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Rolla Peace News July 4, 2017 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017 2. RETHINKING THE 4TH OF JULY 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) The World Gets Even Scarier b) Air Flights Grounded Due To Global Warming c) Updates To Website
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017, (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 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. RETHINKING THE 4TH OF JULY Today, flags will wave, bands will play, fireworks will go off, and Americans will pat themselves on the back for being the best, the richest, the smartest in the world. Elsewhere on the planet, planes will fly, dropping bombs on the innocent and the guilty alike, tanks will roll, and people will die. Two sides of the same coin — you can't have one without the other. Why? Because from the very beginning, all Americans right up to the present were and are indoctrinated with the idea that we are superior to others, and therefore have the right to take what we want, whether it belongs to us or another, and to do what we want, whether it harms another or not. Howard Zinn spoke about this in 2006, but his words are just as relevant today. You can read his speech here. It's not only in the rest of the world that the propaganda is seen for what it is. Back in 1852, Frederick Douglass called out the white “patriots” for their hypocrisy and arrogance: Read his speech here (or listen to James Earl Jones read it. So much of what Douglass spoke of is still true. Overt slavery has ended, but now it isn't just black people who are virtual slaves, but a majority of the populace, who are working harder and harder for less and less, while a small few rake in the profits from the labor of the many. This quote from his speech has turned out to be prophecy: “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and the crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.” Mother Nature is obliging, abetted by the extremes of the present government. 5. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) The World Gets Even Scarier b) Air Flights Grounded Due To Global Warming c) Updates To Website THE WORLD GETS EVEN SCARIER In case you missed it because you were too busy celebrating US Independence Day: North Korea successfully tested a missile capable of reaching Alaska or Hawaii, and possibly even the lower 48 States. Referring to Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump opined, “Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” Well, Donald, how would you suggest that he defend his country from the likes of you? Representative Ted Lieu opined, “North Korea clings to nukes [because] it is paranoid it will be invaded.” Paranoid? With US nuclear subs off the Korean coast and US troops invading Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan? Ted, maybe realistic would be a more appropriate word than paranoid. There has never been a weapon that didn't proliferate. Nuclear weapons and ICBM technology are no exception. Maybe its time to wage Peace, before we all go up in nuclear flames. AIR FLIGHTS GROUNDED DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING Last month Phoenix reached a blistering 122 F. degrees: too hot to fly. Well, maybe there is a small plus-side to global warming. It's the density of the air. The denser the air, the more lift. Hot air is less dense than cold air. If the air is too hot, there is not enough lift to get the plane off the ground. UPDATES TO WEBSITE Posted a new graphic on the index page. Take a look. Also continuing to work on my climate graphs. 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 ### |