. com

MAKING PEACE WITH THE PLANET
A SPECIAL SECTION ON THE ENVIRONMENT:

In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. To keep the process alive there is an urgent need for a new climate protocol. The UN and others recognize this and there is a worldwide conference in Copenhagen Dec. 6 - 18, 2009 to address this issue. At this conference the parties of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) meet for the last time on a government level before the climate agreement needs to be renewed. Therefore the Climate Conference in Copenhagen is essential for the world's climate, and UNFCCC is putting hard effort into making the meeting in Copenhagen a success, ending up with a Copenhagen Protocol to prevent global warming and climate changes. The UN has initiated the "Seal the Deal" Campaign to get all countries to support this, and leading environmental groups are rallying for it with various events - some of these begin on the International Day of Peace this year!

Global Wake Up Call! Flashmobs!- On Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace, in preparation for the upcoming UN summit on climate change, in Copenhagen in Dec., Greenpeace, Oxfam, CARE, Amnesty International, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the World Wildlife Federation, Avaaz.org and several other organizations are coordinating a worldwide series of events including hundreds of flashmobs in cities, towns and villages worldwide - featuring forums, speakers, films, rallies and other major events. www.tcktcktck. org, https://secure. avaaz.org/ en/sept21_ hosts/

Climate Week NYC - The United Nations, the UN Foundation, the City of New York, The Climate Group, and the Carbon Disclosure Project are organizing Climate Week NYC, a program of more than 50 city-wide events from September 18-25, 2009. www.climateweeknyc. org

The G20 Summit - The G-20 Summit will be in Pittsburgh, PA Sept 24-25, 2009. President Obama will chair this meeting of leaders from countries around the world that represent 85 percent of the world’s economy. At the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit, leaders will review the progress made since the Washington and London Summits and discuss further actions to assure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis. As part of this, the G20 'Climate Change' Summit will be marked by a call from unions for a deal in Copenhagen to secure green jobs and a sustainable future. www.pittsburghsummi t.gov

CLOSING NOTES AND REMINDERS:

FACEBOOK: Please join thousands at our Facebook community at www.facebook. com/peaceday There you can see some of the latest events or post your own stories and links. The information and comments posted on this group's wall is inspirational.

TWITTER: Let the world know your thoughts or plans for Peace Day! Remember to spell it #peaceday, which will make #peaceday an active link that anyone can click on to learn more about Peace Day! Follow us at www.twitter. com/peacedaysept 21

RADIO INITIATIVE: A member of our Facebook page recently posted that she got all the radio stations in Edmonton, Canada to play the song 'Imagine' at noon on Peace Day. Perhaps we can all do this with radio stations near us - possibly followed by the song 'Give Peace a Chance'. (We liked this idea so much, that we have already sent this request to over 100 radio stations.) IMAGINE ON YOUTUBE: Here is a link to the song 'Imagine' by John Lennon on YouTube; it has been viewed 3 million times.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=-b7qaSxuZUg.

MINUTE OF SILENCE: One activity in which all people can participate is the UN request for a minute of silence at noon in all time zones - this has now been observed consistently for 27 years.

Join others in making your pledge for the Million Minutes of Peace, a 1 minute worldwide prayer for peace at noon on the International Day of Peace, Sept. 21. www.odysseynetworks .org

Here are three things that we can all do on this International Day of Peace: help our neighbors, forgive someone, and count our blessings.

We want to thank all of you, and your supporters, for all of the work you have done on behalf of this year's global observance. We wish you peace for all of your events, activities, programs and initiatives.

Thank you, CPI Participants, for your dedication to building a culture of Peace for future generations on Peace Day and every day.

CPI Coordinator Michael Johnson, CPI Contributing Writer - Melvin Weiner, CPI Outreach Intern - Michael Kwan

Pathways To Peace (PTP) is the International Secretariat for the Culture of Peace Initiative, a designated UN Peace Messenger Initiative. PTP has been involved with the observance of the International Day of Peace since it's inception, and has nurtured it from a single event of a few hundred people in 1982 into what it has become today - a universal and global observance. PTP was responsible for getting the International Day of Peace printed onto calendars worldwide this year. PTP created the CPI website, which serves the 3,000 organizations and countless projects in 200 nations that participate in this local/global Peacebuilding initiative. Pathways To Peace also created the International Day of Peace website, which serves all of humanity. For more information or to support our efforts: www.pathwaystopeace .org

Acting in concert, we do make a difference in the quality of our lives, our institutions, our environment and our planetary future.
Through cooperation, we manifest the essential Spirit that unites us amidst our diverse ways.

