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Rolla Peace News February 23, 2015 |
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Dear Friends: In this newsletter is:
PLEASE NOTE: DATE CHANGE THIS WEEK
2. IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) We Had Our Fingers Crossed b) So Did Netanyahu c) War Is Porn
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015, due to weather conditions, (otherwise, all subsequent Thursdays until peace is established) from Noon to 1:00 PM. Please try to join us. The temperature is predicted to be in the 30s. 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. IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS There are a few bright spots in the dark horrors that are presented as “news” these days. Laura Poitras won an Oscar for best documentary at the Academy Awards for her film “Citizenfour” about Edward Snowden and his decision to blow the whistle on the NSA. Snowden himself, of course, was not there, but he sent a message: “My hope is that this award will encourage more people to see the film and be inspired by its message, that ordinary citizens, working together, can change the world.” Another incident that gives one hope for the human race: A group of Norwegian Muslims, in response to the several terrorist attacks that have been in the news lately, organized a ring of protection around an Oslo synagogue. As one participant said, “We all have to live under the same sky.” Also in the same article is a short video (3 minutes) filmed in Toronto, called the Blind Trust Project. If this piques your curiosity, check it out — it's pretty neat! A group of Corinthian College graduates is staging a debt strike, protesting the huge debts they incurred in return for a practically worthless education. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. has been investigated for fraud multiple times, but is still being allowed to operate. Currently over half of its campuses are being run by a debt-collection agency with no experience in running an academic institution. There are many such “education corporations,” offering a substandard education for a high price. Supporting the students is Rolling Jubilee, an organization that purchases student debt at a discount, and then forgives it. Their goal is to convince the Department of Education to discharge the debts by reason of fraud. They are hoping to get other students to join in. I hope they win. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) We Had Our Fingers Crossed b) So Did Netanyahu c) War Is Porn WE HAD OUR FINGERS CROSSED Guess what? We're not really withdrawing from Afghanistan. First the 2014 deadline became 2016. Now? Well, who knows? Newly anointed secretary of defense Ashton Carter wants to hang around and make sure that “progress sticks.” Hey? What progress? Afghan civilians are facing record levels of casualties and displacement. Meanwhile, China is busy building economic ties with Afghanistan and slowly bringing Afghanistan into the Chinese economic sphere of influence. Well, you catch more flies with an ounce of honey than with a gallon of vinegar. SO DID NETANYAHU Remember Netanyahu's 2012 speech about the imminent Iranian nuclear bomb? Well it turned out he had his fingers crossed too. A short month later, his own spooks at Mossad concluded that Iran was “not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons” and “doesn't appear to be ready to enrich uranium to the higher levels needed for a nuclear bomb.” WAR IS PORN Over a decade ago, there was a demonstration at Rolla City Hall against pornography. I came, with a homemade t-shirt that said something like WAR IS PORN: NO WAR; NO PORN. Well, at least I was tolerated by the crowd as a fellow traveler. This by way of an introduction to Peter Van Buren's article entitled Watching the Same Movie About American War for 75 Years: War porn in Hollywood from World War II to American Sniper. This article is a must read, especially if you are addicted to war movies. Van Buren ends asking us, “Is it that our varied enemies across nearly three-quarters of a century of conflict are always unbelievably alike, or is it that when America needs a villain, it always goes to the same script?” Speaking of pornography, Chris Hedges's article, Pornography Is What the End of the World Looks Like is hard to stomach; but well worth the read. Hedges also draws the parallel between War and Pornography. ================== 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: 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 ### |