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Rolla Peace News March 12, 2019 |
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Dear Friends: http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter031219.html In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019 2. UPCOMING CLIMATE EVENTS a) Friday, March 15: Global school strike for the climate b) Monday, March 18: Great Rivers Environmental Law Center in Rolla 3. EVOLVE OR DIE 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Nuclear War b) Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: I Misspoke c) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Addresses Code Pink Peace Delegation to Iran d) Afghanistan Peace Talks e) False Flag Operation in Venezuela f) Love This Lady! 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, MARCH 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 around 60. 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. UPCOMING CLIMATE EVENTS a) Friday, March 15: Global school strike for the climate b) Monday, March 18, 1:00pm: Great Rivers Environmental Law Center in Rolla Friday, March 15: Global school strike for the climate. Here's a map of the world with all the climate strikes planned for the 15th. Rolla is not on the map yet; but you could put it there. Monday, March 18, 1:00pm: Kathleen Henry, president of Great Rivers Environmental Law Center and Sarah Willey, Director of Outreach and Development, will be visiting Rolla. They will hold an informal Coffee Conversation with Great Rivers at Panera. Everyone is invited, no fixed agenda. Great Rivers has been fighting for our environment since 2002. 3. EVOLVE OR DIE Robert Koehler is the only journalist I know of that is talking about human evolution. He's not talking about Darwin's survival of the fittest, but an evolution of the mind, the heart, or even the soul, if you believe that way. Obviously, we don't have thousands of years to develop the physical characteristics that will enable us to thrive in the kind of climate we are about to bequeath to our descendants. The good news is that the hard-wiring is already in place for humans to become loving, caring, responsible stewards of our planet — all that's missing is the will. There are signs of hope. There is a lot of activism going on in the generation that is just now reaching their teens. They are realizing that we older folks are not taking care of business, and that they are going to pay the price, and they are making their voices heard. Here's one example. I was also pleasantly surprised to read a speech by Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, in which he talks about the connectedness of all people. That's not what your government would have you believe about Iran's leaders. Tom writes about it in his column. Here's the link. What we are up against, as Koehler points out, is a 10,000-year-old habit of seeing Nature as separate from ourselves, as something to exploit. That's one habit we need to kick, fast! He quotes David Korten, who says, “Humans might be the first species to knowingly choose self-extinction.” Let's not be those humans. Here's Koehler's article — it's a good read. 4. MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Nuclear War b) Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: I Misspoke c) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Addresses Code Pink Peace Delegation to Iran d) Afghanistan Peace Talks e) False Flag Operation in Venezuela f) Love This Lady! NUCLEAR WAR Humanity dodged another bullet last week in Kashmir as Pakistan and India, which seemed on the verge of lobbing nukes at each other, appear to have calmed down somewhat. Here Stephen Kinzer asks how many more bullets can we dodge? Kinzer gives us the following hypothetical scenario: Maybe it's time to return to the Iran Nuclear Deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) before it's too late. Maybe it's time to rein in our rogue ally, Saudi Arabia, before it's too late. Maybe it's time to renegotiate the INF (Intermediate Nuclear-Forces) Treaty with Russia, before it's too late. Maybe its time for the USA and all nuclear weapon states to sign onto the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, before its too late.“The most terrifying new nuclear powers would be Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran has enough scientific talent to develop a bomb, and Saudi Arabia could buy what it needs. Hearing the leaders of those countries snarl at each other is scary enough today. If both had nuclear weapons — not a far-fetched scenario if present trends continue — war between them could be devastating.” TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS: I MISSPOKE On February 22, South Africa became the 22nd country to ratify the treaty. Let's hear a loud HIP, HIP, HOORAY! for South Africa. Maybe after the near miss in Kashmir we'll be seeing some more activity on this treaty. IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF ADDRESSES CODE PINK PEACE DELEGATION TO IRAN I was very favorably impressed by Mr. Zarif's talk. Transcript and audio are posted here. This is a MUST READ! (or listen). He stressed that we are all brothers and sisters together on Earth and our destinies are intertwined. Here are a few important lines: AFGHANISTAN PEACE TALKS“Clean air and clean water are rare commodities, regardless of where you live. You can be in the most developed country in the world and face the same environmental challenges as people living in the least developed country in the world, because of the very fundamental truth, that is: our world has become global. Everything has become indivisible. .... You cannot have a nice environment in San Francisco if Fiji is drowning because of global warming.” Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban drag on. According to the New York Times the current sticking point is the definition of “terrorism.” The Taliban points out that there is no single accepted definition of terrorism. Indeed, there isn't. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Never forget that Ronald Reagan called the Nicaraguan Contras the moral equivalent of our founding fathers, when indeed, they were widely disparaged in Nicaragua as terrorists. And I'm sure King George III of England used to think of George Washington as a terrorist. Meanwhile, the Taliban continues to make gains on the ground and Afghanistan has been hit by the most devastating floods in seven years FALSE FLAG OPERATION IN VENEZUELA In case you were taken in by the line that the Venezuelan government torched some trucks filled with humanitarian aid from the United States, the embedded video here shows clearly that it was the US supported opposition and not the government which torched the trucks. You can't attack people with your right hand and offer them humanitarian aid with your left. That's not humanitarian aid. LOVE THIS LADY! Newly-elected Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar has just challenged one more Sacred Cow. Having first challenged AIPAC and the Israel lobby, and then convicted felon and special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, she now points out that some of Donald Trump's most heinous crimes like separating children from their parents and murdering civilians by drone were actually Obama-era policies which Trump inherited. Keep up the good work, Ms. Omar. Sacred Cows make great hamburger meat! 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 |