Culture of Peace Initiative (CPI) is a project of Pathways To Peace
PO Box 1057
Larkspur, CA 94977
http://www.cultureo fpeace.org/
http://www.pathways topeace.org/
www.internationalda yofpeace. org

Saturday, September 19, 2009

OMNI Climate-breakdown book forum was a success at 6 p.m. Friday at Nightbird bookstore on Dickson Street

Please click on image to go to Flickr and use tools to ENLARGE view from OMNI forum on global climate change on September 18, 2009.
DSCN1354


For more recent photos, please visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02

Monday, September 14, 2009

OMNI group to discuss 100-year plan for peaceful change in our culture at 7 tonight at the library

The 100-year-plan group meets tonight at 7:00 in the library. We'll be discussing a variety of situations where non-violent revolution brought about stable democratic governments. It's a myth of our culture that violent revolutions are required to bring about change. The evidence says otherwise. You're invited to come and share your insights on this topic.

Please join us.

Gladys Tiffany
OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology
www.omnicenter.org
Fayetteville, Arkansas USA
479-973-9049 -- gladystiffany@yahoo.com

Saturday, September 12, 2009

OMNI newsletter commemorates 9-11 attacks

OMNI NEWSLETTER FOR 9/11 PEACEFUL TOMORROWS‏
From: Omnicenter Communications (omninews@listserv.uark.edu) on behalf of Dick Bennett (jbennet@uark.edu)
Sent: Sat 9/12/09 7:22 PM
To: OMNINEWS@LISTSERV.UARK.EDU
OMNI PEACEFUL TOMORROWS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Dick Bennett for a CULTURE OF PEACE, the many voices of peace and justice and ecology expressed by OMNI

(OMNI solicits a new editor of this Annual Newsletter for 2010. Contact Dick. See below for concept of OMNI DAYS.)
9/11, 2001 immediately became not just another of our countless patriotic, military stimulations, but a chief engine of flag emotions. We see the result around us every day. For example, in Blaine, MN, the high school organized9/11 2009 “to remember those who died in the attacks and served in the two wars that have followed,” as reported in the newspaper article, “Patriotism Flies on Gridiron.” The Blaine Bengals provided “color guards from all four branches of the military…a gigantic American flag…at the 50-yard line,” fireworks, the school band playing each military branch’s song, and, “four T-6 Thunder airplanes” performing a flyover.
No wonder, I suppose, that President Bush named 9-11 “Patriot Day” and the cowed Congress passed the “Patriot Act” to further restrict dissent. Heroes had to be created, and enemies decried. On 9-11 2009 The Morning News provided a Harville graphic with columns of light extending into the sky representing the Twin Towers and captioned “Never Forget.” And the newspaper denounced the “blind loyalty of crazed, fanatical minions” for attacking “the American people—and against all peace-loving peoples of the world.” It was they, the newspaper astonishingly suggests, not Bush and Cheney, who created the “wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq” (people died, wars necessarily followed).

It’s a fascinating narrative, generated and fertilized by patriotism. Sociologists call it ethnocentrism, nationalism, or chauvinism.

But patriotism, as prepared for in the Blaines of our country and acted out in the killing of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t have to lead to bigotry and revengeful wars. We have living, inspiring alternatives. Following 9-11, the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows pled and prayed for the victims, including the many rescuers. They asked our leaders to be truly mindful of asking our troops to engage in an incredibly ugly, violent, and dangerous war, and to consider the consequences both to our troops and to the civilian “enemies.” They expressed their compassion for soldiers ordered to fight in an illegal war against an extremely complex enemy—from the majority of Afghans trying to survive, to groups of threatened tribes, to extremist Muslims called Taliban, to al Qaeda opponents of western intervention in the Middle East. But they also cried out for international law, negotiation, and reconciliation. They appealed to the nation not to invade Afghanistan, neither of whose people or government attacked the United States; they entreated Bush and Cheney not to add more innocent victims to those killed on 9-11.

We can be grateful for the alternative given us by the September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. We shall never forget 9-11, in their spirit.



