Bethlehem Peace Watch

UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

2009-12-01T05:54:00.002-05:00

NO ESCALATION IN AFGHANISTAN!

Call President Obama TODAY! 202-456-1111

Join or plan a demonstration Tuesday or Wednesday!

President Obama will unveil his new Afghanistan policy tomorrow. But we must not let up! Last week, we flooded the White House with so many calls that the White House Comment Line was continually busy! Now is the time to keep the pressure on and keep the calls coming.

Call the White House today at 202-456-1111.

Tell President Obama to send NO additional troops to Afghanistan, WITHDRAW the troops already there, begin serious DIPLOMACY with all parties to the conflict, and REDIRECT the money wasted on the Afghanistan war to people's urgent needs at home.

UFPJ member groups are already planning protests either Tuesday evening or Wednesday at Federal buildings or other public places.

Check the listings to find a protest in your area,

or organize one if none has been planned and post it here.

Be sure to notify the press using this sample press release.

We oppose the war because:

• 298 U.S. soldiers lost their lives so far in 2009.

Tens of thousands of returning troops are damaged by physical injury, PTSD, psychological damage, suicides, and domestic violence. There is a backlog of up to 1 year for veterans waiting for VA care.

• The war is unaffordable. The White House says we are paying $1 million a year for each soldier sent to Afghanistan. At that price, the war will soon cost $100 billion a year. Yet Congress is not willing to pay that kind of money for health care, jobs, housing, or environmental protection.

• The war is making conditions worse for the Afghan people. UNICEF reported last week that eight years after the start of U.S. military occupation of that country, Afghanistan is the world's worst place to be born. Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world -- 257 deaths per 1,000 live births - and 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean water. Afghanistan ranked 181st out of 182 countries in the UN's human development index for 2009. The presence of U.S. troops breeds resistance, conflict, and instability.

• The war is not helping Afghan women, whose conditions are as bad as ever. The government turns a blind eye to rape and violence against women. Civilian casualties, who are primarily women and children, are rising each year as the violence increases.

• In addition to being wrong, the war is also unwinnable. As U.S. troop levels have grown from 15,000 in 2004 to 68,000 now, more and more Afghans have joined the Taliban and resistance groups to defend against foreign invaders. Yet The Nation reported this week that the U.S. military cannot even protect the trucks which bring gasoline and other supplies to outlying U.S. bases, and that contractors are paying protection of $800 to $1500 per truck to the Taliban.

• War funding is feeding corruption, private armies, and the drug trade. The more money the U.S. and NATO pour into Afghanistan, the greater the rake-offs and corruption among U.S. contractors and the U.S.-supported Afghan government. President Karzai's re-election was confirmed even though his supporters had stuffed boxes with more than one million fake ballots. Five ministers in Karzai's cabinet have been given immunity from prosecution for corruption.

Call the White House today at 202-456-1111.

Be out in the streets if the President does order an escalation of troop levels.

Let Americans know that we will not be silent and we will keep opposing this needless, senseless war for as long as it takes.
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

www.unitedforpeace.org

212-868-5545

PO Box 607;

Times Square Station;

New York, NY 10108

Pax Christi

2009-12-01T05:43:00.002-05:00

Monday, November 30, 2009
Dear friends,

Unfortunately, we are expecting an announcement on Tuesday from President Obama that more troops will be sent to Afghanistan. The phone calls we began last week are still important, but more actions are needed. Pax Christi USA is joining with many of our partner groups in calling for the next several days to be "days of action" on Afghanistan. There are a number of actions we encourage you to take over the course of the next several days as you are able.1) Continue to make phone calls to the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama:
No additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan.
Start the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Begin serious diplomacy and dialogue with all parties to the conflict, internal and external, as well as independent Afghan women leaders, without preconditions.
Redirect the tens of billions of dollars spent yearly on Afghanistan war funding to human needs in Afghanistan and at home.

2) Flood your local media with letters to the editor and so forth against the escalation. Post comments on local and national media websites, blogs, and elsewhere. Use the bullet points above.

