Sunday, 5/30/2010 12:00 am The Abbey of the Lemur: The Lemuric Fist of Salvation 12:30 am VDA Omnibus Volume 3 1:52 am Message Board 2:00 am Mondo Pazzo: "Veni Vidi Vici!!!" 3:53 am Message Board 7:00 am World Peace Wetland Prairie 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration 7:37 am Message Board 8:00 am The Caine Interviews:" Unschooling" 8:32 am Message Board 9:00 am Unleavened Bread Bible Study: The Order of Melchezidek Pt.2 10:00 am Beyond Today: Jesus Misquoted 10:30 am WTF?!? 5/6/10 11:00 am Omni Forum: Peace Garden Tour 12:00 pm Freethought NWA #7 1:00 pm Omni Vision: Oil Spill/Volcano 1:45 pm Message Board 2:00 pm Words of Peace: Maharji "The Want of the Heart" 2:30 pm Kids World 3:00 pm The Real Good News "Forgiveness" 4:00 pm Explorations in Faiths 4:38 pm Message Board 5:00 pm Valley Harvest Ministries: Strife the Blessing Blocker Pt. 9 5:30 pm Key to the Kingdom 6:00 pm Caring for Creation: Rev.Canon Sally G. Bingham 6:46 pm Message Board 7:00 pm Tomorrow's World: Is GOD Unfair? 7:30 pm Victory in Jesus 8:30 pm What Army on Tour 8:51 pm Message Board 9:00 pm Whistle Where You Work #25 9:30 pm 2009 World's Largest Concert 10:00 pm Freedom Video Festival 2006 Pt 1 11:23 pm Message Board Monday, 5/31/2010 12:00 am HHP: Penny Dreadful's Shilling Shockers "Crypt of the Living Dead" 1:47 am Message Board 7:00 am Democracy Now! 8:00 am Search Committee Meeting 5/19/10 8:35 am Message Board 9:00 am Kids World 9:30 am 2009 World's Largest Concert 10:00 am La Voz de la Profecia: "La red" 11:00 am Short Takes 12:00 pm World Peace Wetland Prairie 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration 12:37 pm Message Board 12:48 pm Message Board 1:00 pm Whistle Where You Work #25 1:30 pm Alice in Wonderland 2:38 pm Message Board 3:00 pm What Army on Tour 3:21 pm Message Board 3:30 pm Que Pasa-Episode 3 3:53 pm Message Board 4:00 pm Need to Know 1/2/10 5:00 pm Short Takes Live! 6:00 pm Peace Train 1610am #1 7:00 pm On the Air: Abel Tomlinson 8:00 pm Intellectual Property #8: "Thufir Hawat, or whatever his name is" 8:30 pm Freethought NWA #7 9:30 pm One Whirled View 10:35 pm There's No Such Thing as a Garbage Party 10:47 pm Message Board 11:00 pm Short Takes Tuesday, 6/1/2010 12:00 am VDA Omnibus Volume 3 1:22 am Message Board 1:30 am Mondo Pazzo: "Veni Vidi Vici!!!" 3:23 am Message Board 7:00 am Democracy Now! 8:00 am The Caine Interviews: "Domestic Violence" 8:23 am Message Board 8:35 am There's No Such Thing as a Garbage Party 8:47 am Message Board 9:00 am Horror-ible Morning: Penny Dreadful "Giant Gila Monster" 10:35 am What Army on Tour 11:00 am Short Takes 12:00 pm On the Air: Abel Tomlinson 1:00 pm Preservation With Paula: West Lafayette Historic Walking Tour 2:00 pm Need to Know 1/2/10 3:00 pm One Whirled View 4:00 pm All about Town with Chris and Angela 4:30 pm Sports Shorts 5:00 pm Short Takes 6:00 pm Omni Vision: Oil Spill/Volcano 6:45 pm Message Board 7:00 pm Valley Harvest Ministries: Strife the Blessing Blocker Pt. 9 7:30 pm Alice in Wonderland 8:38 pm Message Board 8:48 pm Message Board 9:00 pm Caring for Creation: Rev.Canon Sally G. Bingham 9:46 pm Message Board 10:00 pm World Peace Wetland Prairie 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration 10:37 pm Message Board 11:00 pm Short Takes Wednesday, 6/2/2010 12:00 am The Abbey of the Lemur: The Lemuric Fist of Salvation 12:30 am VDA Omnibus Volume 3 1:52 am Message Board 2:00 am Mondo Pazzo: "Veni Vidi Vici!!!" 3:53 am Message Board 7:00 am Democracy Now! 8:00 am World Peace Wetland Prairie 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration 8:37 am Message Board 9:00 am Freedom Video Festival 2006 Pt 1 10:23 am Message Board 10:30 am League of Women Voters:Candidate Forum, Circuit Judge Division 5 11:00 am Short Takes 12:00 pm Tomorrow's World: Is GOD Unfair? 12:30 pm Intellectual Property #8: "Thufir Hawat, or whatever his name is" 1:00 pm La Voz de la Profecia: "La red" 2:00 pm Unleavened Bread Bible Study: The Order of Melchezidek Pt.2 3:00 pm Search Committee Meeting 5/19/10 3:38 pm Message Board 4:00 pm All about Town with Chris and Angela 4:30 pm Que Pasa-Episode 3 4:53 pm Message Board 5:00 pm Omni Forum: Peace Garden Tour 6:00 pm Beyond Today: Jesus Misquoted 6:30 pm League of Women Voters:Candidate Forum, Circuit Judge Division 5 7:00 pm Explorations in Faiths 7:30 pm Key to the Kingdom 8:00 pm All about Town with Chris and Angela 8:30 pm Words of Peace: Maharji "The Want of the Heart" 9:00 pm The Caine Interviews:" Unschooling" 9:35 pm Caring for Creation: Rev.Canon Sally G. Bingham 10:21 pm Message Board 10:30 pm What Army on Tour 10:51 pm Message Board 11:00 pm Short Takes Thursday, 6/3/2010 12:00 am Mondo Pazzo: "Veni Vidi Vici!!!" 1:53 am Message Board 7:00 am Democracy Now! 8:00 am Alice in Wonderland 9:08 am Message Board 9:15 am Search Committee Meeting 5/19/10 9:50 am Message Board 10:00 am 2009 World's Largest Concert 10:30 am Words of Peace: Maharji "The Want of the Heart" 11:00 am Short Takes 12:00 pm World Peace Wetland Prairie 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration 12:37 pm Message Board 12:45 pm There's No Such Thing as a Garbage Party 1:00 pm Preservation With Paula: West Lafayette Historic Walking Tour 2:00 pm WTF?!? 2:30 pm The Caine Interviews: "Domestic Violence" 2:53 pm Message Board 3:00 pm Unarius: Infinite Concept #8 4:00 pm Peace Train 1610am #1 5:00 pm Sports Shorts 5:30 pm Kids World 6:00 pm Message Board 7:00 pm Valley Harvest Ministries: Strife the Blessing Blocker Pt. 9 7:28 pm Message Board 8:00 pm Need to Know 1/2/10 9:00 pm Krishnamurti: Questions and Answers 10:00 pm La Voz de la Profecia: "La red" 11:00 pm Short Takes Friday, 6/4/2010 12:00 am The Abbey of the Lemur: The Lemuric Fist of Salvation 12:30 am Mondo Pazzo: "Veni Vidi Vici!!!" 2:23 am Message Board 2:30 am WTF?!? 5/6/10 3:00 am Message Board 6:30 am League of Women Voters:Candidate Forum, Circuit Judge Division 5 7:00 am Democracy Now! 8:00 am Caring for Creation: Rev.Canon Sally G. Bingham 8:46 am Message Board 9:00 am Unleavened Bread Bible Study: The Order of Melchezidek Pt.2 10:00 am One Whirled View 11:00 am Short Takes 12:00 pm The Caine Interviews:" Unschooling" 12:32 pm Message Board 1:00 pm The Real Good News "Forgiveness" 2:00 pm Search Committee Meeting 5/19/10 2:35 pm There's No Such Thing as a Garbage Party 2:47 pm Message Board 3:30 pm Que Pasa-Episode 3 3:53 pm Message Board 4:00 pm Unarius: Infinite Concept #8 5:00 pm Short Takes 6:00 pm World Peace Wetland Prairie 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration 6:37 pm Message Board 6:53 pm Message Board 7:00 pm Key to the Kingdom 7:30 pm Sports Shorts 8:00 pm Omni Forum: Peace Garden Tour 9:00 pm Message Board 9:23 pm Message Board 9:30 pm What Army on Tour 9:51 pm Message Board 10:00 pm Peace Train 1610am #1 11:00 pm Short Takes Saturday, 6/5/2010 12:00 am HHP: Penny Dreadful's Shilling Shockers "Crypt of the Living Dead" 1:47 am Message Board 7:30 am Search Committee Meeting 5/19/10 8:05 am Message Board 8:30 am League of Women Voters:Candidate Forum, Circuit Judge Division 5 9:00 am Beyond Today: Jesus Misquoted 9:30 am Sports Shorts 10:00 am Horror-ible Morning: Penny Dreadful "Giant Gila Monster" 11:35 am There's No Such Thing as a Garbage Party 11:47 am Message Board 12:00 pm Unarius: Infinite Concept #8 1:00 pm Preservation With Paula: West Lafayette Historic Walking Tour 2:00 pm The Real Good News "Forgiveness" 3:00 pm Intellectual Property #8: "Thufir Hawat, or whatever his name is" 3:30 pm WTF?!? 5/6/10 4:00 pm Explorations in Faiths 4:30 pm The Caine Interviews:" Unschooling" 5:02 pm Message Board 5:18 pm Message Board 5:30 pm All about Town with Chris and Angela 6:00 pm On the Air: Abel Tomlinson 7:00 pm Tomorrow's World: Is GOD Unfair? 7:30 pm The Caine Interviews: "Domestic Violence" 7:53 pm Message Board 8:00 pm Victory in Jesus 9:00 pm Freethought NWA #7 10:00 pm HHP: Penny Dreadful's Shilling Shockers "Crypt of the Living Dead"
Friday, May 28, 2010
CAT 18 on Cox 18 for the coming week with OMNI-related shows highlighted
Letter to Legislators Regarding Climate Refugees
The legislature selected only 2 of the weakest of the many recommendations by the Governor's Commission on Climate Change. Eventually the realities of warming will have to be faced by the legislature. Here are one book on refugees, another on a continent, and the third pulling all strands of climate change together. Dick.
--Argos Collectif? Climate Refugees. MIT P, 2010. Stories and pictures document the phenomenon of populations displaced by climate change—homes, neighborhoods, livelihoods, and cultures lost.
--Bassey, Nnimo. To Cook a Continent. Because Africa, already growing poorer, will be hit worse by warming than other continents and unable to adapt, indust. nations must provide the money. Since it isn’t being given, some African nations are suing the polluting nations.
--McKibben, Eaarth gives the overview to these.
--Argos Collectif? Climate Refugees. MIT P, 2010. Stories and pictures document the phenomenon of populations displaced by climate change—homes, neighborhoods, livelihoods, and cultures lost.
--Bassey, Nnimo. To Cook a Continent. Because Africa, already growing poorer, will be hit worse by warming than other continents and unable to adapt, indust. nations must provide the money. Since it isn’t being given, some African nations are suing the polluting nations.
--McKibben, Eaarth gives the overview to these.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
ACLU of Arkansas Hires First Immigrants Rights Advocate in NWA
CONTACT: Rita Sklar, 501-374-2842 or -2660, or cell phone 501-960-5036
Ashley Simmons Pagés, 479-283-3791
Little Rock, March 10, 2010 -- The ACLU of Arkansas has stepped up its fight against racial profiling and anti-immigration policies in Northwest Arkansas with the recent hiring of its first Immigrant Rights advocate, Ashley Simmons Pagés.
