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Rolla Peace News March 24, 2015 |
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Dear Friends: In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 2. SOLIDARITY, NOT FEAR 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) “Reinvigorated Partnership” — No End In Sight b) No Survivors Expected
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 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 40s. 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. SOLIDARITY, NOT FEAR The World Social Forum opened today in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, with a march numbering tens of thousands of men and women from thousands of social activist organizations and 120 countries. Two primary themes of this year's Forum are climate justice and global feminism, though many other issues will be discussed. This is an event you will not have read about in the mainstream media, nor seen on television. It's not in the interest of the corporate/government elite to draw attention to the fact that so many people are gathered together in the name of peace and justice for all. These are activists, people who are going to go home and do something; and many of them are women. Women are waking up all over the world and realizing that they are powerful; perhaps it's not too late. Probably no one reading this is going to be in Tunisia for this 5-day event, but there is still something we can all do: We can meditate, pray, send positive energy, whatever you want to call it, and we can hold the vision of a world without fear. We cheer for the Cardinals, don't we (or whatever team you're a fan of)? Let's be fans of peace and cheer on (even if only silently, in our hearts) the brave folks who are gathering in Tunis to co-create a better world for all of us. Here is an essay by one of those powerful women mentioned above: Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of Oxfam International. She believes it is possible to create a new economic system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. What it takes is organization. This is where the “99%” have failed so far; the people who are doing “okay” don't want to rock the boat for fear of losing what they have, and those who have nothing are busy trying to survive or have totally given up. And of course, many people have bought the establishment propaganda that this is the best system possible, and anyway it's not possible to change it. That may appear to be true on a national level, for now, but locally, in communities, your vote can really have an impact. Change starts right where you are and spreads outward. And as Ms. Byanyima says, “We are many, they are few.” 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) “Reinvigorated Partnership” — No End In Sight b) No Survivors Expected “REINVIGORATED PARTNERSHIP” — NO END IN SIGHT Seems like some 10,000 US troops are going to remain in Afghanistan for the entire year now that Barack Obama and Ashraf Ghani have “reinvigorated” their partnership. Well what's one more year in a war that has already lasted more than 13. (36 years if you want to go back to the days when The United States created the anti-Soviet Mujahideen in 1979.) Sonali Kolhatkar remarks that, “Having the U.S. stay on cannot make the situation any better as it is U.S. involvement that has taken Afghanistan to the brink of utter devastation.” More devastation for Afghanistan, and for the US, another estimated $4 Billion withering green ones flushed down the toilet. NO SURVIVORS EXPECTED This morning I woke up around 8:00 am. A cold rain was falling and the temperature had fallen into the mid 30s. I thought of my plants that I left outside thinking the morning temperature would be 10 degrees warmer and cussed the weatherman. Why can't they be more accurate, I thought? I apologized to my plants as I brought them inside. Fortunately they all seem to be ok. Then I read the news... Today, Germanwings Fl. 9525 went down in the French alps probably killing all 150 aboard, including 16 students and two opera singers. It made me think of two air disasters last year: Malaysia Airlines Fl. 370 in which all 238 aboard probably died and Malaysia Airlines Fl. 17 in which all 298 aboard died.... About five years ago, I stopped flying. Lots of reasons: airport (in)security, never liked flying, tired of traveling. But I think the most important reason was the thought that what the hell was I doing 33,000 feet above sea-level? Back to Germanwings Fl. 9525 — it made me think and do a little research — and led me to Wikipedia's list of aircraft incidents involving 50 or more fatalities. Germanwings had already been added and was the sole 2015 incident on the list. I checked 2014: There were the two Malaysian airline flights along with three others: There was a sole survivor to one incident; the others yielded no known survivors. But what really struck me was all six of these flights occured en route, presumable the safest phase of an air-flight. All except Malaysian 17 were listed as “accident/incident.” Hey! What's going on in our atmosphere at 33,000 feet? Here's a hypothesis I wish to put on the table. Keep in mind that it's the product of one deranged mind with absolutely no scientific evidence to back it up. We know that because of human-induced climate change the atmosphere is heating up and becoming less stable. Near the surface, catastrophic weather events have become more numerous and more intense. So, why not at 33,000 feet above sea level too? Perhaps events at 33,000 feet can happen with no warning and be so intense they can totally disable an aircraft before a distress call can be made. What's that you say? Requires more research? I agree. Meanwhile, I'll continue to stay out of airplanes. ================== 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 ### |