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Rolla Peace News June 18, 2019 |
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Dear Friends: http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter061819.html In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019 2. CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY: THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 6:30PM 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Red Scare Stifles International Cooperation in Medical Research b) Mohamed Morsi Dies in Egyptian Court c) Soccer 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 20 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 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. CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY: THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 6:30PM The Rolla chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby will gather in the meeting room of the Rolla children's library at 6:30pm, Thursday, June 20. Susan Wrasmann and Laura Ulrich will report on their recent lobbying trip to Washington DC. Everyone is welcome. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Red Scare Stifles International Cooperation in Medical Research b) Mohamed Morsi Dies in Egyptian Court c) Soccer RED SCARE STIFLES INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN MEDICAL RESEARCH Chinese-American researchers are being forced out of US institutions over fear that they are helping China “steal” our “intellectual property.” I've always felt that “intellectual property” is an oxymoron. This is particularly true when it comes to scientific research. Suppose a researcher finds a cure for cancer. Should he have a right to charge people dying of cancer obscene quantities of money for his cure? Tell me it ain't so. But as Bloomberg points out, “Everything is commodified in the economic cold war with China, including the struggle to find a cure for cancer.” It appears that the focus has “shifted away from research collaborations and toward business opportunities.” Maybe if we didn't allow the pharmaceutical industry to make obscene profits over people's medical misfortunes, this would not be happening. Incidentally, without our foreign-born intellectual talent, our universities and research institutions would be hardly a shell of what they are now. In some circles this is called “Make America Great Again.” MOHAMED MORSI DIES IN EGYPTIAN COURT Mohamed Morsi, who was elected President of the Arab Republic of Egypt in 2012 following the events of Arab Spring that deposed former strongman Hosni Mubarak, died in court yesterday. He was facing multiple politically motivated charges. His death has been called “premeditated murder” by not allowing him adequate health care in prison. Morsi was deposed and then imprisoned in a military coup with the support of the United States. It's interesting how so many true believers in Democracy are perfectly willing to look the other way when a democratically elected government which they don't happen to like is deposed in a military coup or by a foreign power. Seems to me if one believes in the ability of the people to govern themselves, one ought to be able to accept whatever mistakes the people make — in my opinion, a trifle compared to mistakes made by elites. Also noteworthy is that I read this first on a Venezuelan news site. SOCCER After having defeated a US instigated coup last month, Venezuela went on to beat the US soccer team 3—0 last week, in spite of the grueling sanctions the US has imposed on Venezuela. Let's level the playing field by ending all sanctions of Venezuela and other countries. 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 |