 home
archives
last week
feedback
Rolla Peace News February 12, 2019 |
|
Dear Friends: http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter021219.html In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Green New Deal: Where's the Peace? b) Humanitarian Aid c) Nuclear Weapons: Coming Soon To Europe 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14 FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM (and most subsequent Thursdays until peace is established). Please try to join us. The temperature is predicted to be in the 50s. This Thursday we'll complete 12 years of weekly Peace vigils at the Rolla Post Office. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Green New Deal: Where's the Peace? b) Humanitarian Aid c) Nuclear Weapons: Coming Soon To Europe GREEN NEW DEAL: WHERE'S THE PEACE? Last week Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey unveiled their Green New Deal. It contains an outline of how we might put the brakes on global warming and a lot of other promises like single-payer health care and the Right to a good job. Ok: but what about Peace? The New Green Deal doesn't even mention the word “Peace” or “military” once. It's only mentions of “War” are that we must mobilize like the United Sates did during World War II. Can't quite wrap my mind around this: a Right to a good job; but no Right to live in a peaceful world. Ms. Ocasio knows better. Her campaign platform called for A Peace Economy and included the statement, “we must end the ‘forever war’ by bringing our troops home, and ending the air strikes that perpetuate the cycle of terrorism throughout the world.” Personally, I see little hope for a green future while we devastate other nations and continue to fight trillions of dollars worth of wars in almost every corner of the globe. HUMANITARIAN AID As you might have guessed, the Trump administration's offer of “humanitarian aid” for Venezuela is a scam. Back in the 1980s, Elliott Abrams, who is now in charge of US operations in Venezuela, used to smuggle arms disguised as “humanitarian aid” to the Nicaraguan terrorist army known as the Contras. He even pleaded guilty in court, while opining that their really was nothing wrong with this. I'm in favor of humanitarian aid, so I propose we send humanitarian aid to Yemen where thousands are dying of starvation, instead of giving military aid to Saudi Arabia to bomb school buses and make war on the Yemenis. As for Venezuela, I think lifting sanctions against Venezuela and staying out of Venezuela's internal affairs would suffice. NUCLEAR WEAPONS: COMING SOON TO EUROPE With the INF ( Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces) Treaty all but dead, Lawrence Wittner gives us a little history of the INF treaty and its recent demise. Wittner points out that all the blame does not lie on the U.S. and Russia. Other nuclear-weapon states, particularly China, have not been interested in joining to make the INF Treaty a multilateral one. Wittner concludes his article saying “Although the rulers of nuclear-armed nations are usually eager to foster nuclear buildups, substantial public pressure can secure their acceptance of nuclear disarmament.” I guess that leaves it up to you and me. Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Grassroots Rolla: at the top of rightmost column). If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list. If you want to be added to this list, let me know. Wage peace, Helen helenm (at) fidnet.com |