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Rolla Peace News March 3, 2015 |
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Dear Friends: In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015 2. COMBATANTS FOR PEACE 3. WHERE HAVE ALL THE RADICALS GONE? 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) War and Climate Change b) News, News, Ain't That News? It's Mighty Good News to Me c) Here There Be Tygers
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015, (and 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 20s. 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. COMBATANTS FOR PEACE An Israeli Defense Force veteran and a Palestinian freedom fighter — an unlikely combination! The two men featured in this article have formed an organization to promote peace and cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian people. In the 3-minute video clip that accompanies the article, they explain what they are doing and why, and ask for your support. Both men have participated in violent conflict, and have come to understand that violence only begets more violence. They believe that if people, no matter how far apart in their beliefs, talk to each other from their hearts and truly listen to each other, it is possible to find common ground. This approach is badly needed, both in the Middle East and elsewhere. Politicians have their own agendas, which rarely coincide with the good of the people, but the rest of us are just human beings who want a good life. That's a good basis on which to start a dialogue. 3. WHERE HAVE ALL THE RADICALS GONE? The 1960s were a time of hope, when the possibility still seemed to exist that the will of the people could overcome the bigots, the robber barons, and the warmongers who governed us. It didn't happen, and the will seems to be lacking for a meaningful mass movement. We don't have a democracy any more, and the elite, via the media that they own, have convinced the public that: a) It is hopeless to resist, and b) Terrorists will come and kill your children if you don't give us the power to protect you. Just sit down in front of your TV and watch football, while we use sophisticated mind-control techniques to lull you into complacency. Chris Hedges and Tariq Ali know exactly how we got into this fix — you can read all about it and what it will take to get us out of it. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) War and Climate Change b) News, News, Ain't That News? It's Mighty Good News to Me c) Here There Be Tygers WAR AND CLIMATE CHANGE One of the major themes in my writing has been the interconnectedness of war and climate change. Militaries, ours in particular, are gluttons when is comes to the use of fossil fuels. The US military is probably the world's largest user of fossil fuels; and add to this that their major activity is burning things and blowing them up. Burning fossil fuels is the major cause of man-made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which warms the planet and creates ever more severe and numerous climate disasters like droughts, floods, hurricanes and blizzards. Climate disasters degrade resources such as the food supply and drinkable water, and this leads to increased competition and wars over the ever-dwindling supply of resources. Pretty straight forward. Right? Well academia is finally catching up to straight forward common sense. A group of scientists has proved that drought in the Middle-East, added to all the other stressors, helped kick things over the threshold into open conflict in Syria. Watch out California! You may be next! NEWS, NEWS, AIN'T THAT NEWS? IT'S MIGHTY GOOD NEWS TO ME We won two major victories last week. Under intense pressure from the public, Barack Obama vetoed the bill giving the green light to the KXL tar sands pipeline that would bring dirty bitumin from Alberta to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. Also under intense public pressure, the Federal Communications Commission ruled for an open Internet, classifying broadband service as a public utility. Add to this the recent agreement with Cuba to normalize diplomatic relations and exchange prisoners, the legalization and decriminalization of Marijuana in an increasing number of states and localities, the awarding of an Oscar to Citizenfour, Laura Poitras's documentary on Edward Snowden, and much, much more. That's mighty good news. But we got a long way to go, baby. There has been little or no progress in ending the US Wehrmacht's ability to make war all over the globe; and until we accomplish this task, we have done very little. The elite will give ground on many fronts, as long as they can preserve their ability to make war. We saw this in the waning days of the Vietnam War, when they gave us the EPA, methadone treatment, and the first steps toward diplomatic relations with China, in a vain effort to preserve their ability to continue to fight in Vietnam. Tariq Ali gives some interesting thoughts on these matters in this conversation with Chris Hedges. Although there is much in this article I disagree with or only half agree with, it is well worth the read. The title of this snippet comes from the song Ain't That News by Tom Paxton. HERE THERE BE TYGERS For many years, I've been trying to find a short science fiction story I read long long ago. It was about space explorers who landed on a beautiful living planet which welcomed them. One man tried to mine her precious metals, and she killed him. The others, except one who stayed, left, never to return. I was looking at some tiger images I received in the mail when all of a sudden the name popped into my head: “Here There Be Tygers” by Ray Bradbury, 1951. The story is allegorical, about the relationship we could have had with our own planet, Earth. Some might say the relationship we still can have, although I rather doubt it. Here it is. Read it — and weep. ================== 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 ### |