Pagés, a long-time Arkansas resident, will help the affiliate respond to racial profiling and other rights violations committed against immigrants and people perceived as immigrants in Northwest Arkansas. This is the first time for the ACLU of Arkansas to have staff outside of Little Rock.
“We have seen that when local law enforcement tries to enforce federal immigration laws, the rights of both citizens and non-citizens are violated, because they are denied employment, harassed by police and sometimes arrested because of the way they look or speak,” said Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas. “Having Ashley on staff will help us respond to those violations and ensure that local authorities are adhering to the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and due process to every ‘person’ in this country, as the U.S. Constitution states.”
As the Immigrant Rights advocate, Simmons Pagés will aid the ACLU in its advocacy, litigation and education activities. She will establish relationships with members of the immigrant population and organizations that work with immigrants as well reach out to law enforcement, the legal community, media and general public to facilitate communication and understanding among those groups.
“My goal is to get to know more people in the immigrant community and, with the help of community organizations and sympathizers, establish an Immigrants’ Rights Network that is prepared to protect the rights of immigrants in areas identified by the community,” Simmons Pagés said.
Arkansas had the fastest growing Hispanic population nationwide between 2000 and 2005. About half - 51 percent - of Arkansas’ immigrants were undocumented in 2005. The national statistic is 29 percent.
Reports of immigrant abuse in Northwest Arkansas have included unlawful detentions, detentions for an unlawful length of time, racial profiling, denial of bail and higher bail rates. From jails and prisons, there have been reports of physical abuse and denial of basic needs. Arbitrary raids have also become an issue in that area of the state.
While Hispanics are the fastest growing immigrant population in Arkansas, there are also sizable numbers of Marshallese, Vietnamese, Turkish and other Asian, European, African and South American immigrants in the state.
Simmons Pagés is from a Mexican-American family and was born in Mexico. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Global Affairs from Hendrix College and has studied at Pontífica Universidad Católica in Valparasio, Chile, St. Louis University and La Universidad Panamérica. She is a certified interpreter for English and Spanish and has previously worked for U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln and for the Mexican Consulate in Little Rock.
###
Ashley Simmons Pagés, 479-283-3791
Little Rock, March 10, 2010 -- The ACLU of Arkansas has stepped up its fight against racial profiling and anti-immigration policies in Northwest Arkansas with the recent hiring of its first Immigrant Rights advocate, Ashley Simmons Pagés.
Pagés, a long-time Arkansas resident, will help the affiliate respond to racial profiling and other rights violations committed against immigrants and people perceived as immigrants in Northwest Arkansas. This is the first time for the ACLU of Arkansas to have staff outside of Little Rock.
“We have seen that when local law enforcement tries to enforce federal immigration laws, the rights of both citizens and non-citizens are violated, because they are denied employment, harassed by police and sometimes arrested because of the way they look or speak,” said Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas. “Having Ashley on staff will help us respond to those violations and ensure that local authorities are adhering to the constitutional guarantee of equal protection and due process to every ‘person’ in this country, as the U.S. Constitution states.”
As the Immigrant Rights advocate, Simmons Pagés will aid the ACLU in its advocacy, litigation and education activities. She will establish relationships with members of the immigrant population and organizations that work with immigrants as well reach out to law enforcement, the legal community, media and general public to facilitate communication and understanding among those groups.
“My goal is to get to know more people in the immigrant community and, with the help of community organizations and sympathizers, establish an Immigrants’ Rights Network that is prepared to protect the rights of immigrants in areas identified by the community,” Simmons Pagés said.
Arkansas had the fastest growing Hispanic population nationwide between 2000 and 2005. About half - 51 percent - of Arkansas’ immigrants were undocumented in 2005. The national statistic is 29 percent.
Reports of immigrant abuse in Northwest Arkansas have included unlawful detentions, detentions for an unlawful length of time, racial profiling, denial of bail and higher bail rates. From jails and prisons, there have been reports of physical abuse and denial of basic needs. Arbitrary raids have also become an issue in that area of the state.
While Hispanics are the fastest growing immigrant population in Arkansas, there are also sizable numbers of Marshallese, Vietnamese, Turkish and other Asian, European, African and South American immigrants in the state.
Simmons Pagés is from a Mexican-American family and was born in Mexico. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Global Affairs from Hendrix College and has studied at Pontífica Universidad Católica in Valparasio, Chile, St. Louis University and La Universidad Panamérica. She is a certified interpreter for English and Spanish and has previously worked for U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln and for the Mexican Consulate in Little Rock.
###
2010 National Whistleblower Assembly
On May 24th and 25th the whistleblower community met for an intensive conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Because of the location, the emphasis was government, but whistleblowers in corporations are equally important. The Conference featured a plenary session with congressional allies, theme-based workshops and speakers led by prominent whistleblowers from Frank Serpico to Daniel Ellsberg and good government organizations, a national security panel with star whistleblowers in the industry, street law update informational sessions, a meet and greet with the new appointees to the MSPB, OSHA, and ARB, and lobby training and intensive lobbying appointments with congressional offices.
Even though whistleblowers are essential to honest and open society, apparently nothing was reported about this conference in local or state newspapers. That absence makes pje newsletters all the more important for the creation of a just nation.
Even though whistleblowers are essential to honest and open society, apparently nothing was reported about this conference in local or state newspapers. That absence makes pje newsletters all the more important for the creation of a just nation.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
System of Infomration Control for Wars and Empire
SYSTEM OF INFORMATION CONTROL FOR WARS AND EMPIRE
--Dimaggio, Anthony. When Media Goes to War: Hegemonic Discourse, Public Opinion, and the Limits of Dissent. Monthly Review P, 2009. Dissects the limits of dissent in the US press, stressing the government and mass media’s use of propaganda to restrict information in the “war on terror.” That is, the book explains how U.S. mainstream media frame foreign policy on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran in accord with the views of political officials and other elite representatives. The book’s central analytical method is that of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky in their Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
--Herman, Edward and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon, 1988/2002. Explains the performance of mainstream US media in terms of basic institutional structures and relationships within which they operate, especially the powerful societal and financial interests that control them. Media function to inculcate and defend the agendas of privileged groups that dominate the US in many ways, including selection of topics, distribution of concerns, framing of issues, filtering of information, emphasis and tone, and by keeping the bounds of debate within acceptable premises. Especially, five media filters function to direct access and disseminate information to the public: 1) ownership, owner wealth, profit orientation, 2) advertising the main income source, 3) reliance on government, business, and experts funded by these institutions of power, 4)”flak” to discipline media, and 5) anti-communism as national religion to silence criticism (which today includes anti-terrorism). US bipartisan foreign policy politics function within the boundaries set by these filters.
--Dimaggio, Anthony. When Media Goes to War: Hegemonic Discourse, Public Opinion, and the Limits of Dissent. Monthly Review P, 2009. Dissects the limits of dissent in the US press, stressing the government and mass media’s use of propaganda to restrict information in the “war on terror.” That is, the book explains how U.S. mainstream media frame foreign policy on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran in accord with the views of political officials and other elite representatives. The book’s central analytical method is that of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky in their Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
--Herman, Edward and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon, 1988/2002. Explains the performance of mainstream US media in terms of basic institutional structures and relationships within which they operate, especially the powerful societal and financial interests that control them. Media function to inculcate and defend the agendas of privileged groups that dominate the US in many ways, including selection of topics, distribution of concerns, framing of issues, filtering of information, emphasis and tone, and by keeping the bounds of debate within acceptable premises. Especially, five media filters function to direct access and disseminate information to the public: 1) ownership, owner wealth, profit orientation, 2) advertising the main income source, 3) reliance on government, business, and experts funded by these institutions of power, 4)”flak” to discipline media, and 5) anti-communism as national religion to silence criticism (which today includes anti-terrorism). US bipartisan foreign policy politics function within the boundaries set by these filters.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Earth Day 2010 World Peace Wetland Prairie VideoWORLD PEACE WETLAND PRAIRIE VIDEO
Narrated by Aubrey Shepherd and filmed by Frou Gallagher, "World Peace Garden, Earth Day 2010," is an excellent condensation of this joyful day. Aubrey and Frou take us around to the activities occurring that day--from Aubrey's commentary on Lauren Hawkins's giant poster of Aubrey's photos, to the music of Donna and Kelly, Emily Kaitz, Dan Dean, and others, to Curt Richardson, our rock mason, to Amy Wilson telling about Beaver Lake water, to Joanna Pollock and Steven Skattebo at information tables, to the gardeners weeding and planting, and the children enjoying activities planned by Donna and Lauren and others, and the many visitors who came to celebrate the earth with kindred spirits. Dick
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
President Obama's Review of the Afghanistan War
Dear HAW Members and Friends,
We are writing on behalf of the Steering Committee of Historians Against the War to encourage you to plan teach-ins or other public events on your campus or in your community during Fall 2010. President Obama has said that US policy in Afghanistan would be reviewed at the end of this calendar year. This autumn may offer the opportunity for renewed public debate on the Afghanistan war and on US foreign policy more generally.
If you plan such an event, or if you have already planned one, please let us know and we can feature the events on the HAW website. HAW is in the process of putting together a possible speaker’s list and a how-to kit to facilitate the organizing of these events. They are not done yet, but for an idea of previous resources, please see http://historiansagainstwar.org/teachin.
The Steering Committee encourages the partnering of scholarly speakers with antiwar veterans’ organizations in staging these teach-in events. The partnering of academic speakers with antiwar veterans, who have first-hand experience based on their deployment in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, will strengthen the presentations and increase understanding of the current US military actions in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Two links to antiwar veterans groups and other peace organizations are below, and a list for a HAW speaker's bureau will be ready for friends and supporters shortly.
Iraq Veterans Against the War-(IVAW) searchable list of regional and local contacts: http://www.iraqveteransagainstthewar.com/chaptersandregions
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) searchable list of local and regional peace organizations: http://unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=27
We thank you for your interest. We look forward to your response and to assisting you with this important endeavor.
Inquiries and event announcements can be sent to:
Carlmirra@aol.com
Sincerely,
Matt Bokovoy, Staughton Lynd and Carl Mirra for the Historians against the War Steering Committee
HAW Statement on the Afghanistan War
October 2008
1. Whatever views we hold on the initial US military intervention in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the US, it is now clear that the US/NATO presence in this country has become an occupation, increasingly resented and opposed by large sections of the population.
2. Despite the relief that met removal of the totalitarian Taliban government by US and NATO forces, the new government, chosen under the direction of the Bush administration, has distanced itself from the people, is rent with corruption, and barely governs anything. Outside of Kabul, warlords and criminal elements operate with impunity, the opium trade grows, violence -- including violence by the occupation forces -- proliferates, and the Taliban is resurgent.
3. The support for fundamentalist warlords and the corrupt Karzai regime demonstrate that the purpose of US policy in Afghanistan is not to support the self-determination of the Afghan people, but to extend the bankrupt global war against terror deeper into Central Asia, and to strengthen US geopolitical power in this region. The US/NATO war on Afghanistan is not a "good war" in contrast to the "bad war" on Iraq.
4. The current consensus in higher political circles, including both major party candidates for president, that the war in Afghanistan must be escalated will only deepen the regional crisis and suffering of the Afghan people. The historical experience of other outside powers trying to control Afghanistan (most spectacularly, the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1989, invading from next door over a wide common border) suggests that even a greatly escalated US/NATO war effort will only multiply the deaths and the suffering.
5. The US and NATO should immediately begin withdrawing their military and political assets from Afghanistan so that the Afghan people can have room to decide their own future. Continued US/NATO action in the country is a large part of the problem and cannot be the solution.