References

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows (see below)

“Americans Mark Sept. 11 Anniversary” by Suzanne Ma. The Morning News (9-12-09).

“Patriotism Flies on Gridiron” by Jon Krawczynski. The Morning News (9-11-09).

“Remembering the Heroes of 9/11, Now.” Editorial. The Morning News (9-11-09).

“September 11, 2001.” Editorial graphic by Vic Harville. The Morning News (9-11-09).

Youssef, Nancy. McClatchey Newspapers Afghanistan correspondent. Interv. Bill Moyers' Journal (9-11-09). The complexity of the Afghan opposition to a war/occupation longer than WWI and WWII combined.



The rest of this newsletter offers a diversity of information and commentary about 9-11.



Contents

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

Schurz, Patriotism

Klein, Shock Doctrine

Johnson, Liquidate the Empire

Blum, Anti-Empire

Bill Williams, Peaceful Tomorrows

National DAYS Project



1. Peaceful Tomorrows : Index

Peaceful Tomorrows is an advocacy organization founded by family members of September Eleventh victims. Its mission is to seek effective nonviolent ...
www.peacefultomorrows.org/ - Cached - Similar -

Contact us

About

Whoever Says

Guantanamo & Military Commissions

News from Peaceful Tomorrows

International Network for Peace

The Price of Peace Activism

Iraq

More results from peacefultomorrows.org »

2. Peaceful Tomorrows : About Us

Peaceful Tomorrows is an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace. ...
www.peacefultomorrows.org/article.php?list=type&type... - Cached - Similar -

3. Statement on Eighth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks | CommonDreams.org

Sep 11, 2009 ... CONTACT: September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows ... In 2006 Peaceful Tomorrows founded the International Network for Peace [INP], ...
www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/09/11 - Cached - Similar -

4. Video results for peaceful tomorrows





September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows ...
www.democracynow.org






Peaceful Tomorrows Presentation on LaOnf
10 min
www.youtube.com


5. News results for peaceful tomorrows


Statement on Eighth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks‎ - 1 day ago

In 2006 Peaceful Tomorrows founded the International Network for Peace [INP], ... Since 2007, Peaceful Tomorrows has worked to spread the hopeful message of ...

Common Dreams (press release) - 3 related articles »

6. September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows - Wikipedia ...

Jun 1, 2009 ... September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, also known as 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows or simply Peaceful Tomorrows, ...
en.wikipedia.org/.../September_Eleventh_Families_for_Peaceful_Tomorrows - Cached - Similar -

7. Welcome to Peaceful Tomorrows Network Pages

Welcome to Peaceful Tomorrows Network Pages Under Construction. Stop back soon.
peacefultomorrows.net/ - Cached - Similar -

8. Dawn Peterson

*Dawn Peterson is in the American Studies M.A. program at NYU and a member of Peaceful Tomorrows. Her academic interests include grassroots ...
www.hemisphericinstitute.org/eng/.../dawn_peterson.shtml - Cached - Similar -

9. Amazon.com: September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

Amazon.com: September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning Tragedy into Hope for a Better World (9780971920644): David Potorti: Books.
www.amazon.com/...Peaceful-Tomorrows/dp/0971920648

Carl Schurz (1829–1906)
QUOTATION:The Senator from Wisconsin cannot frighten me by exclaiming, “My country, right or wrong.” In one sense I say so too. My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. Senator CARL SCHURZ, remarks in the Senate, February 29, 1872.
Schurz expanded on this theme in a speech delivered at the Anti-Imperialistic Conference, Chicago, Illinois, October 17, 1899: “I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves … too wise not to detect the false pride or the dangerous ambitions or the selfish schemes which so often hide themselves under that deceptive cry of mock patriotism: ‘Our country, right or wrong!’ They will not fail to recognize that our dignity, our free institutions and the peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: ‘Our country—when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.’”—Schurz, “The Policy of Imperialism,” Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz, vol. 6, pp. 119–20 (1913).

THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
Naomi Klein in The Shock Doctrine places the 9-11 attacks as the beginning of the “intensely violent brand of disaster capitalism” that ensued. The traumatic surprise and disorientation of the attacks enabled people like Bush and Cheney to exploit the vulnerable public and “take advantage of the chaos for their own ends.”

