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Rolla Peace News May 31, 2016 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016 2. AFTER MEMORIAL DAY: MORE WAR 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Fort McMurray Fire Still Burns Out of Control b) Welcome to Our Post-Antibiotic World c) Baby Born in New Jersey With Microcephaly, Thought to Be Zika Induced
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016, (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 high 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. AFTER MEMORIAL DAY: MORE WAR Tom and I spent Memorial Day in Columbia with the Veterans for Peace organization, and marched with them in the Memorial Day parade. We did not go to the “official” Memorial Day celebration afterwards, where the minions of the military-industrial complex talked about the glory of war. We went instead to the Veterans for Peace memorial gathering, where we talked about our country's addiction to violence as conflict resolution, and the real reasons for war, which have nothing to do with honor or glory. We heard how young people from low-income families are lured with promises of travel and adventure and educational assistance to serve as the next batch of cannon fodder, while those who send them out to kill or be killed rake in the dough from weapon sales and other war-related industry. And we heard, from “real” veterans (not the arm-chair generals who play war like a game), what war is really like, and what it does to those who participate in it. Medea Benjamin's article is somewhat disjointed, but brings together a lot of information, some of which you probably already know, and makes some very good points. One thing she noted was the way the anti-war movement sharply declined after Obama's election, presumably because everyone thought Obama was going to end the wars of aggression as he had promised. Here in Rolla, all but a few of us who stand for peace every Thursday dropped out of the vigils after Obama was elected. Nearly 8 years later, we have more war than ever. It isn't going to do any good to be indignant about the injustice of war if we don't try to do anything about it. Here's my favorite quote from the article — from the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tse: “It is only when you see a mosquito landing on your testicles that you realize that there is always a way to solve problems without using violence.” 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Fort McMurray Fire Still Burns Out of Control b) Welcome to Our Post-Antibiotic World c) Baby Born in New Jersey With Microcephaly, Thought to Be Zika Induced FORT MCMURRAY FIRE STILL BURNS OUT OF CONTROL Although folks will begin returning to Fort McMurray tomorrow, the Fort McMurray fire, which so far has consumed almost 1.5 million acres of boreal forest, still burns out of control. Burning trees have been turned to a plume of carbon dioxide, adding to the warming of the Earth which is to a great extent responsible for this megafire. Parts of Fort McMurray remain uninhabitable due to the presence of toxic ash. WELCOME TO OUR POST-ANTIBIOTIC WORLD The first superbug, resistant to all known antibiotics, has arrived in the United States, a harbinger of the post-antibiotic world to come. While we spend our strength and energies fighting wars of choice all over the world — the first antibiotic resistant bacterium, aka the ISIS bug, has arrived on our shores. Likely, there will be more. Spurred on by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, bacteria can mutate faster than humans can develop new antibiotics. Welcome to our post-antibiotic world. BABY BORN IN NEW JERSEY WITH MICROCEPHALY, THOUGHT TO BE ZIKA INDUCED And the zika virus, aka the illegal-alien virus, spread by mosquitoes and thought to cause microcephaly has arrived in New Jersey, where a child infected with the zika virus was born with an underdeveloped brain. The mother is thought to have contracted the zika virus while visiting Honduras. Hmmm — wonder if all these walls and barriers politicians want to build on our southern border will keep mosquitoes and viruses out. Our warming climate favors the spread of mosquitoes and mosquito-related diseases northward. And Honduras was the location of a recent Hillary-Clinton-supported coup, which has been followed by an increase in violence and a decrease in available healthcare. ================== 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 ### |