6. We call for regional agreement among Afghanistan's neighbors to guarantee Afghan stability, to preserve the ethnic and religious diversity of the country, to assure the full participation of women in social life, and to provide space for all of the people of Afghanistan to fully exercise their right to self-determination.
We are writing on behalf of the Steering Committee of Historians Against the War to encourage you to plan teach-ins or other public events on your campus or in your community during Fall 2010. President Obama has said that US policy in Afghanistan would be reviewed at the end of this calendar year. This autumn may offer the opportunity for renewed public debate on the Afghanistan war and on US foreign policy more generally.
If you plan such an event, or if you have already planned one, please let us know and we can feature the events on the HAW website. HAW is in the process of putting together a possible speaker’s list and a how-to kit to facilitate the organizing of these events. They are not done yet, but for an idea of previous resources, please see http://historiansagainstwar.org/teachin.
The Steering Committee encourages the partnering of scholarly speakers with antiwar veterans’ organizations in staging these teach-in events. The partnering of academic speakers with antiwar veterans, who have first-hand experience based on their deployment in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, will strengthen the presentations and increase understanding of the current US military actions in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Two links to antiwar veterans groups and other peace organizations are below, and a list for a HAW speaker's bureau will be ready for friends and supporters shortly.
Iraq Veterans Against the War-(IVAW) searchable list of regional and local contacts: http://www.iraqveteransagainstthewar.com/chaptersandregions
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) searchable list of local and regional peace organizations: http://unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=27
We thank you for your interest. We look forward to your response and to assisting you with this important endeavor.
Inquiries and event announcements can be sent to:
Carlmirra@aol.com
Sincerely,
Matt Bokovoy, Staughton Lynd and Carl Mirra for the Historians against the War Steering Committee
HAW Statement on the Afghanistan War
October 2008
1. Whatever views we hold on the initial US military intervention in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the US, it is now clear that the US/NATO presence in this country has become an occupation, increasingly resented and opposed by large sections of the population.
2. Despite the relief that met removal of the totalitarian Taliban government by US and NATO forces, the new government, chosen under the direction of the Bush administration, has distanced itself from the people, is rent with corruption, and barely governs anything. Outside of Kabul, warlords and criminal elements operate with impunity, the opium trade grows, violence -- including violence by the occupation forces -- proliferates, and the Taliban is resurgent.
3. The support for fundamentalist warlords and the corrupt Karzai regime demonstrate that the purpose of US policy in Afghanistan is not to support the self-determination of the Afghan people, but to extend the bankrupt global war against terror deeper into Central Asia, and to strengthen US geopolitical power in this region. The US/NATO war on Afghanistan is not a "good war" in contrast to the "bad war" on Iraq.
4. The current consensus in higher political circles, including both major party candidates for president, that the war in Afghanistan must be escalated will only deepen the regional crisis and suffering of the Afghan people. The historical experience of other outside powers trying to control Afghanistan (most spectacularly, the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1989, invading from next door over a wide common border) suggests that even a greatly escalated US/NATO war effort will only multiply the deaths and the suffering.
5. The US and NATO should immediately begin withdrawing their military and political assets from Afghanistan so that the Afghan people can have room to decide their own future. Continued US/NATO action in the country is a large part of the problem and cannot be the solution.
6. We call for regional agreement among Afghanistan's neighbors to guarantee Afghan stability, to preserve the ethnic and religious diversity of the country, to assure the full participation of women in social life, and to provide space for all of the people of Afghanistan to fully exercise their right to self-determination.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Nonviolent Palestinians
--Qumsiyeh, Mazin. Hope and Empowerment: A History of Popular Resistance in Palestine. 2010. Rev. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (May-June 2010), “Mazin Qumsiyeh on the History and Practice of Nonviolent Palestinian Resistance.”
Actions to Take Against Drilling and Gushers
Forsarded by Joanna
....So, while there might not yet be opportunity to help scrub oil off of animals, we can definitely use your help! This goes back to what Dean Wilson, of Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, said in a meeting earlier this week, “keep [the impact] away from the eyes, you will keep it away from the hearts.”
We need to make sure people around the country know how bad the situation really is and that they continue to see and hear about it. We also need to make sure the President and our elected officials continue to hear from people around the country. We need to make sure that the oil is cleaned up completely and that BP is held fully accountable. We need to urge them to take action to never let this happen again, which includes preventing offshore drilling in new waters. This disaster makes it clear that the risk is just too big, especially when we have other solutions to meeting our energy needs. Check out our reports that outline how we can use efficiency measures, solar, and other alternative energy measures to meet our energy needs while reducing our pollution.
So, here are 5 specific actions you can take to help:
1. Take a picture of yourself with your message to President Obama about the spill, include your name and what city you live in. Send the message to me. Look at some more of the pictures I have already collected. Then send this to your friends and ask them to do the same!
2. Tell the President that he should reject new drilling off of America’s coast by clicking here and filling out our petition. We have already collected over 25000 signatures, but we need thousands more.
3. More needs to be happening to solve the current crisis – we need the federal government to stop letting BP run the show. Call or email your senators and representatives and ask them to do more to make sure that BP is using all available resources to clean up their mess. You can look up their contact info here. Send me a note & let me know how it goes!
4. Write letters to the editors of your newspapers. Here is the letter to the editor (mentioned in a previous update) if you need an example. Check out your paper – read the articles on the spill & write a response that emphasizes how we need to clean this up & never let it happen again! Send me copies of the letters you write so I can share them with other people.
5. Send around the link to the interactive incident map – it’s a great way to see and hear from citizens reporting what they see on the ground.
Heather Emmert
Gulf States Field Organizer
Environment America
Office 504-861-4427 ** new phone number
Cell 817-312-0079
....So, while there might not yet be opportunity to help scrub oil off of animals, we can definitely use your help! This goes back to what Dean Wilson, of Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, said in a meeting earlier this week, “keep [the impact] away from the eyes, you will keep it away from the hearts.”
We need to make sure people around the country know how bad the situation really is and that they continue to see and hear about it. We also need to make sure the President and our elected officials continue to hear from people around the country. We need to make sure that the oil is cleaned up completely and that BP is held fully accountable. We need to urge them to take action to never let this happen again, which includes preventing offshore drilling in new waters. This disaster makes it clear that the risk is just too big, especially when we have other solutions to meeting our energy needs. Check out our reports that outline how we can use efficiency measures, solar, and other alternative energy measures to meet our energy needs while reducing our pollution.
So, here are 5 specific actions you can take to help:
1. Take a picture of yourself with your message to President Obama about the spill, include your name and what city you live in. Send the message to me. Look at some more of the pictures I have already collected. Then send this to your friends and ask them to do the same!
2. Tell the President that he should reject new drilling off of America’s coast by clicking here and filling out our petition. We have already collected over 25000 signatures, but we need thousands more.
3. More needs to be happening to solve the current crisis – we need the federal government to stop letting BP run the show. Call or email your senators and representatives and ask them to do more to make sure that BP is using all available resources to clean up their mess. You can look up their contact info here. Send me a note & let me know how it goes!
4. Write letters to the editors of your newspapers. Here is the letter to the editor (mentioned in a previous update) if you need an example. Check out your paper – read the articles on the spill & write a response that emphasizes how we need to clean this up & never let it happen again! Send me copies of the letters you write so I can share them with other people.
5. Send around the link to the interactive incident map – it’s a great way to see and hear from citizens reporting what they see on the ground.
Heather Emmert
Gulf States Field Organizer
Environment America
Office 504-861-4427 ** new phone number
Cell 817-312-0079
Understanding Iran
RECENT BOOKS and FILM
-- Alavi, Nasrin. We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs. Soft Skull P, 2005. Sifts through the misinformation of standard media to learn first hand about Iran.
--Limbert, John. Negotiating with Iran: Wrestling the Ghosts of History. Offers case studies of past U.S.-Iranian encounters as well as 14 recommendations for negotiating with Iran, esp. considering Iran’s “ghosts,” its history that must be known and considered when negotiating. See PeaceWatch Fall 2009 (newsletter of USIP).
--Majd, Hooman. The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran. Anchor, 2009. The contradictions of contemporary Iran.
--Parsi, Trita. Treacherous Alliances: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the U.S.
--Polk, William. Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, from Persia to the Islamic Republic, from Cyrus to Ahmadinejad. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
--“No One Knows About Persian Cats,” documentary by Bahman Ghobadi, filmed in secret in 17 days, about Iran’s underground musicians in Tehran, where an est. 2000 bands struggle for expression. See “Persian Underground Film Opens,” The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (May-June 2010).
-- Alavi, Nasrin. We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs. Soft Skull P, 2005. Sifts through the misinformation of standard media to learn first hand about Iran.
--Limbert, John. Negotiating with Iran: Wrestling the Ghosts of History. Offers case studies of past U.S.-Iranian encounters as well as 14 recommendations for negotiating with Iran, esp. considering Iran’s “ghosts,” its history that must be known and considered when negotiating. See PeaceWatch Fall 2009 (newsletter of USIP).
--Majd, Hooman. The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran. Anchor, 2009. The contradictions of contemporary Iran.
--Parsi, Trita. Treacherous Alliances: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the U.S.
--Polk, William. Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, from Persia to the Islamic Republic, from Cyrus to Ahmadinejad. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
--“No One Knows About Persian Cats,” documentary by Bahman Ghobadi, filmed in secret in 17 days, about Iran’s underground musicians in Tehran, where an est. 2000 bands struggle for expression. See “Persian Underground Film Opens,” The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (May-June 2010).
Global Warming: Drought in Kenya
"The Woman with the Broken Jug" by Anna Badhken, Ms. (Spring 2010), excerpted from her book Peace Meals: A War Reporter's Journey....(2010): about people barely surviving during Kenya's worst drought in decades, while her own children back home think nothing of wasting their abundance of food. How do we explain famine?
Contact Arkansas Legislators about Warming
We must reach out more to those who make the laws we would change or would create. We already have an excellent plan for this, created several years ago for CCTF in support of the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change. It is called “PLANetwork,” and it is the brainchild of Gladys and other members of CCTF, who also made an excellent brochure for the project They wrote: “PLANetwork—People’s Legislative Alert Network—is people who care about Arkansas and the environment. In 2009 they [will ask] their Arkansas legislators to support good environmental bills and reject those that aren’t.” Educating Arkansas legislators, persuading them, pushing them to act against the causes of global warming. There's good hope and wisdom in this project. Contact Joanna Pollock to help. "Joanna Pollock"
Friday, May 14, 2010
Why Are We In Afghanistan
HISTORIANS AGAINST THE WARS ON AFGHANISTAN
1. The DVD “Why Are We in Afghanistan?”, written by Mike Zweig of U.S. Labor Against the War, mentioned in a HAW mailing this past winter, is getting some strong endorsements (e.g., from the union representing faculty and staff in the New York State public university system) as well as winning the Studs Terkel Prize for Media and Journalism from the Working Class Studies Association. Both the full 28-minute version and a condensed 11-minute version can be seen on the web site, http://www.WhyAreWeInAfghanistan.org which also has a link to a teacher guide and information on ordering the DVD.
2. A HAW-initiated session on the "Long War" has been accepted for the January 2011 AHA convention in Boston. Staughton Lynd proposed the session, which will also include Andrew Bacevich, Herbert Bix, and Carl Mirra.