3) Organize or participate in local actions. Several different sites are hosting information on actions and events or allowing you to post your own action or event. Check out these two sites:

To find an event near you, go to the sites of

The World Can't Wait

http://www.worldcantwait.net/

or United for Peace and Justice

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/

To add your own event at these sites, go to The World Can't Wait or United for Peace and Justice.

4) Change your Facebook status to "President Obama, please: No escalation in Afghanistan."

5) Tomorrow, Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan will be traveling to the White House, delivering a petition to President Obama before he announces his decision. Please sign the petition online here. You can also post the petition to your Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rethinkafghanistan.com/#petition) or tweet the petition to your friends: "Vets to Obama: Do Not Escalate in Afghanistan: "http://rethinkafghanistan.com/. To listen to the voices of the Veterans, check out the video on YouTube by clicking here. Pax Christi USA has signed several letters and petitions to the President asking him to chart a new direction in Afghanistan, one that does not include an escalation of troops and lays out an exit strategy. You can add your name to the petition mentioned above in #5 and this letter initiated by Sojourners too. To see the letter we signed from the Afghanistan Policy Working Group, click here. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to bringing peace to Afghanistan. Take action in any way possible this week. More efforts are still in the work and I'll keep you updated in the days ahead.

In peace,
Johnny Zokovitch
Director of Communications, Pax Christi USA

Thanks Jodie!

2009-09-29T17:17:00.001-04:00

Killing Dragons

2009-08-31T06:33:00.001-04:00

Hiroshima / Nagasaki Remembrance

2009-08-06T11:31:00.002-04:00

Speak Out Against New Forms of Nuclear Weapons
Thursday, August 6th 2009 5:30 PM

Hartford's Riverside Park

East Service Road /Jennings Road, Hartford, CT
Picnic with conversations about nuclear weapons and

Remembrance Ceremony with "candle boats" adrift on the Connecticut River

Sponsored by: Connecticut Coalition For Peace and Justice (CCPJ)
Bring your picnic basket and we will provide lemonade and chips...

http://www.nonukes- nowar.org/ hiroshimaday_ 2009.htm

For Press Release and Press Briefing Paper click => here
For a flyer (pdf), click => here

The General Speaks

2009-06-10T12:29:00.002-04:00

From my friend's blog that I check in on almost daily, I found he had added this link: Ruminations from the Distant Hills - because of it's "It is impressive in its love of the woods."

This for example includes a favorite quote of mine: Purple

"If you pass by the color purple in a field and

don't notice it, God gets real pissed off." - Alice Walker

Some other ideas I found posted there impressed me in other ways, such as:

Piece be with you

"Gun-loving pastor to his flock: Piece be with you"

By DYLAN T. LOVAN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment.New Bethel Church is welcoming "responsible handgun owners" to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety."We're just going to celebrate the upcoming theme of the birth of our nation," said pastor Ken Pagano. "And we're not ashamed to say that there was a strong belief in God and firearms — without that this country wouldn't be here..."

(To which I can't help but add, in response to the last sentence above, "That's what all my Indian friends tell me.)

And I found this quote there too:

