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Rolla Peace News

May 22, 2018
Dear Friends:

Note from webperson: If you are having trouble reading this, it is posted at

http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter052218.html

          In this newsletter is:

1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018
2. ABOUT TIME!
3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          Scariest News Item Of The Week

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1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018

We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, MAY 24, 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 in the 80s. 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. ABOUT TIME!

Finally, after years of doing nothing while Palestinians were imprisoned, starved, denied basic human rights, expelled from their homes, and killed: The United Nations last Friday voted to send war crimes investigators to Israel, after yet another massacre of unarmed protesters in which 60 were killed and over 2000 wounded. Not surprisingly, the United States voted against this, as did Australia, with 14 other nations abstaining.

Israelis seem to feel that since their ancestors lived in Palestine 2000 years ago, they are divinely entitled to take whatever they please from the people who have been living there for centuries. Perhaps they feel they have religious precedent: When Joshua “fit” the battle of Jericho, the Israelites slaughtered every human being living there, and claimed the land of Canaan as their own “promised land.”

By this logic, Native Americans in the U.S. would be entitled to kick the rest of us out of our comfy homes and herd us all into the desert, because they were here first — which isn't going to happen, because they don't have the power to do it. The only reason the Israelis were able to invade and conquer the territory they now occupy is that the Western nations wanted a power center in the Middle East from which to exploit the natural resources there, and put their military might behind the Zionists.

Human rights chief Zeid Ra-ad Al Hussein spoke eloquently against the “horrific” attacks just before the vote. In concluding, he said “What do you become when you shoot to kill someone who is unarmed, and not an immediate threat to you? You are neither brave, nor a hero. You have become someone very different to that.”

We in this country would do well to keep that in mind, as our bombs and missiles destroy indiscriminately airports and hospitals, armed troops and civilians, chemical plants and water treatment plants. What are we becoming?

3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)

SCARIEST NEWS ITEM OF THE WEEK

No it's not the increased likelihood of nuclear war with North Korea, although that is scary too.

No, its not the murder of over 100 Palestinians in Gaza by Israelis, although that is scary too.

No, its not Israelis chanting “Burn Them, Shoot Them, Kill Them” referring to Palestinian demonstrators, although that is scary too.

No, its not the increased likelihood that the Middle Eastern War will expand to include Iran, although that is scary too.

No, its not the eruption of Mount Kilauea in Hawaii, although that is scary too.

No, Its not the prevalence of floods all over the world, many totally unexpected, although that is scary too.

No, its not the prediction of another monster hurricane season in the Atlantic and Carribean, although that is scary too.

No, its not the emasculation of the EPA, although that is scary too.

No, it's not that Donald Trump called refugees “animals”, although that is scary too.

No its not that ICE is tearing infants from the arms of their mothers, although that is scary too.

No, its not the new outbreak of Ebola in Africa, although that is scary too.

No, its not the deep cuts in the budget to combat infectious disease, although that is scary too.

No its not the latest school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas , although that is scary too.

No, its not that our multi-trillion dollar military has fought many wars and destroyed many countries, but hasn't won a single war since 1945, although that is scary too.

No, it's not that 42 billionaires control more wealth than 3.7 billion people, although that is scary too.

Well, What is it? Tired of guessing games? Here 'tis!

CFCs, which were banned under the Montreal Protocol of 1987, are making a comeback and inhibiting the regeneration of Earth's protective ozone layer; and no one knows exactly why. The Montreal Protocol is the gold standard of international pollution agreements. Atmospheric pollution sleuths (whose budgets in the United States are being slashed) believe someone in East Asia is cheating on the Montreal Protocol and they wonder what, if anything, they can do about it.

The dangers of continued use of CFCs are clear. They destroy the Earth's ozone layer which absorbs deadly ultraviolet radiation. The benefits of not using them are also clear. The ozone layer has been recovering. Furthermore there are alternatives available which are not so dangerous.

So why would someone be manufacturing CFCs? Its cheap and easy and a good way to make a few bucks. Same reason we fight wars. Same reason we destroy our environment.

Well, what can we do about it? Find the perpetrators and make them stop? Think of whoever is doing this as the al-Queda of the pollution world. They are unlikely to wave a red flag and say here we are; Likely they are paying off the local gendarmes, bureaucrats and warlords. Folks like this flourish in a world full of failed states, warlordism and corruption. And if necessary they can always move to a more hospitable location — kind of like the opium trade.

This is the sign of the times. The powerful have lost control and made themselves irrelevant.

The way to stop this, perhaps the only way to stop this kind of behavior is for everyone to be treated with respect and have their basic needs met. Then everyone has a vested interested in keeping the established order afloat. But the world seems to be going in the opposite direction.

I know many are worried about the rise of authoritarianism and fascism. I wouldn't worry too much about an Orwellian world. I think an anarchy is far more likely — a lawless world, where for all its might, the established order is powerless

So why is this worse then all the other atrocities listed above? Because we've lived with the above list of atrocities for a long time. It's simply more of the same. Here we have something new. Something we thought was secure is being taken from us.

Of course, it's all one in the same. It all flows from a society steeped in violence, greed and corruption.

What to do? End the violence, greed and corruption and many good things will follow.

Here is a judgment from the I Ching that describes this situation well. The emphasis is mine.
PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT

The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
Success.

The weight of the great is excessive. The load is too heavy for the strength of the supports. The ridgepole on which the whole roof rests, sags to the breaking point, because its supporting ends are too weak for the load they bear. It is an exceptional time and situation; therefore extraordinary measures are demanded. It is necessary to find a way of transition as quickly as possible, and to take action. This promises success. For although the strong element is in excess, it is in the middle, that is, at the center of gravity, so that a revolution is not to be feared. Nothing is to be achieved by forcible measures. The problem must be solved by gentle penetration to the meaning of the situation. Then the change-over to other conditions will be successful. It demands real superiority; therefore the time when the great preponderates is a momentous time.
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Wage peace,

Helen
helenm (at) fidnet.com

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