Recent Articles of Interest
The Ghosts of Gandamark"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/opinion/09dalrymple.htm
By William Dalrymple, New York Times, posted May 9
Lessons from the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42); the author is writing a book on that war
"Why Faisal Shahzad Bombed Times Square"
http://www.zcommunications.org/why-faisal-shahzad-bombed-times-square-by-pervez-hoodbhoy
By Pervez Hoodbhoy, Z-Net, posted May 8
"The Bomb: Howard Zinn's Last Call to Rebel Against War"
http://www.zcommunications.org/the-bomb-howard-zinns-last-call-to-rebel-against-war-by-jonah-raskin
By Jonah Raskin, Z-Net, posted May 8 (originally in the Rag Blog)
"The Downward Slope of Empire: Talking with Chalmers Johnson"
http://www.counterpunch.org/kreisler05062010.html
By Harry Kriesler, CounterPunch.org, posted May 6
"Blood or Treasure: Obama's Crucial Choice in the Middle East"
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/07-0
By Ira Chernus, TomDispatch.com, posted May 6
"Can the US Triumph in the Drug-Addicted War in Afghanistan?: Opium, the CIA and the Karzai Administration"
http://www.zcommunications.org/can-the-us-triumph-in-the-drug-addicted-war-in-afghanistan-by-peter-dale-scott
By Peter Dale Scott, Z-Net, posted May 5 (originally in the Asia-Pacific Journal)
"American Mistakes in Afghanistan and Iraq"
http://www.hnn.us/articles/126152.html
By Deepak Tripathi, History News Network, posted May 3
"'We're Summoning Our Forces...': May Day & SDS & SNCC Jubilee"
http://www.counterpunch.org/linebaugh04302010.html
By Peter Linebaugh, CounterPunch.org, posted April 30
The author teaches history at the University of Toledo
"The Pentagon Book Club"
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100517/turse
By Nick Turse, The Nation, May 17 issue, posted April 29
Note: You are receiving this email because you signed a Historians Against the War statement (see http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/) or asked to be including in HAW's informational mailings. If you no longer wish to receive these occasional messages about HAW's work, send an email to haw-info-request@stopthewars.org?subject=unsubscribe.
1. The DVD “Why Are We in Afghanistan?”, written by Mike Zweig of U.S. Labor Against the War, mentioned in a HAW mailing this past winter, is getting some strong endorsements (e.g., from the union representing faculty and staff in the New York State public university system) as well as winning the Studs Terkel Prize for Media and Journalism from the Working Class Studies Association. Both the full 28-minute version and a condensed 11-minute version can be seen on the web site, http://www.WhyAreWeInAfghanistan.org which also has a link to a teacher guide and information on ordering the DVD.
2. A HAW-initiated session on the "Long War" has been accepted for the January 2011 AHA convention in Boston. Staughton Lynd proposed the session, which will also include Andrew Bacevich, Herbert Bix, and Carl Mirra.
Recent Articles of Interest
The Ghosts of Gandamark"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/opinion/09dalrymple.htm
By William Dalrymple, New York Times, posted May 9
Lessons from the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42); the author is writing a book on that war
"Why Faisal Shahzad Bombed Times Square"
http://www.zcommunications.org/why-faisal-shahzad-bombed-times-square-by-pervez-hoodbhoy
By Pervez Hoodbhoy, Z-Net, posted May 8
"The Bomb: Howard Zinn's Last Call to Rebel Against War"
http://www.zcommunications.org/the-bomb-howard-zinns-last-call-to-rebel-against-war-by-jonah-raskin
By Jonah Raskin, Z-Net, posted May 8 (originally in the Rag Blog)
"The Downward Slope of Empire: Talking with Chalmers Johnson"
http://www.counterpunch.org/kreisler05062010.html
By Harry Kriesler, CounterPunch.org, posted May 6
"Blood or Treasure: Obama's Crucial Choice in the Middle East"
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/07-0
By Ira Chernus, TomDispatch.com, posted May 6
"Can the US Triumph in the Drug-Addicted War in Afghanistan?: Opium, the CIA and the Karzai Administration"
http://www.zcommunications.org/can-the-us-triumph-in-the-drug-addicted-war-in-afghanistan-by-peter-dale-scott
By Peter Dale Scott, Z-Net, posted May 5 (originally in the Asia-Pacific Journal)
"American Mistakes in Afghanistan and Iraq"
http://www.hnn.us/articles/126152.html
By Deepak Tripathi, History News Network, posted May 3
"'We're Summoning Our Forces...': May Day & SDS & SNCC Jubilee"
http://www.counterpunch.org/linebaugh04302010.html
By Peter Linebaugh, CounterPunch.org, posted April 30
The author teaches history at the University of Toledo
"The Pentagon Book Club"
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100517/turse
By Nick Turse, The Nation, May 17 issue, posted April 29
Note: You are receiving this email because you signed a Historians Against the War statement (see http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/) or asked to be including in HAW's informational mailings. If you no longer wish to receive these occasional messages about HAW's work, send an email to haw-info-request@stopthewars.org?subject=unsubscribe.
Free Speech TV
Weekly News From Free Speech TV
Dear 12/17/09 5:46 PM EST,
Welcome to Free Speech TV's weekly newsletter, offering news and information about programs, features, and tips for making the most of Free Speech TV, the only 24/7 progressive television news network in the country.
FSTV's Spring Membership Drive Ends May 30th
As you probably know, Free Speech TV is a unique television station and website. We don't take money from corporations, and we don't receive government grants. We are beholden to our viewers, who are also our financial engine.
Viewers have been asking for a stronger web presence, and we have responded by adding an on-demand 24/7 library with a huge collection of documentaries and cached versions of our news programs, a new national Progressive Action Calendar for people to post events and find new ways to get involved, and a YouTube page for mobile phones with access to headlines from The Thom Hartmann Program and Democracy Now!. Viewers told us they wanted to see Free Speech TV on DirectTV, and we responded by signing a contract with that provider, and we will launch there later this year.
All of this doesn't come cheaply, so we come to viewers a couple of times during the year to ask them to become members of our growing movement. It's a way for our viewers to check in with us and find out more about us as well as a way for us to find out more about what our viewers and members want.
We're behind in our daily fundraising goals, which need to be met to allow us to bring you the kinds of programming to which you have become accustomed. We ask that you consider making a donation and becoming a member of the only independent progressive television station in the country today.
New Programs Throughout May on Free Speech TV
We are premiering several new documentaries during this pledge drive that we think you'll find interesting. You won't see them on any other network.
Pirate Radio (photo), for instance, is an intimate look inside the underground world of illegal radio stations, where people play and say what they want -- until the FCC catches them. Constantine's Sword, the latest film by Oscar-nominated documentarian Oren Jacoby, is an astonishing exploration of the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carroll on a journey of remembrance and reckoning. And don't miss David Edward's documentary about unsustainable suburbs, Sprawling from Grace.
These documentaries, along with our progressive news programs -- Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, GRITtv with Laura Flanders, The Thom Hartmann Program, Al Jazeera News, Global Report and Gay USA -- are among the many offerings you will see only on Free Speech TV.
Thanks so much to all the people who have become new members or have already renewed their membership to Free Speech TV. If you haven't already, take the time now to become part of the only truly progressive television station in the country, where TV is more than a pastime -- it's a movement.
Thanks again,
Leland Rucker
Web Editor/FSTV
Dear 12/17/09 5:46 PM EST,
Welcome to Free Speech TV's weekly newsletter, offering news and information about programs, features, and tips for making the most of Free Speech TV, the only 24/7 progressive television news network in the country.
FSTV's Spring Membership Drive Ends May 30th
As you probably know, Free Speech TV is a unique television station and website. We don't take money from corporations, and we don't receive government grants. We are beholden to our viewers, who are also our financial engine.
Viewers have been asking for a stronger web presence, and we have responded by adding an on-demand 24/7 library with a huge collection of documentaries and cached versions of our news programs, a new national Progressive Action Calendar for people to post events and find new ways to get involved, and a YouTube page for mobile phones with access to headlines from The Thom Hartmann Program and Democracy Now!. Viewers told us they wanted to see Free Speech TV on DirectTV, and we responded by signing a contract with that provider, and we will launch there later this year.
All of this doesn't come cheaply, so we come to viewers a couple of times during the year to ask them to become members of our growing movement. It's a way for our viewers to check in with us and find out more about us as well as a way for us to find out more about what our viewers and members want.
We're behind in our daily fundraising goals, which need to be met to allow us to bring you the kinds of programming to which you have become accustomed. We ask that you consider making a donation and becoming a member of the only independent progressive television station in the country today.
New Programs Throughout May on Free Speech TV
We are premiering several new documentaries during this pledge drive that we think you'll find interesting. You won't see them on any other network.
Pirate Radio (photo), for instance, is an intimate look inside the underground world of illegal radio stations, where people play and say what they want -- until the FCC catches them. Constantine's Sword, the latest film by Oscar-nominated documentarian Oren Jacoby, is an astonishing exploration of the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carroll on a journey of remembrance and reckoning. And don't miss David Edward's documentary about unsustainable suburbs, Sprawling from Grace.
These documentaries, along with our progressive news programs -- Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, GRITtv with Laura Flanders, The Thom Hartmann Program, Al Jazeera News, Global Report and Gay USA -- are among the many offerings you will see only on Free Speech TV.
Thanks so much to all the people who have become new members or have already renewed their membership to Free Speech TV. If you haven't already, take the time now to become part of the only truly progressive television station in the country, where TV is more than a pastime -- it's a movement.
Thanks again,
Leland Rucker
Web Editor/FSTV
Join Joanna May 22 to Turk Plant
Climate Change Task Force,
1sky and the CCTF are combining forces with Sierra Club for a Clean Energy Rally at the Turk Plant on Saturday the 22nd, which is in Fulton between Hope and Texarkana. We need at least 10 people to make this an event that makes a strong statement to our legislators.
Can I count on any of you to ride down with me for an 11:30am rally? Please let me know as soon as possible. We could travel down Saturday morning. It is a 4 hour drive. This is am important move of public support especially considering the positive ruling.
Call me if you can join us on the 22nd. We need more support. So far we only have about 5 folks committed from different parts of the state and NWA needs to represent!
Thanks,
Joanna
708.828.5695
1sky and the CCTF are combining forces with Sierra Club for a Clean Energy Rally at the Turk Plant on Saturday the 22nd, which is in Fulton between Hope and Texarkana. We need at least 10 people to make this an event that makes a strong statement to our legislators.
Can I count on any of you to ride down with me for an 11:30am rally? Please let me know as soon as possible. We could travel down Saturday morning. It is a 4 hour drive. This is am important move of public support especially considering the positive ruling.
Call me if you can join us on the 22nd. We need more support. So far we only have about 5 folks committed from different parts of the state and NWA needs to represent!
Thanks,
Joanna
708.828.5695
Protest Canada's Weapons Bazaar
Quick Links to CANSEC and opposition from COAT
CANSEC is Canada's largest and most important War-Industry Trade Show.
Please join the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) in opposing it this weapons bazaar.
Whether or not you're in Ottawa, June 2-3, you can be part of this campaign. Please help!
Here is an list of weblinks about CANSEC and how you can help to expose and oppose it:
Write a Letter to the Editor: CANSEC had a free-publicity article, May 11, 2010.
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/CANSECinNEWS.htm
Read a Summary Article: What is CANSEC, and why do we oppose it?
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/CANSEC2010article.htm
"CANSEC: War is Business" (50-page COAT publication. Get the nitty gritty)
http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/64/64.htm
"Rally for Peace," June 2, 5-7 pm, Ottawa (Our main antiCANSEC event)
Includes a list of speakers, poets and musicians, and links to their websites.
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/Rally.htm
Decorate CANSEC's Fence: Submit graphics/statements online, or bring them yourself.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116566681687834&v=wall&ref=ts
How you can help: Join the opposition to CANSEC, wherever you are!
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/OpposeCANSEC.htm
CANSEC 2010 Exhibitors: Links to info about 275 exhibitors and their websites.
