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Rolla Peace News April 7, 2015 |
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Dear Friends: In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, April 9, 2015 2. IT'S A DEAL 3. COLLATERAL DAMAGE 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) A Little Accountability — Maybe b) But No Accountability for Militarists c) And No Accountability for Spooks d) Rollaites Vote for Parks and Schools e) Huge Billboards Do Not a Victory Make
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 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 70s. 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 A DEAL! Well, at least there's one country in the Middle East that we won't be bombing any time soon (unless the hawks find a way to scotch the deal with Iran). Iranians are celebrating in the streets — we should be, too, except we know we aren't out of the woods yet. Republicans and some Democrats in Congress are already plotting to sabotage the agreement made in Switzerland last week. It's the most hopeful chance for peace in the Middle East that we've seen in a long time, though; diplomacy is not quite dead (yet). 3. COLLATERAL DAMAGE Five years ago, Wikileaks released a video of 2 U.S. helicopter attacks on a group of people in a Baghdad suburb. At least twelve people were killed, including 2 journalists, and several others injured, including 2 children. To watch this video is to be sickened and shamed, that our soldiers have so little humanity that they can laugh and joke while killing people and watching them die. Obviously, this video was not shown on the major networks; it's surprising that Youtube has not been pressured to take it down. If every American had to watch it, there might be a different attitude toward our involvement in these endless wars. Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning) received a 35-year prison sentence for leaking this and other classified material. She should have gotten a medal. If you haven't seen the video, here is a direct link to it on Youtube. Americans need to know what is being done in their name, however unpleasant the knowledge may be. 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) A Little Accountability — Maybe b) But No Accountability for Militarists c) And No Accountability for Spooks d) Rollaites Vote for Parks and Schools e) Huge Billboards Do Not a Victory Make A LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY — MAYBE Its finally happened: after Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Ezell Ford and many others. When a video surfaced of North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Michael Slagger shooting unarmed Walter Scott in the back multiple times, Slagger was charged with murder. I suspect, when we start holding police accountable for their actions, the number of police murders like this will plummet. In case you haven't already guessed: Slagger is White. Scott is Black. BUT NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MILITARISTS “Stuff happens,” as former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld famously said. Libya, that beacon of success among humanitarian interventions has become a failed state and Yemen grabs the limelight as the latest catastrophic Middle-Eastern war. So when are the folks who have orchestrated 14 years of war in the Middle East going to be held accountable? Don't hold your breath. Yup! Rumsfeld got that one right. “Stuff happens.” The bright spot is the recent accord with Iran which might head-off one more dumb Middle-Eastern war. But this is far from certain. Many in Congress have vowed to torpedo this agreement; and it may simply represent a realignment among players in the great Middle-Eastern war game rather than a real move toward peace. AND NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SPOOKS John Kiriakou emerged recently from prison uncowed. Kiriakou got a 30 month sentence, not for torturing anyone, but for blowing the whistle on CIA torture. In a recent interview, Kiriakou claims that CIA officials knew that Canadian citizen Mahar Arar was innocent when they “rendered” him to Syria to be tortured, but had him tortured anyway. So where's the accountability? ROLLAITES VOTE FOR PARKS AND SCHOOLS In a welcome shift, on the third go-around Rollaites approved a much-needed tax to support Rolla's public parks; and a school bond and tax which will allow the most needy children among us to go to public preschool. All three issues passed by large margins. HUGE BILLBOARDS DO NOT A VICTORY MAKE Some of you might have noticed those huge signs around town proclaiming James Marcellus for Hospital Board. (How could you have missed them?) Ignoring those huge billboards, Phelps County voters chose to reelect JoAnn Brand-Hoertel, the only health-care professional and the only woman on the hospital board by a margin of 9 percentage points. Congratulations JoAnn! ================== 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 ### |