The General Speaks

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Outside the Glass Bell Jar

2009-06-07T08:14:00.003-04:00

I’ve lived all my life on the right hand side of that bell graph of normalcy, that graph in the Psychology 101 books, where Intelligence is the lower line with 100 or Average in the middle, the other line going up on the left side representing population. It feels, to me (living with the results of that stupid IQ test that was “off the charts” in the early 1960’s), like a glass bell jar that looks much like the graph and I’m on the outside looking in, sometimes banging on the glass, trying to talk with the people inside, and they just can’t hear what I’m saying.
Perhaps that’s why I have so much empathy for the people, trapped outside also, on the other side of the IQ line. Maybe it is why I can connect with them, and they with me. They are on the outside too, banging the glass, trying to get in, trying to be heard. I think both they and I know that we are all people, human beings, and what we want at the most basic level is to be recognized as humans – and to be with all the other humans.
And to be treated as unique individual humans, which we all are, which makes us all very much the same.
Go way back in the History of Our Human Family. We Humans have no claws, no big teeth or other natural weapons, and no shell or feathers or fur for protection. We Humans survived only because We Humans helped each other do so, up against Lions, Tigers and Bears (Oh my!). Our big brains helped us figure out that the only way we could survive in this world and, with the help of our opposable thumbs to carry out the actions we figured out with our imaginations, we somehow got to where we are in the world.
The world that needs us to remember this ancient basic premise of helping one another is still very much needed if we are to survive as a species or face our own extinction by our very own hands.
Yet we keep hearing about “Safe Nuclear Power,” “Clean Coal Technology,” and the need to continue to wage war.
More people have died from radiation poisoning working in places that handle nuclear materials, many more from the ways we store –or dump- the waste products than by any weapon produced.
Mercury released from all the coal that has ever been burned, falls from the sky in the rain, and enters our world’s food chain (much like radiation).
And War is as far away from helping each other survive as you can get.

Greed for money, lust for power, even at the expense of the rest of our Human Family, fuels this fire that needs to be put out.
Lip service just doesn’t cut it - we’ve got to live it.
In “Coram Deo,” in the face of God, as the man we know as Jesus said on the Mountain where he made all those fish sandwiches, speaking about hypocrites.
Those words are just as true today, in so many ways, here in this Christian Nation whose motto is “In God We Trust,” whose biggest export is high-tech weapons…

Tim MacSweeney
Sunday, June 07, 2009

And the Band Played the Star Spangled Banner

2009-05-25T06:17:00.007-04:00

This song is based on "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda," the lyrics changed to reflect not the "War to End All Wars," but the Second World War that followed the First, and the USA rather than Australia...

And the Band Played the Star Spangled Banner (Lyrics)

From Prarie Home Companion Saturday, May 29, 2004

Listen

Now when I was a young man and loose and free

And I followed a young man's drummer

I hitch-hiked from New York to Yosemite

And led me a beautiful summer

Then in December, nineteen forty-one

I heard the call, there was work to be done.

I joined the Army and they gave me a gun

And they shipped me away to the war...

And the band played the Star Spangled Banner

As the ship pulled away from the shore

And amidst all the cheers, the music, and the tears

We sailed off to fight in the war.

And how well I remember how at Anzio

We strolled to the beach through the water

And the counterattack was a powerful blow

And we fell like lambs at the slaughter.

Who misread the enemy? Too late to tell.

We were pounded by bullets and bombs and by shell

And in two days they blew us to hell

Nearly blew us right back to New Jersey.

And the band played the Star Spangled Banner

As the flag was raised on the hill

We bowed our heads as we buried our dead

Then we went back to maim and to kill.

We marched north through Italy, tried to survive

In that mad world of death, blood and fire

And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive

As the death toll got higher and higher

In a field north of Rome I raised up my head

And when I awoke in my hospital bed

And saw what had happened, I wished I was dead

And I lay there a month without talking.

They collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed

And shipped us back home to New Jersey.

The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane

The proud, wounded heroes of Italy.

And when I was carried back to Fort Lee

I looked at the place where my legs used to be

And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me

To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the band played the Star Spangled Banner

As we came to the U.S.A.

But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared

Then they turned their faces away

So now on Memorial Day on my porch

I watch the parade pass before me

I see my old comrades, how proudly they march

Reliving old dreams and past glories

And the old men march slowly, their bones stiff and sore

Tired old men from a long ago war

And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"

And I ask myself the same question

But the band plays the Star Spangled Banner

And the old men answer the call

But year after year, those old men disappear

Soon no one will march there at all...

Dedicated to all who fell, and to my Great-Uncle Fred who survived this event and all that followed, and to the end of the outdated notion of War...

Call 800-517-5696 today

2009-05-12T06:09:00.002-04:00

Call 800-517-5696 today to protest more war funding!