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/CANSEC2010Exhibitors.htm
"Peace Bus" from Toronto to Ottawa, June 2: All aboard for the antiCANSEC rally
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/TOPeaceBus.htm
Get Fliers & Posters: Spread the word about COAT's "Rally for Peace"
Fliers: http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/fliers/fliers.htm
Posters: http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/Posters.htm
Other antiCANSEC events: What to do in Ottawa on June 2, 2010
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/June2events.htm
Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade website (for CANSEC updates and more)
http://coat.ncf.ca
Support COAT: Donate, subscribe, order "CANSEC: War is Business"
http://coat.ncf.ca/support_us/support_us.htm
CANSEC is Canada's largest and most important War-Industry Trade Show.
Please join the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) in opposing it this weapons bazaar.
Whether or not you're in Ottawa, June 2-3, you can be part of this campaign. Please help!
Here is an list of weblinks about CANSEC and how you can help to expose and oppose it:
Write a Letter to the Editor: CANSEC had a free-publicity article, May 11, 2010.
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/CANSECinNEWS.htm
Read a Summary Article: What is CANSEC, and why do we oppose it?
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/CANSEC2010article.htm
"CANSEC: War is Business" (50-page COAT publication. Get the nitty gritty)
http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/64/64.htm
"Rally for Peace," June 2, 5-7 pm, Ottawa (Our main antiCANSEC event)
Includes a list of speakers, poets and musicians, and links to their websites.
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/Rally.htm
Decorate CANSEC's Fence: Submit graphics/statements online, or bring them yourself.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116566681687834&v=wall&ref=ts
How you can help: Join the opposition to CANSEC, wherever you are!
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/OpposeCANSEC.htm
CANSEC 2010 Exhibitors: Links to info about 275 exhibitors and their websites.
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/CANSEC2010Exhibitors.htm
"Peace Bus" from Toronto to Ottawa, June 2: All aboard for the antiCANSEC rally
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/TOPeaceBus.htm
Get Fliers & Posters: Spread the word about COAT's "Rally for Peace"
Fliers: http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/fliers/fliers.htm
Posters: http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/Posters.htm
Other antiCANSEC events: What to do in Ottawa on June 2, 2010
http://coat.ncf.ca/CANSEC2010/June2events.htm
Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade website (for CANSEC updates and more)
http://coat.ncf.ca
Support COAT: Donate, subscribe, order "CANSEC: War is Business"
http://coat.ncf.ca/support_us/support_us.htm
Thursday, May 13, 2010
5th Annual Peace Gardens Tour 2010
On Saturday, June 12th, from 10am – 3pm the Omni Peace Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology invites everyone in NW Arkansas to attend the 5th annual Peace Gardens Tour. This year’s tour features 8 beautiful and dynamic gardens in Fayetteville. The cost for the tour is $10. For ticket information and garden descriptions, please visit www.omnicenter.org or call 442-4600 / 283-2167.
The Omni Peace Gardens Network was established five years ago to celebrate the relationship between nature and inner and world peace. The motivation was to offer an opportunity for the public to connect with nature as expressed in beautiful gardens. A garden environment lends itself to self-discovery and helps us define the kind of society we wish to inhabit; one that deepens our reflection about peace and justice and environmental stewardship (hence the name “Peace Garden”). These gardens serve essential human needs while at the same time provide habitat for native species.
In 2006, the first year of the Peace Gardens Tour, five Fayetteville gardeners volunteered to open their gardens to the public where a half hour video of the event was recorded and cablecast on Community Access Television. In 2007, gardeners from east Fayetteville to Prairie Grove participated and last year more gardeners were added to the roster. Also in 2007, Omni agreed to join with the Local Food Movement to combine beauty along with nutrition.
This year’s self-guided Peace Gardens Tour showcases the following gardens:
(Note: The date at the beginning of each garden title indicates past years’ participation; the date at the end of each title indicates the date of the garden’s creation).
(06)”Moon in the Water Peace Garden” (1992)
Location: 335 East Baxter Lane (off 71B, one block south of North St., turn east at Passages)
Description: An Ozark-Zen shade rock garden with many varieties of Japanese Maples, painted ferns, hostas, peonies, lilac, lilies, herbs and various other plantings. Also: Bird feeding station, custom lodge pole pine log bench, winding paths, hammock, and a Zen meditation rock area.
Peace Gardener: Dwain Cromwell / E-mail: dwcrom@swbell.net
(07, 08)"Emily's No-Plant-Left-Behind Peace Garden" (1998)
Location: 5 E. Davidson, 72701
Description: “The garden is a terraced rock garden in front of my house in a triangular space between 2 driveways. I started it in 1998 when I moved to Fayetteville. It is somewhat chaotic, with a variety of plants including daffodils, grape hyacinth, iris, day lilies, several other varieties of lilies, including the spectacular Leslie Woodruff (from Arthur Evans, Gravette), cornflower, daisies, myrtle, larkspur, coreopsis, peonies, roses, phlox, and probably something I'm forgetting. It blooms continuously from March through July. Working in my garden and the natural beauty of the blooming flowers always gives me a feeling of peace and contentment." Every foot of Emily’s yard is enhanced with flowers, terraces, rocks.
Peace Gardener: Emily Kaitz / E-mail: emilykaitz@hotmail.com
(07, 08) "Bamboo Peace Garden" (2002)
1039 E. Overcrest St., Fayetteville, 72703. South of Township; west of Old Wire Road.
Description: You are invited to enter this garden and feel transported into a unique environment, “a world unto its own”. A graceful forest of bamboo populates the grounds with a variety of species including the Phyllostachys Atrovaginata, commonly called “Incense Bamboo” that grows fast and majestically (up to 35+ ft tall in only 90 days). Bamboo has the ability to sway without breaking in strong winds and to bend without cracking under snow and ice; it can endure sub-zero weather and remain ‘ever-green’ year-round. We greatly admire these qualities that bamboo possesses; qualities of both strength and flexibility; spiritual attributes that have been long revered in the East. The newest addition to the Bamboo Peace Garden is the presence of an octagon, all-cedar meditation temple. It was created for the sole purpose of meditation and contemplation of peace. With this intention, a “magnetic charge” or spiral of peace has been generated in the temple and it builds with each person’s participation and focus. All those who visit are invited to sit in the meditation temple and reflect upon the nature of peace that the garden effuses. In addition, there are numerous benches in the garden to sit and enjoy the different vantage views of the bamboo. Tea and beverage will be available for all who come.
Gardeners: Hamsa and Moshe Newmark / hamsanewmark@hotmail.com / Phone 442-7423
“Marki Thompson Peace Garden” (2003)
Location: 412 Ila St., Fayetteville, 72701
Description (Dick): Two gardens, front and back yards. The front is small but interesting. The back is three or four times the size with a commensurately large variety of plants, arranged in classical symmetry: Four raised beds in the center separated by wide walkways; on east and west long beds along the fences; two attractive buildings north; sculpted birds and other animals. When I visited the garden mid-Dec. 2009, all was freshly prepared with bulbs for the spring.
Gardener: Marki Thompson / E-mail: lthompso@uark.edu / Phone: 442-2406
(06, 07, 08, 09) “Blue Birds of Peace Garden” (2004)
Location: 951 Missouri Way, Fayetteville, 72701
Description: “The focal point of my peace garden is an Ozark flagstone tree-shaped patio designed by Quinn Landrum and built by Quinn and his father, the artist M.M. Kent. The center of the patio is a single orange stone sun with rays extending outwards. The patio is a sunny stop for relaxing, doing yoga, painting the garden, or meditating. Next to the patio is a terraced planting area for sunflowers, lavender, and butterfly bush. The area is surrounded on three sides by a fence and several birdhouses. Before the garden was even completed, a pair of bluebirds had built a nest and raised a family.” It Includes a Peace Pole. Additional flowers: daisies, Solomon Seal, zinnias, spearmint, geraniums, lilies, sedum. There’re also vegetables: squash, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes. And a Zen white sand garden which adds to the general beauty and cheer.
Peace Gardener: Nancy Maier (Marshall Carter) / E-mail: ncmaier@cox.net
(2008, 2009) Peace Trees Garden (2006)
Location: 2008 W. Cleveland St., Fayetteville, 72701
Description: A large yard covered by tall trees, the yard made extra-beautiful by diverse locations of flowers around patio and pool. It’s pleasant to walk from the more formal garden into the park-like yard canopied with talk, enduring trees. (Parking in lot adjacent east.)
Gardener: Cathy Boyd / E-mail: boydprop@aol.com / Phone: 521-5971
“The Garden of Peace and Tranquility” (2009)
Location: 517 E. Prospect Street, Fayetteville (approx. 1 block west of Mission, small red house)
Description: These are new, vibrant front and back yard gardens. The front is enough for delight. Add to that a side driveway row of luxurious hostas. The backyard, however, is the chief attraction whether viewed from the deck or close-up, with a cluster of new crape myrtles, and flowers all around a semi-circular walkway. In the corner is the greenhouse where many of these plants have had their beginning. (By June 12 these gardens will present a spectacular, small garden of beauty for peace and tranquility.
Gardeners: Frank and Marty Burggraf / Email fburggraf@hotmail.com
Love You to Peaces Garden (2010)
Location: 232 W. Adams St., Fayetteville
My front, back and side yards are landscaped with ornamental plants, Japanese maples, several other ornamental trees, peonies (herbaceous and tree), herbs, irises, roses, azaleas, etc. In an attempt to replace my front lawn with something other than that pain-in-the-ass regular grass, there's a sizable front bed featuring purple smoke bushes, ornamental grasses, and trellises fashioned of ice-storm-damaged limbs. My backyard is very bird-friendly, and there are many bird feeders to lure them to my place.
Gardener: Susan Shore / sushore@sbcglobal.net / Phone 251-1290
The Omni Peace Gardens Network was established five years ago to celebrate the relationship between nature and inner and world peace. The motivation was to offer an opportunity for the public to connect with nature as expressed in beautiful gardens. A garden environment lends itself to self-discovery and helps us define the kind of society we wish to inhabit; one that deepens our reflection about peace and justice and environmental stewardship (hence the name “Peace Garden”). These gardens serve essential human needs while at the same time provide habitat for native species.
In 2006, the first year of the Peace Gardens Tour, five Fayetteville gardeners volunteered to open their gardens to the public where a half hour video of the event was recorded and cablecast on Community Access Television. In 2007, gardeners from east Fayetteville to Prairie Grove participated and last year more gardeners were added to the roster. Also in 2007, Omni agreed to join with the Local Food Movement to combine beauty along with nutrition.
This year’s self-guided Peace Gardens Tour showcases the following gardens:
(Note: The date at the beginning of each garden title indicates past years’ participation; the date at the end of each title indicates the date of the garden’s creation).
(06)”Moon in the Water Peace Garden” (1992)
Location: 335 East Baxter Lane (off 71B, one block south of North St., turn east at Passages)
Description: An Ozark-Zen shade rock garden with many varieties of Japanese Maples, painted ferns, hostas, peonies, lilac, lilies, herbs and various other plantings. Also: Bird feeding station, custom lodge pole pine log bench, winding paths, hammock, and a Zen meditation rock area.
Peace Gardener: Dwain Cromwell / E-mail: dwcrom@swbell.net
(07, 08)"Emily's No-Plant-Left-Behind Peace Garden" (1998)
Location: 5 E. Davidson, 72701
Description: “The garden is a terraced rock garden in front of my house in a triangular space between 2 driveways. I started it in 1998 when I moved to Fayetteville. It is somewhat chaotic, with a variety of plants including daffodils, grape hyacinth, iris, day lilies, several other varieties of lilies, including the spectacular Leslie Woodruff (from Arthur Evans, Gravette), cornflower, daisies, myrtle, larkspur, coreopsis, peonies, roses, phlox, and probably something I'm forgetting. It blooms continuously from March through July. Working in my garden and the natural beauty of the blooming flowers always gives me a feeling of peace and contentment." Every foot of Emily’s yard is enhanced with flowers, terraces, rocks.