EMPIRE
“Three Good Reasons To Liquidate Our Empire and 10 Ways to Do It” By Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com. Posted July 31, 2009.
According to the 2008 official Pentagon inventory of our military bases around the world, our empire consists of 865 facilities in more than 40 countries and overseas U.S. territories. We deploy over 190,000 troops in 46 countries and territories...
These massive concentrations of American military power outside the United States are not needed for our defense. They are, if anything, a prime contributor to our numerous conflicts with other countries. They are also unimaginably expensive. According to Anita Dancs, an analyst for the website Foreign Policy in Focus, the United States spends approximately $250 billion each year maintaining its global military presence. Imagine how the world might be transformed for the good of humanity with this money through education, medical care, employment, and a sustainable environment.
William Blum
Anti-Empire Report, December 1, 2008
http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer64.html
BBlum6@aol.com
Anti-Empire Report, April 4, 2009
http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer68.html

Anti-Empire Report, July 3, 2009
http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer71.html

Anti-Empire Report, September 2, 2009
http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer73.html
PEACEFUL TOMORROWS FOR 9/11 PATRIOT DAY 2009
In search of a nonviolent response to 9/11.
Patriot Day commemorates the victims of the 9-11 attacks on the WTC, but it was also used to justify the illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and to subvert our Constitution in the Patriot Act and other anti-democratic laws. In contrast, the Indonesian response to the Bali bombings was to search, find, and prosecute the criminals. India endures almost daily political or religious violence, recently even an entire train burned and the passengers murdered, but without accusing and attacking Pakistan or some country the other side of the planet, and without dismantling India’s democratic institutions and protections. (Dick)
In contrast to the Bush Administration's invasions and permanent world "war against terrorism," September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was created by families opposed to the vengeance of the Afghanistan invasion and the self-maiming of the Patriot Act. They mourned the death of innocent victims here and everywhere, including those who died at the hands of our military and militaries allied with the US.
BILL WILLIAMS, PEACEFUL TOMORROWS
Dick and Friends,
Without regard to the who and why of the events of September 11, 2001, some things seem clear:
A lot of Americans died that day at the hands of those who killed mercilessly.
A huge monetary loss was suffered by individuals, businesses and taxpayers.
Playing on the fears of the American public and Congress, the Bush administration leveraged these events into two wars and a massive propaganda campaign.
The cost of the Bush actions is calculated to be in the hundreds of thousands of lives - including twice as many Americans than died on September 11.
The cost to American taxpayers of the Bush actions is estimated to be one to three trillion dollars - it continues to increase daily.
To describe those unfortunates who died on September 11, 2001 as 'Patriots' is to be disingenuous or to fall dupe to the Bush propaganda. These were people who simply were beginning another day at work until shortly after 8:00 a.m.
That sad historic day deserves remembrance, partly because of the horrific losses suffered by the families killed in the moment, but mostly because of the tragic chapter it introduced in American history. The cavalier killing, the casting aside of constitutional right, the rule by fiat and the obscene transfer of money from the American Government to dishonest contractors and operatives should never be forgotten.
You and I must be optimists, else we would not do the things we do. Accordingly, instead of commemorating "Bush Was Worse Than Hitler Day", we should look ahead and work for better times. For me, September 11 will forever after be "Peaceful Tomorrows Day", a time when I can give special reflection to the cause of peace, the value of peace and the road to peace. My first efforts will be to deal with the contempt and disgust I feel in my own heart for the architects of this grotesque Middle East debacle, but for now, I see no path to forgiveness.
On that day I'll wear a U.N. Blue colored ribbon in hopes that people will ask why. You can be assured I will tell them.
Bill W.
OMNI’s National DAYS project is one more series of actions building a CULTURE OF PEACE in NWA. Because a public and their leaders are formed in numerous ways, including institutions, we must change them too. A way to change society derives from changing people’s behavior, which will then change thinking patterns. Changing what people do is one way to change their behavior and therefore their thinking, and ultimately to change society. Thus instead of celebrating Patriot Day for 9/11, with their domestic and foreign McCarthyism, political repression, revenge, domination, and wars, we celebrate Peaceful Tomorrows: international law, reconciliation, diplomacy, cooperation, assistance, amity.
OMNI’s Culture of Peace program (derived from the UN, and shared with Peaceful Tomorrows, the AFSC and FCNL, and surely all peace organizations) offers an alternative, and a plan. It is long-range, and it is multifarious, but it is nonetheless clear, composed as it is of specific alternatives to the pervasive warfare state. In 2009 when you look around Fayetteville you will see all the old conditionings and reinforcements of the US National Security Corporate State, but you will also see peace, justice, and ecology counter-values in hundreds of new activities in city, county, and university.
And of course if we do nothing the totalitarians will win. So we are affirming DAYS that support nonviolent peace, compassion, social and economic justice, human rights, and the environment, and offering alternatives to Days that do not (instead of the genocide of Columbus Day, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day). Join OMNI and choose DAYS for peaceful tomorrows.
Dick Bennett

