+' Rolla Peace Newsletter, October 3, 2017

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Rolla Peace News

October 3, 2017

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Dear Friends:

          In this newsletter is:

1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017
2. GUNS AND DEATH: THE NUMBERS
3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          a) Is the United States At War With North Korea?
          b) Stanislav Petrov: Requiescat In Pace
          c) Choices
          d) Las Vegas Shooting

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1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, October 5, 2017

We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 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 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. GUNS AND DEATH: THE NUMBERS

The title of Juan Cole's article alone makes clear the relationship between gun control or lack thereof and firearm-related deaths. In a one-year period, there were 26 gun-related deaths in England/Wales (equivalent to 130 in a population equal to the U.S.) vs. 11,000+ in the U.S. The difference? Gun control. The statistics Cole cites show a clear correlation between the rate of gun ownership and the rate of gun-related deaths.

Australia had a mass shooting in 1996, after which gun control was instituted. They haven't had a single such incident since. We just had the “worst mass shooting in U.S. history.” Our government's response? “Now's not the time to talk about it.” So when is the time to talk about it, if not now? There are over 11,000 gun deaths a year in this country — that's over 30 per day. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says it's “premature” to have a gun debate. Now is the time for us to “unite as a country.” I'll second that! Let's unite as a country and get behind gun control.

Don't miss the video clip from the Daily Show at the end of Juan Cole's article. Trevor Noah makes some good points. He's no Jon Stewart, but he's pretty good.

3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org)
          a) Is the United States At War With North Korea?
          b) Stanislav Petrov: Requiescat In Pace
          c) Choices
          d) Las Vegas Shooting

IS THE UNITED STATES AT WAR WITH NORTH KOREA?

Clearly! The armistice signed at Panmunjom in 1953 was not a peace treaty; it was simply a cease-fire preliminary to peace negotiations. Peace negotiations were a dismal failure. The United States has maintained a continuous military presence in South Korea since the signing of the armistice. When the United States introduced nuclear weapons into South Korea in 1956, it violated paragraph 13d of the armistice. China withdrew its troops from North Korea in 1958.

It should be noted that both Koreas claimed to be the legitimate government of all Koreans. The Korean War of 1950-1953 started as a civil war until the United Nations, represented principally by the United States, intervened on the side of the South. China, and to a lesser extent the Soviet Union, later entered the war on the side of the North.

Thus, it could be said that North Korea is not only at war with the United States; but with the entire world. The entire world continues to sanction North Korea for doing no more than what other nations are doing.

Consider that if the United States and the Soviet Union had not partitioned Korea into spheres of influence, without regard for the desires of the Korean people, all this would never have happened.

The situation in Korea in 1945 was similar to that of Austria. Austria had been annexed by Germany, Korea by Japan. Both were colonial annexations without regard for the people being annexed. Austria was divided after World War II, but later reunited as a neutral country. Korea was never given that opportunity.

STANISLAV PETROV: REQUIESCAT IN PACE

Last May, Stanislav Petrov, “The Man Who Saved The World” passed away at age 77 . Petrov was on duty in 1983, when the sirens signaled a surprise attack coming from the United States. Petrov could have followed orders and reported it. He didn't. Had he, I would not be here to write this and you would not be here to read this. Petrov disobeyed orders. It was a false-alarm.

There have been many close calls and false alarms; but this one came at a particularly dangerous moment when the Soviet Union was on high alert due to threats from then-president Ronald Reagan.

Reading this account made me wonder: North Korea is certainly on high alert now due to threats from President Trump. Likely, their early warning system is far more error-prone than the 1983 Soviet early warning system. So let's consider the following scenerio:
The computer screens at military headquarters in North Korea suddenly go blank. Cyber attack, to be followed, by gigatons of US bombs. They waste no time launching the nukes. A few seconds later the computer screens light up. Software glitch. False alarm. Oops, we launched the nukes; and there is no bringing them back; and even if we could; US bombs would be sure to follow on their heels.

Minutes later, Seoul is in flames; followed by Tokyo. The US responds with its nukes; followed by Russia and then China. Soon the skies are filled with nukes streaking toward their destinations. India and Pakistan launch their nukes at each other. Israel nukes Iran. When a nuke goes astray and blows up over Russia; Russia responds with overwhelming force. Soon most of the cities of the world are on fire. Billions die. They are the lucky ones. Billions more will die a slow death.
Pretty? Yes? There is still time to deescalate. But where is the will?

Put yourself in Petrov's shoes. What would you do? Launch the nukes and kill a billion people? Just ride it out? Maybe its a false alarm; and even if its not, who wants to meet their God with the blood of a billion people on their hands?

Reading about Petrov's death, I thought of this sermon by Utah Phillips:
“Look, the President makes choices. The Congress makes choices. The Chief of Staff makes choices. The officers make choices. All those choices percolate down to the individual trooper with his finger on the trigger. The individual private with his thumb on the button that drops the bomb. If that trigger doesn’t get pulled, if that button doesn’t get pushed, all those other choices vanish as if they never were. They’re meaningless. So what is the critical choice?”
CHOICES

Here is an interesting article by Mark Bowden from the Atlantic.

Bowden offers four alternatives for dealing with North Korea, noting that none of them are good.
1. An all out first strike,
2. A limited strike,
3. Assassination of leaders,
4. Acceptance of a nuclear armed North Korea.
The article is somewhat long but well worth reading. Bowden opines that acceptance is probably the best of the four. As far as it goes, I would agree; but here is a fifth alternative which is far better: Peace.

Let's unilaterally cease all provocative actions toward North Korea, preparatory toward resuming, with no preconditions, long overdue peace negotiations.

LAS VEGAS SHOOTING

As I began writing this column, news came of the Las Vegas shooting. For no apparent reason, a white non-Islamic male opened fire on a crowd, killing over 50 and wounding in excess of 500.

Is there a connection between the US president threatening to totally destroy a nation of 24 million people, and a mass murder by a retired gambler? I think there is. Violence begets violence. Our wars are coming home. They have been for years. This is an age of universal insanity.

As Hamza Yusuf noted: “We are living in a time that's so extreme that if it doesn't drive you mad, you are not sane.” In this video Yusuf discusses both civilian and military violence.

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Wage peace,

Helen
helenm (at) fidnet.com

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