Peace Gardener: Emily Kaitz / E-mail: emilykaitz@hotmail.com
(07, 08) "Bamboo Peace Garden" (2002)
1039 E. Overcrest St., Fayetteville, 72703. South of Township; west of Old Wire Road.
Description: You are invited to enter this garden and feel transported into a unique environment, “a world unto its own”. A graceful forest of bamboo populates the grounds with a variety of species including the Phyllostachys Atrovaginata, commonly called “Incense Bamboo” that grows fast and majestically (up to 35+ ft tall in only 90 days). Bamboo has the ability to sway without breaking in strong winds and to bend without cracking under snow and ice; it can endure sub-zero weather and remain ‘ever-green’ year-round. We greatly admire these qualities that bamboo possesses; qualities of both strength and flexibility; spiritual attributes that have been long revered in the East. The newest addition to the Bamboo Peace Garden is the presence of an octagon, all-cedar meditation temple. It was created for the sole purpose of meditation and contemplation of peace. With this intention, a “magnetic charge” or spiral of peace has been generated in the temple and it builds with each person’s participation and focus. All those who visit are invited to sit in the meditation temple and reflect upon the nature of peace that the garden effuses. In addition, there are numerous benches in the garden to sit and enjoy the different vantage views of the bamboo. Tea and beverage will be available for all who come.
Gardeners: Hamsa and Moshe Newmark / hamsanewmark@hotmail.com / Phone 442-7423
“Marki Thompson Peace Garden” (2003)
Location: 412 Ila St., Fayetteville, 72701
Description (Dick): Two gardens, front and back yards. The front is small but interesting. The back is three or four times the size with a commensurately large variety of plants, arranged in classical symmetry: Four raised beds in the center separated by wide walkways; on east and west long beds along the fences; two attractive buildings north; sculpted birds and other animals. When I visited the garden mid-Dec. 2009, all was freshly prepared with bulbs for the spring.
Gardener: Marki Thompson / E-mail: lthompso@uark.edu / Phone: 442-2406
(06, 07, 08, 09) “Blue Birds of Peace Garden” (2004)
Location: 951 Missouri Way, Fayetteville, 72701
Description: “The focal point of my peace garden is an Ozark flagstone tree-shaped patio designed by Quinn Landrum and built by Quinn and his father, the artist M.M. Kent. The center of the patio is a single orange stone sun with rays extending outwards. The patio is a sunny stop for relaxing, doing yoga, painting the garden, or meditating. Next to the patio is a terraced planting area for sunflowers, lavender, and butterfly bush. The area is surrounded on three sides by a fence and several birdhouses. Before the garden was even completed, a pair of bluebirds had built a nest and raised a family.” It Includes a Peace Pole. Additional flowers: daisies, Solomon Seal, zinnias, spearmint, geraniums, lilies, sedum. There’re also vegetables: squash, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes. And a Zen white sand garden which adds to the general beauty and cheer.
Peace Gardener: Nancy Maier (Marshall Carter) / E-mail: ncmaier@cox.net
(2008, 2009) Peace Trees Garden (2006)
Location: 2008 W. Cleveland St., Fayetteville, 72701
Description: A large yard covered by tall trees, the yard made extra-beautiful by diverse locations of flowers around patio and pool. It’s pleasant to walk from the more formal garden into the park-like yard canopied with talk, enduring trees. (Parking in lot adjacent east.)
Gardener: Cathy Boyd / E-mail: boydprop@aol.com / Phone: 521-5971
“The Garden of Peace and Tranquility” (2009)
Location: 517 E. Prospect Street, Fayetteville (approx. 1 block west of Mission, small red house)
Description: These are new, vibrant front and back yard gardens. The front is enough for delight. Add to that a side driveway row of luxurious hostas. The backyard, however, is the chief attraction whether viewed from the deck or close-up, with a cluster of new crape myrtles, and flowers all around a semi-circular walkway. In the corner is the greenhouse where many of these plants have had their beginning. (By June 12 these gardens will present a spectacular, small garden of beauty for peace and tranquility.
Gardeners: Frank and Marty Burggraf / Email fburggraf@hotmail.com
Love You to Peaces Garden (2010)
Location: 232 W. Adams St., Fayetteville
My front, back and side yards are landscaped with ornamental plants, Japanese maples, several other ornamental trees, peonies (herbaceous and tree), herbs, irises, roses, azaleas, etc. In an attempt to replace my front lawn with something other than that pain-in-the-ass regular grass, there's a sizable front bed featuring purple smoke bushes, ornamental grasses, and trellises fashioned of ice-storm-damaged limbs. My backyard is very bird-friendly, and there are many bird feeders to lure them to my place.
Gardener: Susan Shore / sushore@sbcglobal.net / Phone 251-1290
Peace Hero's Birthday
Jeannette Rankin
May 28,
From Missoula, Montana. The only Congressperson to vote against both WWI and WWII.
May 28,
From Missoula, Montana. The only Congressperson to vote against both WWI and WWII.
Activist Bibliography
OMNI ACTIVISM BIBLIOGRAPHY
Compiled by Dick Bennett jbennet@uark.edu
--Denham, Diana and C.A.S.A. Collective. Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca. PM Press, 2008. Rev. WIN Magazine (Summer 2009).
--Solnit, David and Rebecca Solnit. The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle. 2009.
ACTIVISM (see: Abbey, Academic Freedom, Animal Protection, Anti-War, Counter-Recruiting, Democracy, Hope, Political Graphics, Resistance)
Solnit, David. Stabilize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World.
ACTION FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, ECOLOGY (see: Animal Rights, Anti-War, Apathy, Civil Resistance, Democracy, Rights)
--Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way. U of Minn. P, 2008. Strategies for running and winning a progressive campaign.
--Miringoff and Opdycke. America's Social Health: Putting Social Issues Back on the Public Agenda. Sharpe, 2008. Describes how social progress has stalled and the country's energies and resources need to be directed toward critical domestic problems.
--MacPhee and Rodriguez. Reproduce and Revolt. Soft Skull P, 2008. Street Posters, graffiti, bumper stickers—designs to capture imaginations and spread a message, free and unrestricted use..
--Barham, Hammock, and Wilson. Practical Idealists: Changing the World and Getting Paid. Harvard UP, 2008. Rev. In These Times (Oct. 2008).
--Lichterman, Paul, The Search for Political Community: American Activists Reinventing Commitment. Cambridge UP, 1998. US emphasis on personal fulfillment and individualism can enhance public-spirited, pollitical commitment.
--Gandio, Jason Del. Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook for Twenty-First Century Activists. New Society, 2008.
--Pasternak, Judith, ed. The Path of Most Resistance: A U.S. Radical History Tour. The War Resisters League 2009 Peace Calendar. www.warresisters.org, 877-234-8811.
--Sirota, David. The Uprising. A book that challenges the status quo, questions the media and political Establishment and asks tough questions.
The Uprising by David Sirota - Hardcover - Random House
| In his invigorating new book, David Sirota investigates whether this uprising can be transformed into a unified, lasting political movement. ... |
Amazon.com: The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist ...
| "David Sirota details with clarity the sharp knife of corporate greed pointed at the throat of our democracy--and the populist uprising that may thwart the ... |
David Sirota: The Uprising in CT | Omnisio
| At an event co-sponsored by CCAG, David Sirota discusses his new book, The Uprising, at RJ Julia Bookstore in Madison, CT. |
From Uprising to Movement: Five Ideas | OurFuture.org
| Jul 9, 2008 ... From Uprising to Movement: Five Ideas. David Sirota's picture ... Based on my reporting for The Uprising, here are five concepts I think we ... |
--Hertel, Shareen. Unexpected Power: Conflict and Change Among Transnational Activists. Cornell UP, 2006. Rev. Peace and Change (April 2006). Expands the work of Keck and Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders (1998) to add to Northern/Western rights frame the Southern economic and structural analysis.
| --Lisa Witter, COO of Fenton Communications and co-author of The She Spot: Why Women are the Marketing for Changing the World - And How to Reach Them www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-witter |
--Reich, Charles. Opposing the System. Crown, 1995. A prescient writer, arguing for constitutional curbs on corporate tyranny, a restored social contract for economic justice, and a resurgent protest movement guided by a new map of values.
--Hutto, Jonathan, Sr. Anti-War Soldier: How to Dissent Within the Ranks of the Military. Nation Books, 2008. Hutto's moral values and commitment to human rights up against the war system.
EDUCATION for PEACE
Peace Education Foundation Website: www.PeaceEducation.org Info. on their Peace Works curricula and related materials.
Courageous Resistance: the Power of Ordinary People is written by Kristina E. Thalhammer, Paula L. O'Loughlin, Myron Peretz Glazer, Penina Migdal Glazer, Sam McFarland, Sharon Toffey Shepela, and Nathan Stoltzfus and was published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. See review at end. See: Ann Wright' book on resistance.
Sirota, David. The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington. Crown, 2008. See Sirota's article in In These Times (June 2008) adapted from his book. Discusses how to stop the war—the traditional way of the peace movement (grassroots education, rallies) or focus on government and media in DC.
www.antiwar.comMEJIA, CAMILO (see: Conscientious Objection, Imperialism, Iraq, Middle East, Militarism)
The new paperback edition of Camilo Mejía's acclaimed Iraq war memoir, Road from ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia. "After reading this book, you'll want everyone you know to read it.
Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía became the new face of the antiwar movement in early 2004 when he applied for a discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector. After serving in the Army for nearly nine years, he was the first known Iraq veteran to refuse to fight, citing moral concerns about the war and occupation. Despite widespread public support and an all-star legal team, Mejía was eventually convicted of desertion by a military court and sentenced to a year in prison, prompting Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience.
Far from being an accidental activist, Mejía was raised by prominent Sandinista revolutionaries and draws inspiration from Jesuit teachings. In this stirring book, he argues passionately for human rights and the end to an unjust war.
As New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes, "The issues [Mejía] has raised deserve a close reading by the nation as a whole. . . . He has made a contribution to the truth about Iraq."
Also check out Dahr Jamail's front-cover story on Winter Soldier in the April print edition of The Progressive. We will be publishing Dahr's book, Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist In Occupied Iraq."
REVIEW OF COURAGEOUS RESISTANCE
Courageous Resistance by Jason MacLeod
Every now and then a book comes along that I want to recommend to everyone in my activist and training
networks. Courageous Resistance: the power of ordinary people is one such book.
The authors suggest three elements define a courageous resistor. Firstly a courageous resistor is a person who
voluntarily acts against injustice with a significantly high risk or cost to either themselves or their associates.
Secondly, their actions are the result of a conscious decision. Thirdly, their efforts are sustained over time (pg 5).
The authors argue that courageous resistors are made not born and proceed to map out the pathways that lead to
people becoming either courageous resistors, bystanders or perpetrators. The journey to becoming a courageous
resistor essentially involves negotiating a series of six crossroads, or critical decision making moments. Firstly,
the person must become aware of the injustice. Secondly, the person needs to frame the situation as an injustice.
The need to accept personal responsibility is the third crossroad. Once this decision has been made the next
critical decision making point is indentifying options followed by choosing and acting on one or more of these
options. The final crossroad is sustaining acts against injustice at some cost to oneself or ones close associates
over time.
