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Rolla Peace News December 27, 2016 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016 2. ALL WE HAVE IS EACH OTHER 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) Trump's Nuclear Madness: Been There, Done That
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016, (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 40s. 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. ALL WE HAVE IS EACH OTHER It's sad that we needed to be in such a dire situation to realize this. How did we get here? I doubt there's anyone who will read this who doesn't know; we and countless others have been pointing out the trend away from democracy and a free society for years. You can read Chris Hedges' take on it here. The fact is, each other is all we've ever had. Everything else is just stuff that distracts us from who we really are. We ARE each other; we are One. Our apparent separateness has been brainwashed into us for centuries, but inside even the most bigoted, racist, gun-toting, Fox-News-addicted white guy, that knowledge lives. It's fear that keeps people out of love for their fellow humans, and that fear has been programmed into us. The ones that have been doing the programming are the most fearful of all, because they know what they have done, and they fear the retribution of the Universe. If you think just having each other isn't much with which to stand up to the ugliness that's going on, and the worse ugliness that's coming, take a look at the Standing Rock Sioux and those who are standing with them. Together we are powerful, and unity is our only hope. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) TRUMP'S NUCLEAR MADNESS: BEEN THERE; DONE THAT Ol' Donald has caused quite a stir again, suggesting a nuclear arms race. Lots of people think Donald Trump mad, and are frightened and concerned that he'll blow up the world; and well he might. But here's the part that really got to me: “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes” —Donald TrumpOk. The first country to possess nuclear weapons, and the country with the most powerful and diverse nuclear arsenal, and the only country to ever drop a nuclear weapon on a city, is waiting for “such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.” It isn't spelled out what is meant by “coming to its senses;” but one might surmise that if the rest of the world gave up their nuclear weapons and nuclear ambitions, leaving the United States the world's sole nuclear power, this would pass for “coming to its senses.” This is pretty much mainstream thinking, here in the belly of the nuclear beast. If it's out of the ordinary at all, it's only that it is being said bluntly, without even a “but don't worry folks, we're the good guys, and we wouldn't use our nukes, except on the bad guys, and anyway, the good guys always win.” Still, there is nothing like a bit of history to put a little madness in perspective. In 1969 Richard Nixon was anointed President of the United States. Nixon had a secret plan to end the War Against Vietnam. That secret plan, we know now, was to pretend to be mad — to act like if North Vietnam didn't capitulate, he would loose nuclear holocaust on the world. To back up this threat he sent nuclear armed aircrafts to the borders of the Soviet Union, where they flew for days, in the vain hope that the Soviet Union would be frightened into cutting off support for North Vietnam. In truth, Nixon need not have pretended to be mad. He WAS mad — mad as a Prince Hamlet with nukes. What kind of person would risk starting a nuclear war because things weren't going his way? — Only a mad person would even contemplate such a thing. Fortunately for the world, the Soviets weren't mad — not even pretending. They refused to escalate this game of nuclear chicken. Yup. We been there, done that. We've played the mad card before. It didn't work. Here's another bit of history: In 1970, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed now by 191 nations including the United States, came into force. A key provision, Article VI, reads: “Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”And here we are — 46 years later — again escalating the nuclear arms race. “early date” might be somewhat vague; but clearly, after 46 years, the nuclear powers, particularly the United States as the mightiest of the nuclear powers, are in breach of their treaty obligations. A couple of months ago, some non-nuclear nations got fed up with the nuclear powers and called for a UN conference in 2017 to totally outlaw nuclear weapons. The vote was 123 in favor, 38 against and 16 abstaining. The United States and its nuclear allies: Britain, France and Israel all voted against calling the conference. (Voted against even talking about nuclear disarmament for God's sake.) The only nuclear power to vote in favor of the conference was North Korea. (And people here call the North Koreans crazy???) The other four nuclear powers: Russia voted no and China, India and Pakistan abstained. Most surprising to me was Japan. Japan, which has suffered far more from nuclear weapons than any other nation on Earth, voted against the conference. And so nuclear madness continues. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a war crime. The nuclear arms race and the possession of nuclear weapons is a crime against God, humanity and nature. Donald Trump didn't start this madness, although he seems to want to perpetuate and even escalate it. That, my friends, leaves it up to us, WE, THE PEOPLE. If not us, then who? ================== 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 ### |