Friday, September 11, 2009

OMNI PEACEFUL TOMORROWS DAY NEWSLETTER #2,

 

OMNI PEACEFUL TOMORROWS DAY NEWSLETTER #2, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009, Compiled by Dick Bennett

(OMNI solicits a new editor of this Annual Newsletter for 2011.  Contact Kelly Mulhollan.  See below for concept of OMNI DAYS.)

 

      9/11, 2001 immediately became not just another of our countless patriotic, military stimulations, but a chief engine of flag emotions.   We see the result around us every day.  For example, in Blaine, MN, the high school organized9/11 2009 “to remember those who died in the attacks and served in the two wars that have followed,” as reported in the newspaper article, “Patriotism Flies on Gridiron.”  The Blaine Bengals provided “color guards from all four branches of the military…a gigantic American flag…at the 50-yard line,” fireworks, the school band playing each military branch’s song, and, “four T-6 Thunder airplanes” performing a flyover.  

     No wonder, I suppose, that President Bush named 9-11 “Patriot Day” and the cowed Congress passed the “Patriot Act” to further restrict dissent.  Heroes had to be created, and enemies decried.  The Morning News provided a Harville graphic with columns of light extending into the sky representing the Twin Towers and captioned “Never Forget.”  And the newspaper denounced the “blind loyalty of crazed, fanatical minions” for attacking “the American people—and against all peace-loving peoples of the world.”  It was they, the newspaper astonishingly suggests, not Bush and Cheney, who created the “wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq” (people died, wars necessarily followed).

      It’s a fascinating narrative, generated and fertilized by patriotism.  Sociologists call it ethnocentrism, nationalism, or chauvinism; historians label it the doctrine of US exceptionalism.

      But patriotism, as prepared for in the Blaines of our country and acted out in the killing of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t have to lead to bigotry and revengeful wars.  We have living alternatives.   Following 9-11, the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows pled and prayed for the victims, including the many rescuers.  They asked our leaders to be truly mindful of asking our troops to engage in an incredibly ugly, violent, and dangerous war,  and to consider the consequences both to our troops and to the civilian “enemies.”  They expressed their compassion for soldiers ordered to fight in an illegal war against an extremely complex enemy—from the majority of Afghans trying to survive,  to groups of threatened tribes, to extremist Muslims called Taliban, to al Qaeda opponents of western intervention in the Middle East.    But they also cried out for international law, negotiation, and reconciliation.   They appealed to the nation not to invade Afghanistan, neither of whose people or government attacked the United States; they entreated Bush and Cheney not to add more innocent victims to those killed on 9-11.  

         We can be grateful for the alternative given us by the September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.  We shall never forget 9-11, in their spirit.

 

References

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows (see below)

“Americans Mark Sept. 11 Anniversary” by Suzanne Ma.  The Morning News (9-12-09). 

“Patriotism Flies on Gridiron” by Jon Krawczynski.  The Morning News (9-11-09).  

“Remembering the Heroes of 9/11, Now.”   Editorial.   The Morning News (9-11-09).

“September 11, 2001.”  Editorial graphic by Vic Harville.  The Morning News (9-11-09). 

Youssef, Nancy.  McClatchey Newspapers Afghanistan correspondent.  Interv. Bill Mo Journal (9-11-09).  The complexity of the Afghan opposition to a war longer than WWI and WWII combined.  

       

     The rest of this newsletter offers a diversity of information and commentary about 9-11.        

