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Rolla Peace News August 11, 2015 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015 2. IS THE PEACE MOVEMENT DEAD? 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) One Monumental Injustice comes To An End b) Scientists or Hire c) Kids Who Die ================================ 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015, (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. IS THE PEACE MOVEMENT DEAD? Where have all the antiwar protesters gone? We haven't disappeared. Some of us are out protesting the Keystone Pipeline, or fracking. Some are working for climate responsibility. Some are demonstrating for animal rights, or women's rights, or gay rights. Many are on the front lines protesting the senseless and needless killings of black citizens by the police. And a few of us are still standing in front of the Post Office, with signs saying “Peace is Patriotic,” or “Support the Troops — Bring Them Home.” Divide and conquer has been the name of the game, and it has worked well. Humanity and the planet are being attacked on so many fronts that it's hard to decide which is the most needful of action. The thing is, it's all about War. War is being made on the people of Earth and on Earth itself, by people who know no loyalty or morality — only a desire for power over others. The global corporations, the people who control them and the politicians who do their bidding are determined to keep us asleep and compliant. They didn't like that so many young folks made such a ruckus about the Vietnam War that the nation as a whole woke up and said, “We don't want to do this any more.” So they have used fear and circuses to put people back to sleep, or at least hiding under the bed or zoned out on television. They have made laws that allow protesters to be criminalized, that allow politicians to be bought with impunity, and that allow people to be tortured and executed without trial, and without publicity. Despite all this, humanity is waking up. If all the efforts that are being made on all these different fronts could be somehow brought together, what could we not accomplish? Here's a link to Tom Englehardt's article on the subject . He draws different conclusions than I have drawn, but what he says is valid, if a bit wordy. I disagree with his theory that apathy has won, though — there are an awful lot of us all over the world fighting the good fight, in whatever way we can. And something anyone can do, being the kindest, most loving human being that one can, may do more to save the world than all the protesting. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) One Monumental Injustice comes To An End b) Scientists or Hire c) Kids Who Die ONE MONUMENTAL INJUSTICE COMES TO AN END Jeff Mizanskey was the only person in Missouri serving life without parole for nothing but marijuana offenses. After a petition on change.org garnered almost 400,000 signatures, Governor Nixon commuted his sentence to life with the possibility of parole and it appears that the parole board has granted Jeff his parole. Congratulations to Jeff Mizanskey on his upcoming freedom and to his son, Chris, who worked so tirelessly to free his father. And thank you Jeremiah Nixon and the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole for (partially) righting this grievous wrong. SCIENTISTS FOR HIRE Who would you trust: a politician? a lawyer? a used car salesman? How about a scientist? Well, if you thought you had seen it all with scientists supporting tobacco use, scientists denying human-caused global warming, scientists supporting nuclear energy as a "safe carbon-free" alternative and scientists helping the CIA devise new ways to torture people; now we have scientists supporting .... if you guessed Coca Cola, you are right. Drink all the liquid sugar you like, they say. You can always exercise it off. Mark Morford writes, “Coca-Cola Asks: How Stupid Are You, Really?” And then answers the question, “If you’re the Coca-Cola company (or the NRA, or Monsanto, or RJ Reynolds, or Taco Bell, et al), the answer is: Very. You are very stupid. Still. Now and forever. They are counting on it.” Morford's article glosses over the likely toxicity of "sugar-free" alternatives. The bottom line: Every profession has members that are cruel, greedy and dishonest. Some more so than others. A recent Gallup poll found nursing to be the most trusted profession; members of Congress are the least trusted (in case you wondered). Scientists were not polled. Maybe Gallup will include them next time. KIDS WHO DIE One year after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, little has changed — except that the movement is growing. And if it continues to grow — we will certainly see substantive changes. Watch this very short video of Danny Glover reciting the 1938 Langston Hughes poem, Kids Who Die. And read this article by Bree Newsome, the courageous Black woman who scaled the flagpole at the South Carolina State Courthouse and took down the confederate flag. ================== 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 ### |