The authors also show how at different points on the journey not proceeding to the next critical decision making
juncture can lead becoming either a perpetrator or bystander. These multiple pathways are influenced by three
factors that further help determine whether people become courageous resistors or not. The three factors include
preconditions, networks, and context. Preconditions refer to internal factors. These include the way the person
was socialised, attitude to authority, a history of helping others, the ability to learn from doing, and the degree to
which the person has developed a sense of inclusiveness and appreciation of diversity. Networks, the number
and type of people and organisations a courageous resistor can create or draw upon to assist them, also play a
critical role. Finally, the context also influences the process of whether people become courageous resistors or
not.
Through a series of compelling narratives the authors show how the pathways people take transform the
individual, their networks and the context. The case studies highlight individual, collective and institutional
resistance. Some of these stories may be familiar to readers such the successful collective resistance of the
German women who prevented their Jewish husbands from being sent of to concentration camps or the story of
villagers of Le Chambon in occupied France who kept hundreds of Jews alive during the Second World War.
Other well known stories of courageous resistance that are examined include analyses of the struggle of the
Women of the Plaza del Mayo in Argentina who helped bring down the Argentinean dictatorship and the case of
Paul Rusesabagina whose efforts to save over 1200 Tutsi and moderate Hutu's during the Rwandan genocide was immortalized in the film Hotel Rwanda.
Many other stories will be less familiar. The story of efforts by the people of Old Providencia, a small
Colombian island in the Caribbean, to resist rapacious development in the face of repression stood out for me, as did accounts of two whistleblowers: army Specialist Joseph Darby who exposed U.S. abuses at Abu Ghraib and Cathy Harris who changed a culture of sexual harassment and racism by U.S. customs staff. There is also excellent material on the role of institutional reform work by courageous resistors, including the creation of human rights organisations such as Human Rights watch and work on having the Genocide Convention adopted by the U.N. These case studies on institutional resistance further illustrate how the creation of new networks and institutional rules functions to transform the context. The framework in the book grows up out of these case studies and is a great example of grounded theory.
While the praxis of nonviolent resistance is not emphasized in the book, Courageous Resistance complements and adds to the body of work on nonviolence theory and history, in particular recent work on the role of decentralized network structures in developing resilience to repression by Kurt Schock (2005) and Brian Martin's backfire model (2007), which outlines a model for promoting outrage to repression. Activists and activist educators alike will find it very useful. The book offers hopeful and empowering accounts of how ordinary people have resisted injustice. There is also fresh thinking about how to resist repression and mobilizing for change in the face of sometimes overwhelming odds. While reading the book I immediately found myself developing training tools for unpacking the model presented in the book in my own work investigating nonviolent resistance in repressive settings. But the theory and case studies are also relevant for those of us living in western liberal democracies.
Courageous Resistance: the power of ordinary people is written by Kristina E. Thalhammer, et al. Palgrave, 2007.
--Hightower, Jim and Susan DeMarco. Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow. Wiley, 2008. See their article in The Nation (3-24-08). A collection of stories about idealistic citizens seeking change and who buck the Corporations-Pentagon-White House system. For example, Maine citizens successfully gained public money for elections; candidates there don't have to become indebted to corporations.
--Carlsson, Chris. Nowtopia: How Pirate Programmers, Outlaw Bicyclists, and Vacant-Lot Gardeners Are Inventing the Future Today. Today's vibrant subcultures of experimentation and cooperation.
--Inspiration is not enough. Strategy and tactics matter. I commend to you a recent handbook of nonviolent change: Love in Action, by Richard K. Taylor, a veteran grass-roots activist. It was originally written for Catholics seeking profound reforms of their church, but much of it is useful to spiritually motivated activists of any flavor.
-- The other book on activism I recommend is an anthology of articles on Jewish social action -- Righteous Indignation, edited by Rabbi Or Rose, associate dean of the rabbinical school at Hebrew College in Boston; Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, former managing editor of Tikkun; and Margie Klein, a student at the Hebrew College rabbinical school, and published by Jewish Lights. Its fascinating array includes essays on the theory of justice and Judaism and articles on specific issues like eco-Judaism, stem cell research, immigration, feminism, Israeli-Palestinian peace, and Abrahamic connections (the last, an article by Rabbi Phyllis Berman and myself).
--Szakos, Kristin and Joe Szakos. We Make Change. Vanderbilt UP, 2007. Rev. Mother Jones (Nov.Dec. 2007). Explores social change through voices of 81 community organizers who make changing the world their life's work.
--Dunlap, Louise. Undoing the Silence: Six Tools for Social Change Writing.
-- Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of Community-based Dialogue by David Diamond. Trafford Pub.,2007. Rev. Richard S. Drake, Arkansas Free Press - January, 2008 http://www.headlinestheatre.com/
Everett, Melissa. Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers for an Era of Interdependence. New Society, 2008. Professionals with a conscience for what the world needs.
--The Essential Chomsky by Noam Chomsky. His best over the past 40 years. New P, 2008.
--Barsky, Robert. The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower. MIT P, 2007.
Maathai, Wangari. Unbowed: A Memoir. Anchor, 2007. First African woman and first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
--True, Michael. People Power: Fifty Peacemakers and Their Communities. Rawat Pub., Jaipur, India, 2007. Rev. The Catholic Worker (Dec. 2007).
--Beller, Ken, and Heather Chase. Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World. Two capsule bios, with lesson plans and maps for middle and high school. Ingram Book Group, 2008. GIVEN AN OMNI PEACEWRITING AWARD 2007.
-Szakos, Kristin and Joe. We Make Change: Community Organizers Talk About What They Do and Why. Vanderbilt UP, 2007.
--THE EXPLOIT: A Theory of Networks by Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker
University of Minnesota P, | 2007.
Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker challenge the widespread assumption that networks are inherently egalitarian. Instead, they contend that there exist new modes of control entirely native to networks, modes that are at once highly centralized and dispersed, corporate and subversive. In this provocative book, they argue that a whole new topology must be invented to resist and reshape the network form.
--Pelosi, Christine. Campaign Boot Camp: Basic Training for Future Leaders—A 7-Step Guid to Launching Successful Campaigns for Candidates and Causes. PoliPoint P, 2007.
-- Thom Hartmann. Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision.
--The Progressives Handbook. www.progrressiveshandbook.com Part encyclopedia, part self-defense manual.
Addressing Ethnic Conflict through Peace Education: International Perspectives,
Edited by Zvi Bekerman and Claire McGlynn. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
This compelling collection includes contributions from an international group of scholars representing a wide variety of geographical conflict areas and exemplifies the multiple venues of peace educational labour. A strong emphasis is given to integrative and sustained long-term peace education efforts.
--Peace and Justice Studies Association is creating an annotated bibliography of children's peace books. Send selections to www.peacejusticestudies.org/publications/peacebiblio.php
--Zolotow, Charlotte. The Hating Book. A little girl learns not to hate her friend.
Catherine Whitmire, Practicing Peace. The inner-outer route to peace by a Quaker.
--Berger, Dan, et al., eds. Letters from Young Activists: Today's Rebels Speak Out. Nationa Books, 2005. Rev. Monthly Rev. (April 2006). " …youth can be a counterweight to the despair many feel watching a society spinning off the rails….The concept of the book is that young people in the United States, who have made a decision not to accept the world the way it is, write letters…explaining why."
--Kern, Alex., ed. Becoming Fire: Spiritual Writing from Rising Generations.
--Shut Up & Sing. Documentary DVD dir. by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck. 2007. Rev. The Humanist (Jan. Feb. 2007): "truthful look at [Dixie Chicks] perseverance in the face of [right-wing] opposition and to the preservation of Constitutional rights."
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---Shah, Palak, ed. Defending Justice: An Activist Resource Kit. Political Research Associates. www.defendingjustice.org
---Gagnon, Bruce. Come Together Right Now: Organizing Stories from a Fading Empire. Global Network, 2005. www.space4peace.org
*---Tait, Vanessa. Poor Workers' Unions: Rebuilding Labor from Below. South End P, 2005 www.southendpress.org
---Boudin, Chesa, et al., eds. Letters from Young Activists: Today's Rebels Speak Out. Nation Books, 2005.
---Freeman, Jo. At Berkeley in the 60s: The Education of an Activist, 1961-1965. Indiana UP, 2004.
--- "FIFTY-TWO SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE" by Paul Simon with a Foreword by Senator Jack Danforth. President Jimmy Carter says, "Senator Paul Simon has left us a clear message: Each of us has the power to build a better society. With just simple acts at the grassroots level, we can help to change the world. Paul worked tirelessly to create a better world for all its inhabitants and has described a few 'simple' ways to continue his good work."
--- 4 most important books for all peace leaders, builders and educators. They are "Being Peace" by Thich Nhat Hanh; "Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager : Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Self Leadership", by Ken Blanchard, Susan Fowler, Lawrence Hawkins; "The Leader Within : Learning Enough About Yourself to Lead Others", by Drea Zigarmi, Ken Blanchard, Michael O'Connor, Carl Edeburn; and "Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success; Beyond IQ, Beyond EI, Applying Multiple Intelligence Theory to Human Interaction", by Karl Albrecht. (from a Canadian peacemaker)
McGinnis, James, and Janet Folkl. Peacemaking and the Powers: Promoting Justice and Peace in Post-9-11 America. A Six-Session Program for Churches, Youth, and Religious Communities on Racism, Materialsm, and Militarism. Institute for Justice and Peace, St. Louis, 2005. Rev. Fellowship (July/August 2005).
---Shiva, Vandana. Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace. South End P, 2005. The struggles for these values against the rising tide of fundamentalisms, violence against women, and planetary death.
Released on August 9, 2005, Chicken Soup For the Soul - Stories for a Better World contains a very special collection of all new stories of inspiration, understanding and love all dedicated to making the world a better place. Within these pages you ll find true guidance on how to make the world a little better every day so that together, just maybe, we will all truly make a difference. The Chicken Soup for the Soul books were first published in 1993 and quickly rose to number one on the New York Times bestseller list. With over 80 million copies sold and 65 titles in 37 languages, Chicken Soup for the Soul has made international publishing history and garnered numerous prestigious awards for creators, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Canfield and Hansen are joined on this book with coauthors Candice C. Carter, Susanna Palomares, Linda K. Williams, and Bradley L. Winch. For more information please hit reply or call Linda K. Williams on 619-583-8454 or email her directly at lindawms@sdcoe.k12.ca.us
Simmons, Jane. I of the Storm for Teens. How do you stay connected during times of conflict? The book "The I of the Storm: Embracing Conflict, Creating
Peace", by Rev. Gary Simmons teaches these skills and has been a Unity best seller since its publication in 2001. The book imparts the principles of peacemaking, a method of embracing situations that create conflict and finding the peace within. Packed with stories, anecdotes and illustrations, the book
teaches the same principles found in the adult book, but with an emphasis on youthful understanding. At the end of each chapter, you will find "Aware-apy" questions for self-inquiry. Using principles of non-violent communication as well as tools for dealing with criticism and judgment, this book teaches the pathway of the heart. (from the author)
PEACE TEAMS
*Boardman, Elizabether. Taking a Stand: A Guide to Peace Teams and Accompaniment Projects. New Society, 2005. Both an account of Voices in the Wilderness, Christian Peacemakers, and other groups, and an instruction manual for such efforts.
Covey, Dziedzic, Hawley, eds. The Quest for Viable Peace: International Intervention and Strategies for Conflict Transformation.
PEACEMAKING FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
Guinan, Kelly. Peace Quest. Packed with activities for children. www.celebratingpeace.com
Brooke Shelby Biggs; Conceived by Anita Roddick. Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits: A Spiritual Activist's Handbook. Dozens of activists in this book are the heirs to that great tradition of faith-based activism--environmentalists, peace workers, land reformers, child advocates. Visit http://SimpleLiving.org/catalog/Environment.html#BraveHearts
Harris, Nancy, ed. The Peace Movement. At Issue: Opposing Viewpoints Series. Greenhaven P, 2005. Eleven essays describing, advocating, and opposing the "peace movement" in the US, edited by fellow Fayetteville resident. Also contains a helpful, annotated list of organizations, a bibliography, and an index.