 

Contents

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

Schurz, Patriotism

Klein, Shock Doctrine

Johnson, Liquidate the Empire

Blum, Anti-Empire

Bill Williams, Peaceful Tomorrows

National DAYS Project

 

1.   Peaceful Tomorrows : Index

Peaceful Tomorrows is an advocacy organization founded by family members of September Eleventh victims. Its mission is to seek effective nonviolent ...
www.peacefultomorrows.org/ - Cached - Similar -

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About

Whoever Says

Guantanamo & Military Commissions

News from Peaceful Tomorrows

International Network for Peace

The Price of Peace Activism

Iraq

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2.   Peaceful Tomorrows : About Us

Peaceful Tomorrows is an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace. ...
www.peacefultomorrows.org/article.php?list=type&type... - Cached - Similar -

3.   Statement on Eighth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks | CommonDreams.org

Sep 11, 2009 ... CONTACT: September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows ... In 2006 Peaceful Tomorrows founded the International Network for Peace [INP], ...
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4.   Video results for peaceful tomorrows

 

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows ...
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5.   News results for peaceful tomorrows

Statement on Eighth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks‎ - 1 day ago

In 2006 Peaceful Tomorrows founded the International Network for Peace [INP], ... Since 2007, Peaceful Tomorrows has worked to spread the hopeful message of ...

Common Dreams (press release) - 3 related articles »

6.   September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows - Wikipedia ...

Jun 1, 2009 ... September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, also known as 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows or simply Peaceful Tomorrows, ...
en.wikipedia.org/.../September_Eleventh_Families_for_Peaceful_Tomorrows - Cached - Similar -

7.   Welcome to Peaceful Tomorrows Network Pages

Welcome to Peaceful Tomorrows Network Pages Under Construction. Stop back soon.
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8.   Dawn Peterson

*Dawn Peterson is in the American Studies M.A. program at NYU and a member of Peaceful Tomorrows. Her academic interests include grassroots ...
www.hemisphericinstitute.org/eng/.../dawn_peterson.shtml - Cached - Similar -

9.   Amazon.com: September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

Amazon.com: September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows: Turning Tragedy into Hope for a Better World (9780971920644): David Potorti: Books.
www.amazon.com/...Peaceful-Tomorrows/dp/0971920648

 

 

Carl Schurz (1829–1906)

QUOTATION:The Senator from Wisconsin cannot frighten me by exclaiming, “My country, right or wrong.” In one sense I say so too. My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.   Senator CARL SCHURZ, remarks in the Senate, February 29, 1872.

  Schurz expanded on this theme in a speech delivered at the Anti-Imperialistic Conference, Chicago, Illinois, October 17, 1899: “I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves … too wise not to detect the false pride or the dangerous ambitions or the selfish schemes which so often hide themselves under that deceptive cry of mock patriotism: ‘Our country, right or wrong!’ They will not fail to recognize that our dignity, our free institutions and the peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: ‘Our country—when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.’”—Schurz, “The Policy of Imperialism,” Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz, vol. 6, pp. 119–20 (1913).

 

 

THE SHOCK DOCTRINE

Naomi Klein in The Shock Doctrine places the 9-11 attacks as the beginning of the “intensely violent brand of disaster capitalism” that ensued.  The traumatic surprise and disorientation of the attacks enabled people like Bush and Cheney to exploit the vulnerable public and “take advantage of the chaos for their own ends.”

 

EMPIRE

“Three Good Reasons To Liquidate Our Empire and 10 Ways to Do It”  By Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com. Posted July 31, 2009.

According to the 2008 official Pentagon inventory of our military bases around the world, our empire consists of 865 facilities in more than 40 countries and overseas U.S. territories. We deploy over 190,000 troops in 46 countries and territories...

These massive concentrations of American military power outside the United States are not needed for our defense. They are, if anything, a prime contributor to our numerous conflicts with other countries. They are also unimaginably expensive. According to Anita Dancs, an analyst for the website Foreign Policy in Focus, the United States spends approximately $250 billion each year maintaining its global military presence.   Imagine how the world might be transformed for the good of humanity with this money through education, medical care, employment, and a sustainable environment.  

 

William Blum

Anti-Empire Report, December 1, 2008

 http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer64.html

BBlum6@aol.com

Anti-Empire Report, April 4, 2009

 http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer68.html

Anti-Empire Report, July 3, 2009

 http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer71.html

Anti-Empire Report, September 2, 2009

http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer73.html

 

 

PEACEFUL TOMORROWS FOR 9/11 PATRIOT DAY 2009

In search of a nonviolent response to 9/11.

