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Rolla Peace News

February 15, 2022
Dear Friends:
Editor's notes:

Last Thursday we completed 15 years of weekly vigils for Peace at the Rolla Post Office. This Thursday, we begin year 16.

Please consider writing for our newsletter. It's always very exciting to be able to publish submissions from our readers.

Webperson's note:

If you are having trouble reading this, it is posted at
http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter021522.html
In this newsletter is:

1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2022
2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          a) From Our Readers: In Defense of Whoopi Goldberg
          b) From Our Readers: Free Banned Books
          c) Seizing Afghan Money in the Midst of a Famine is Unconscionable!
          d) The Media Push for War in The Ukraine is Grotesque!
          e) Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Sets New Record

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1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2022

We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM (and most subsequent Thursdays until Peace is established). Please join us this Thursday in saying NO WAR IN THE UKRAINE or anywhere else. The temperature is predicted to be around 40. If you do not feel comfortable joining 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.

Note 1: Since there are so few of us, generally 2 or 3, no need to cancel; but let's maintain social distancing.

Note 2: In case of inclement weather, vigils may be canceled or terminated early.

Note 3: This Thursday we will begin our 16th year of weekly vigils for Peace at the Rolla Post Office.

2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          a) From Our Readers: In Defense of Whoopi Goldberg
          b) From Our Readers: Free Banned Books
          c) Seizing Afghan Money in the Midst of a Famine is Unconscionable!
          d) The Media Push for War in The Ukraine is Grotesque!
          e) Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Sets New Record

From Our Readers: In Defense of Whoopi Goldberg

In response to last weeks snippet in Defense of Whoppi Goldberg, one reader writes: “I appreciate the perspectives on genocide, etc. that you shared here.”

Another reader writes: “Really good essay, Tom.”

My response: Thank you.

From Our Readers: Free Banned Books

A reader sends in a link to the IPES/EyeSeeMe Banned Book Program. IPES/EyeSeeMe is offering free banned books upon request, The February Banned Book of the Month is Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, the story of a young black girl who prayed for blue eyes so she would be beautiful. The New York Times opines that Morrison’s writing is “so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry.”

The Bluest Eye has been banned by the Wentzville, MO school district.

Strike a Blow for Freedom! Read a Banned Book!

Seizing Afghan Money in the Midst of a Famine is Unconscionable!
“There is only moral breakdown everywhere
you turn.” —Robert C. Koehler

Ilhan Omar describes the decision of the Biden Administration to seize $7 Billion of Afghan money and give half of it to the heirs of 9/11 victims in the midst of a famine in Afghanistan as unconscionable. Omar notes that “ there wasn't a single Afghan” among the nineteen 9/11 hijackers and the United States continues to give Saudi Arabia and Egypt which had “direct ties to the 9/11 terrorists” billions of dollars of aid.

Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Naeem responded:
“The theft and seizure of money held/frozen by the United States of the Afghan people represent the lowest level of human and moral decay of a country and a nation.”
and
“The greatest and most shameful defeat is when moral defeat combines with military defeat.”
Indeed, it appears that the Taliban has not only defeated the United States militarily, but morally too.

Stealing from those who are starving and cold, whatever the reason, is morally reprehensible; but when the theft is perpetrated by the wealthiest country in the world, it gives a new meaning to phrase “moral decay.”

The Media Push for War in The Ukraine is Grotesque!
“Militaries have a very poor record of predicting
outcomes of wars.” —Fred Reed

Amidst the clamor for War, Edward Snowden opines, “There is nothing more grotesque than a media pushing for war,” noting that, “Being pro-war is not smart, cool, or sophisticated.”

Bernie Sanders has learned a lot since he voted in 2001 with the entire House of Representatives, except *Barbara Lee*, for War Against Afghanistan. Bernie opines:
“wars rarely turn out the way the experts tell us they will. Just ask the officials who provided rosy scenarios for the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, only to be proven horribly wrong. Just ask the mothers of the soldiers who were killed or wounded in action during those wars. Just ask the millions of civilians who became ‘collateral damage.’”
What is really sad to contemplate is that 30 years ago, when the Soviet Union fell apart, we had a perfect opportunity to make Peace with Russia and defuse any future conflict in Eastern Europe. Instead, we opted for global empire. So sad....

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Sets New Record

Atmospheric CO2 set a record yesterday, Feb. 14, 2022, at Mauna Loa of 421.59ppm, beating out the record set on Apr. 8, 2021 of 421.36ppm.

Climate Catastrophe has been updated to include some January climate highlights.

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Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesdays (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near 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,
Tom
yushasager (at) yahoo.com 


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