Kim Klein, Fundraising for Social Change
Andy Robinson, Selling Social Change (Without Selling Out)
Larry Solomon, Roots of Justice: Stories of Organizing in Communities of Color
*Benerjee, Mukulika. The Pathan Unarmed. Oxford, 2001. A bio of Ghaffar/Badshah Khan, the founder of one of the most remarkable pacifist movements of the 20th century-among the Muslim Pashtuns of now eastern Pakistan. He was known as "the frontier Gandhi."
**Wallach, John. The Enemy Has a Face: The Seeds of Peace Experience. USIP Press, 2000. About the author's creation of a summer camp to bring children of hostile societies together.
One Makes the Difference by Julia Butterfly Hill
The author of the best-selling "The Legacy of Luna" shows how we all can
help protect our environment.
After her record-breaking two-year tree sit, Julia Butterfly Hill has
ceaselessly continued to promote sustainability and ecologically-minded
ways to save the old-growth redwoods she acted so valiantly to protect.
Here she answers the question she hears so often from her fans and
supporters: What can I do to help?
"One Makes the Difference" is a hands-on guide full of advice on how to
promote change and improve the health of the planet. This book is
accessible to both adults and young people who look to Julia as an example
of how one person can change the world.
Packed with information, inspirational stories, and commonsense actions,
"One Makes the Difference" provides easy-to-follow guidance for everyone
who wants to help save their environment.
195 pp. $15. OMTD
The Better World Handbook
From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions
Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler and Brett Johnson with Brian Locke
Here's the essential guide for busy people who care about making the world
a better place but don't know where to begin.
It shows us how to live our values by choosing from a wide range of simple
but effective actions that we can take every day -- actions that focus on:
money, shopping, food, personal life, friends and family, community, home,
work, media, politics, transportation, travel and organizations
It discusses the global challenges we face, outlines the seven foundations
for a better world and includes a Better World Shopping Guide, a Top Ten
List of Actions for a Better World, and a wide range of follow-up resources
that cover everything from socially responsible investing to alternative
news sources.
300 pp. $19. BWH
Tavis Smiley. Doing What's Right. 2000. How-to book for working for causes, using all media resources, etc.
McFarland & Co. in Jefferson, North Carolina has just published a second edition of Ian Harris's 1988 classic, Peace Education.. The 2003 version has a second author, Mary Lee Morrison.
This book, Peace Education, introduces a relatively new area of educational reform, where educators use their skills to address problems of violence. It explains how educational strategies reduce levels of violence in this postmodern world. It defines peace education, discusses diverse approaches, presents key issues and topics, describes obstacles, discusses new ways of thinking, explains how to construct educational programs, addresses fears generated by the arms race, and presents alternatives for resolving conflict nonviolently. This book has been written for a broad audience that includes school personnel, university professors, scholars, church leaders, and peace movement activists. See OMNI's web site, Peace: Remedies file.
Ian M. Harris is a professor of education policy and community studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Mary Lee Morrison is the founder and director of Pax Educare, the Connecticut Center for Peace Education in Hartford, Connecticut. She lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Randy Schutt. Inciting Democracy: A Practical Proposal for Creating a Good Society. Vernal Project, 2002. How to overcome obstacles to creating decentralized education and nonviolent social change.
Louis Kriesberg. Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution. 2nd ed. Roman and Littlefield, 2003. Major text on mediation.
Kate Penner, ed. Risking for Change: Stories of Ordinary People (First Freedom Foundation, 1999). 75 stories in prose and poetry. Nearly half on resistance to war and militarism, plus environment, poverty, animal rights, etc.
Jan Wahl, How the Children Stopped the War (1969, out of print, positively reviewed in Peacework July-Aug 2003).
Jonathan Schell, The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People (Henry Holt, 2003). Rev. in Fellowship July/Aug. 2003 by Walter Wink: ".this is an instant classic [for] everyone who senss that nonviolence is an idea and practice whose time has come"; ".we can begin to build an alterantive society now, a shell within the shell of the imperialist regime [that] must be global." Also a 2nd rev. by Zia Mian.
Jane Vennard, Embracing the World: Praying for Justice and Peace. Jossey-Bass/A Wiley, 2003. A Christian pastoral treatment of 5 aspects: praying for others and the world, praying with our actions, praying for renewal, praying to be transformed, praying for discernment.
MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change. (see review below)
Robert Jensen <rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu>
Bob Jensen's new book, CITIZENS OF THE EMPIRE: THE STRUGGLE TO CLAIM OUR HUMANITY, has just been published by City Lights in San Francisco. The book analyzes the current political landscape, critiques the current political rhetoric, and offers thoughts on a future course for progressive and anti-empire politics. One chapter looks at the failures of U.S. universities after 9/11.
If you want to read more, there's a fuller description online at
<http://www.citylights.com/CLpubRE.html#citizens>http://www.citylights.com/CLpubRE.html#citizens
Get MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country at your local bookseller or at Amazon.
Click Here.
Dear MoveOn Member,
MoveOn's new book has hit the streets and is already at #2 on Amazon. Can we push it to #1 at all booksellers? All royalties go to support our work together. The book is called MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change. With introductions by Al Gore, Gail Sheehy, Nancy Pelosi, and the MoveOn team, the book focuses on the best fifty personal stories amongst thousands submitted by MoveOn members. These uplifting stories demonstrate the power of the individual, with tips and resources to turn inspiration into action. They're about ordinary citizens changing laws, getting out the vote, hosting meet ups, and much more.
50 Ways to Love Your Country should now be available at your local bookseller. Be sure to ask for it. You can also buy the book online. Here's the link to the book at Amazon:
Priced at around $10, we've tried to keep the book affordable. Arianna Huffington calls it "political Viagra." And the president of the United Farm Workers, Arturo Rodriguez, invokes Cesar Chavez to remind us that ordinary people can right wrongs. He calls 50 Ways to Love Your Country "a vital primer for every activist interested in progressive social change."
Get your copy now to keep the momentum going. In the next two months, there will be 100+ bookstore events around the country for community discussion, voter registration, and more. MoveOn members will be presenting. If a bookstore event comes to your area, we'll let you know.
Thank you so much for all you do,
- Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Mari, Noah, Peter, Wes, Zack
The MoveOn Team
March 29th, 2004
P.S. As a sample, here's an excerpt from Former Vice President Al Gore's introduction to our "Every Vote Couns" section:
Woody Allen has famously said that 90 percent of success is showing up. That's true of democracy too. I'd argue that the other 10 is making sure you're registered beforehand.
It's easy to be cynical about politics and to believe that one vote barely matters. But consider these facts: John F. Kennedy's 1960 victory over Richard Nixon-a victory that ultimately led to sweeping changes in civil rights laws, the first great wave of space exploration, and the creation of Medicare-was decided by just 100,000 votes nationwide. In 1994, the year Republicans won both houses of Congress, the redistribution of about 10,000 votes nationally would have kept Congress in Democratic hands. One of my former House colleagues, Connecticut Democrat Sam Gejdenson, won reelection by twenty-one votes that year. ("All you need is one," he remarked; "the rest are for your ego.")
The democratic political process isn't perfect. Winston Churchill once said it's the worst system for governance "except for every other system that has ever been tried." Often, you may find no candidate who completely reflects your views. But as voter participation has declined-from nearly two-thirds of eligible voters in 1960 to less than half in many national elections today-strong and decidedly undemocratic forces have stepped in to fill the void.
In a democracy, the future isn't something that just happens; it's something we shape for ourselves, together. Special-interest lobbyists get the government they pay for only when we stay home from the polls-only when we abdicate the electoral power that is mightier than any soft-money check, more decisive than any million-dollar ad blitz or corporate misinformation campaign.
http://www.southendpress.org/NOW AVAILABLE FROM SOUTH END PRESShttp://www.southendpress.org/
http://southendpress.org/books/womwriting.shtmlhttp://southendpress.org/books/womwriting.shtml
The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile:
Conversations with Arundhati Roy
Interviews by David Barsamian
Foreword by Naomi Klein
This dynamic series of interviews captures four wide-ranging conversations between two passionate and witty thinkers: Arundhati Roy, renowned author of the novel The God of Small Things, and David Barsamian, innovative producer and host of Alternative Radio. Beginning in February 2001, their discussions presage the September 2001 attack and trace the subsequent War on Terror to the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Arundhati Roy's political essays eloquently capture the thoughts of people worldwide whose primary reference points for the United States are multinational corporations and the military. For the many Americans who wondered after 9/11 "why do they hate us," there is no better source than Roy for the complex answers to that question.
"I don't know how Roy comes up with her killer one-liners, but I'm grateful. Each one is a gift, capable of transforming fear and confusion into courage and conviction."
-Naomi Klein, from the Foreword
"Arundhati Roy combines brilliant reportage with a passionate, no-holds-barred commentary. I salute both her courage and her skill."
-Salman Rushdie
"David Barsamian is one of the great journalists of our era."
-Robert McChesney
For more information on The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile, please contact Loie Hayes at 617-547-4002.
http://www.southendpress.org/books/transracism.shtmlhttp://www.southendpress.org/books/transracism.shtmlHIGHWAY ROBBERY Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity edited by Robert Bullard, Glenn Johnson, and Angel Torres
Across America, equal access to safe, reliable and practical transportation eludes many people, the majority of them poor people and people of color. Substandard urban bus service, massive highway projects, and exclusive suburban train systems have left them stranded--literally cut off from economic and social opportunities. Highway Robbery shows how, half a century after the Montgomery bus boycotts, chronic inequality in public transportation is firmly and nationally entrenched, through transportation policy, and transportation tax dollars.
Highway subsidies have run roughshod over any notion of racial justice and these authors have laid out both the crime and correction for this discrimination in mobility, equity, and livability in a timely way.
-Jane Holtz Kay, author of Asphalt Nation
As the quality of public transportation services plummets and fares skyrocket, transit riders across the country are organizing for transportation justice, a shared concern for environmental activists and social justice groups. Transit activists are building alliances among these groups to ensure that access to transportation is equitable and our mobility doesn't threaten our health and the health of our planet.
a.. Read about the historical and current policies that have restricted transportation access and the legal struggles to change them including the groundbreaking case won by the Bus Riders Union and the Labor/Community Strategy Center against the Los Angeles County Metropolitcan Transit Authority.
b.. Review the successes and obstacles of coalitions between environmental and equity activists who have worked to create a model of fair, smart, and sustainable transportation.
c.. Examine tensions between transit riders and neighborhood residents, and the perceived conflicts between the needs of suburban commuters and city dwellers.
d.. Learn about how you could add your voice to those calling for the right of all Americans to safe, clean, efficient, affordable, and equitable transportation.
Robert D. Bullard is the Ware Professor of Sociology and director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University. He is the author of several books including Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality (Westview Press, 2000); and Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots (South End Press, 1993).
Glenn S. Johnson is a research associate in the Environmental Justice Resource Center and associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Clark Atlanta University.
Angel O. Torres is a Geographic Information Systems training specialist with the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University.
Solnit, Rebecca. Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. Nation Books, 2004.
Solnit, Rebecca. Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. Nation Books, 2004.
Scott, Jim, comp., ed., arranger. The Earth and Spirit Songbook: Book One. Jim Scott Music, 2003. Rev. UU World (July-Aug. 2004). "…the soundtrack to the peace and justice and environmental movement."
Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear (Basic Books, August 2004 www.theimpossible.org) and of Soul of a Citizen.
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