Patriot Day commemorates the victims of the 9-11 attacks on the WTC, but it was also used to justify the illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and to subvert our Constitution in the Patriot Act and other anti-democratic laws.  In contrast, the Indonesian response to the Bali bombings was to search, find, and prosecute the criminals.  India endures almost daily political or religious violence, recently even an entire train burned and the passengers murdered, but without accusing and attacking Pakistan or some country the other side of the planet, and without dismantling  India’s democratic institutions and protections.  (Dick)

In contrast to the Bush Administration's invasions and permanent world "war against terrorism," September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was created by families opposed to the vengeance of the Afghanistan invasion and the self-maiming of the Patriot Act.  They mourned the death of innocent victims here and everywhere, including those who died at the hands of our military and militaries allied with the US.

 

BILL WILLIAMS, PEACEFUL TOMORROWS

 Dick and Friends,

Without regard to the who and why of the events of September 11, 2001, some things seem clear:

A lot of Americans died that day at the hands of those who killed mercilessly.

A huge monetary loss was suffered by individuals, businesses and taxpayers.

Playing on the fears of the American public and Congress, the Bush administration leveraged these events into two wars and a massive propaganda campaign.

The cost of the Bush actions is calculated to be in the hundreds of thousands of lives - including twice as many Americans than died on September 11.

The cost to American taxpayers of the Bush actions is estimated to be one to three trillion dollars - it continues to increase daily.

To describe those unfortunates who died on September 11, 2001 as 'Patriots' is to be disingenuous or to fall dupe to the Bush propaganda. These were people who simply were beginning another day at work until shortly after 8:00 a.m.

That sad historic day deserves remembrance, partly because of the horrific losses suffered by the families killed in the moment, but mostly because of the tragic chapter it introduced in American history. The cavalier killing, the casting aside of constitutional right, the rule by fiat and the obscene transfer of money from the American Government to dishonest contractors and operatives should never be forgotten.

You and I must be optimists, else we would not do the things we do. Accordingly, instead of commemorating "Bush Was Worse Than Hitler Day",  we should look ahead and work for better times. For me, September 11 will forever after be "Peaceful Tomorrows Day", a time when I can give special reflection to the cause of peace, the value of peace and the road to peace. My first efforts will be to deal with the contempt and disgust I feel in my own heart for the architects of this grotesque Middle East debacle, but for now, I see no path to forgiveness.

On that day I'll wear a U.N. Blue colored ribbon in hopes that people will ask why. You can be assured I will tell them.

Bill W.

 

OMNI’s National DAYS project is one more series of actions building a CULTURE OF PEACE in NWA.  Because a public and their leaders are formed in numerous ways, including institutions, we must change them too.  A way to change society derives from changing people’s behavior, which will then change thinking patterns.  Changing what people do is one way to change their behavior and therefore their thinking, and ultimately to change society.   Thus instead of celebrating Patriot Day for 9/11, with their domestic and foreign McCarthyism, political repression, revenge, domination, and wars, we celebrate Peaceful Tomorrows: international law, reconciliation, diplomacy, cooperation, assistance, amity.     

OMNI’s Culture of Peace program (derived from the UN, and shared with Peaceful Tomorrows, the AFSC and FCNL, and surely all peace organizations) offers an alternative, and a plan.  It is long-range, and it is multifarious, but it is nonetheless clear, composed as it is of specific alternatives to the pervasive warfare state.   In 2009 when you look around Fayetteville you will see all the old conditionings and reinforcements of the US National Security Corporate State, but you will also see peace, justice, and ecology counter-values in hundreds of new activities in city, county, and university.  

 

 And of course if we do nothing the totalitarians will win.   So we are affirming DAYS that support nonviolent peace, compassion, social and economic justice, human rights, and the environment, and offering alternatives to Days that do not (instead of the genocide of Columbus Day, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day).  Join OMNI and choose DAYS for peaceful tomorrows.

 

Dick Bennett

 

 

 

END PEACEFUL TOMORROWS NEWSLETTER #2 SEPTEMBER 12, 2009

 

 

Dick's Wars and Warming KPSQ Radio Editorials (#1-48)

Dick's Wars and Warming KPSQ Radio Editorials (#1-48)