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Rolla Peace News July 23, 2019 |
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Dear Friends: http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter072319.html In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019 2. CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY: THURSDAY, JULY 25, 7:00PM 3. GREAT RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER TO VISIT ROLLA ON TUESDAY, JULY 30 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) No Wars for Oil; Keep it in the Ground b) Turkey: Tired of Being Bullied c) Scientists v. Indigenous Peoples 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, JULY 25, 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. CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY: THURSDAY, JULY 25, 7:00PM The Rolla chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby will gather in the meeting room of the Rolla children's library at 7:00pm, Thursday, July 25. Everyone is welcome. 3. GREAT RIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER TO VISIT ROLLA ON TUESDAY, JULY 30 Great Rivers Environmental Law Center will host an informal coffee conversation at Panera in Rolla from 1:30 to 3:00pm on Tuesday, July 30. Everyone is welcome. No fixed agenda. Come share your environmental concerns and hopes for the future of Rolla with Bruce Morrison, incoming President and lead attorney in the 11-year battle that saved Buehler Park; Kathleen Henry, retiring President and member of the Board of Directors; and Linden Mueller, Director of Outreach and Development. Great Rivers has just won an amazing victory without even having to go to court. For years Valley Park Motomart has been dumping e-coli, oil, grease and other pollutants into the Meramec River. Great Rivers gave them a 60-day notice of intent to sue and they cleaned up their act fast. Great Rivers has Missouri's polluters running scared. 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) No Wars for Oil; Keep it in the Ground b) Turkey: Tired of Being Bullied c) Scientists v. Indigenous Peoples No Wars for Oil; Keep it in the Ground Lots of folks are worried that we are heading into another dumb Middle East war, this time with Iran. Here, Juan Cole lays out the legalities of the ongoing tanker battle: Cole feels that John Bolton tricked the UK into seizing the Iranian tanker; but I have another theory:“First, the EU ban on oil sales to Syria concerned only EU member states. I think a lot of the British elite are delusional and living in the past when “Brittania ruled the Waves” and could commit any act of piracy on the high seas they chose and get away with it. In its heyday in the early 20th Century, Britain plundered Iran's oil resources; so theft and piracy are nothing new — except that Iran is now paying the British back by seizing its ships. Donald Trump is delusional too. North Korea, Nicaragua , Venezuela .... so far just empty threats. That's the thing about bullies: Stand up to them and they back down. Kowtow to them and you encourage them. I suspect Trump will back down with Iran too — but maybe I'm wrong — we'll see. Seems its only here in the United States and among our European allies that folks are cowed by the great Bully-in-Chief. But here's what I don't understand. It's way past time to give up our addiction to fossil fuels and just leave them in the ground. So why are we so ready to go to War over oil? How come 350.org, Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion and all the other climate-advocacy organizations aren't weighing in on this? Why aren't they saying, “Stop fighting wars over oil. Just leave it in the ground.” So many climate-activists have a blind spot when it comes to War. The Peace movement is doing much better in recognizing that our militarism and our assault upon the Earth are intertwined. Nothing much will be done to reverse climate change until we tackle our addiction to War. To quote Katherine Ball: The most eco-friendly thing you can do is be anti-war. It's a golden opportunity. I'm hoping the Climate movement and the Peace movement can join together, make common cause and call for the closure of both the Straits of Gibraltar and Hormuz to oil traffic. Turkey: Tired of Being Bullied Tiring of Donald Trump's bullying, Turkey took delivery of the first installment of Russia's S-400 Missile Defense System. Donald Trump was livid and threatening ... you guessed it ... sanctions. Turkey also unveiled plans to wean itself militarily away from the U.S. and build it's own fighter jet. Apparently, Turkey is really serious about becoming a military power to be reckoned with. So much so, that they have jailed a number of academics for the crime of signing a petition advocating peace. This world gets more and more dangerous every day. Scientists v. Indigenous Peoples Two years ago in the months leading up to the first March for Science, I wrote an article pointing out that far from being a solution to all our problems, scientists are a major cause of them. I also pointed out the elitism involved in the March for Science and the science establishment in general. I've been waiting for the proper moment to elaborate on this; and that moment has come with the attempt to build a $1.4 billion, 300 meter telescope atop the mountain, Mauna Kea, in Hawaii. Mauna Kea, which already sports 13 telescopes, is sacred to indigenous Hawaiians. So here we have scientists saying our new billion dollar toy that will allow us to see farther is more important than your gods and your culture, so just get out of our way. And as scientists look farther and farther out into space, the Earth continues to crumble under our feet. Science has a lot in common with other sacred cows like progress, capitalism and development. While 90% of the benefits go to the elite, 90% of the risks and sacrifices come from the people. Fortunately, indigenous water-protectors and their allies continue to oppose the telescope. Here are links to a two part Democracy Now interview with activist Pua Case: part 1, part 2. And here is a link to a petition in support of the Hawaiian water-protectors who are opposing the telescope. 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 |