Dear Friend,

Do you want the United States government to spend tens of billions of dollars more to fund the war in Iraq and expand the war in Afghanistan?
Next week, your representative will be asked to vote on a war supplemental bill that would do just that.
Call toll-free on May 12800-517-5696
Say no to more spending on two wars. Urge your representative to use our tax dollars to
bring the troops home
take care of them upon their return
rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan
take care of health, education, and energy here at home
Please join a national call-in day organized by our friends at FCNL to oppose more war funding.
The U.S. government already spends $1.9 million every minute on the military — and that doesn't include funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With your help we can make a difference. Please call today.
Peace,

Laurie Creasy,

American Friends Service Committee

Forward this message to your friends.

American Friends Service Committee

1501 Cherry Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

http://support.afsc.org/site/R?i=Oe5KD4Nuftly9JiicuPyCg..

NVCC Students for a Culture of Peace

2009-04-15T10:43:00.004-04:00

SCOP Club Meeting Thursday April 16th, 2009

@4:30 PM in the Cafe-West

Chairwoman - Helena Dubose

Agenda:

1. Afghanistan Continued (Monica)

2. SGA meeting report-back (Jamie)

3. Wesleyan Peace Workshops (Brittany)

4. Sculpture Update (Keep an eye on the central walkway to the college!)

5. Other Business-

"We the people of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war… " Charter of the United Nations, 1945

Culture of Peace : what is it ?

(from: http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/default.htm)

As defined by the United Nations, the Culture of Peace is a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations (UN Resolutions A/RES/52/13 : Culture of Peace and A/RES/53/243, Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace). For peace and non-violence to prevail, we need to:
Foster a culture of peace through education
by revising the educational curricula to promote qualitative values, attitudes and behaviours of a culture of peace, including peaceful conflict-resolution, dialogue, consensus-building and active non-violence. Such an educational approach should be geared also to:
promote sustainable economic and social development
by reducing economic and social inequalities, by eradicating poverty and by assuring sustainable food security , social justice, durable solutions to debt problems, empowerment of women, special measures for groups with special needs, environmental sustainability…
Promote respect for all human rights
human rights and a culture of peace are complementary: whenever war and violence dominate, there is no possibility to ensure human rights; at the same time, without human rights, in all their dimensions, there can be no culture of peace...
Ensure equality between women and men
through full participation of women in economic, social and political decision-making, elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women, support and assistance to women in need,…
Foster democratic participation
indispensable foundations for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security are democratic principles, practices and participation in all sectors of society, a transparent and accountable governance and administration, the combat against terrorism, organized crime, corruption, illicit drugs and money laundering…
Advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity
to abolish war and violent conflicts we need to transcend and overcome enemy images with understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all peoples and cultures. Learning from our differences, through dialogue and the exchange of information, is an enriching process…
Support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge
freedom of information and communication and the sharing of information and knowledge are indispensable for a culture of peace. However, measures need to be taken to address the issue of violence in the media, including new information and communication technologies…
Promote International Peace and security:
the gains in human security and disarmament in recent years, including nuclear weapons treaties and the treaty banning land mines, should encourage us to increase our efforts in negotiation of peaceful settlements, elimination of production and traffic of arms and weapons, humanitarian solutions in conflict situations, post-conflict initiatives…

Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men than defences of peace must be constructed "

Constitution of UNESCO, 1945

Community Days of Advocacy For Justice & Human Rights

2009-04-14T11:35:00.002-04:00

Community Days of Advocacy for Justice & Human RightsApril 4-19, 2009
NNIRR invites its members, partners and allies to join in our Community Days of Advocacy for Justice & Human Rights. Organize community delegations to meet with members of Congress during the Congressional Spring recess (April 4-19) to deliver a strong message on critical issues facing immigrant families, workers and communities. Register your event or action here.

Raise your voices, tell Congress to end all raids, detentions and
deportations!

Organize an action or activity as part of NNIRR's "Community Days of
Advocacy for Justice & Human Rights" this week!

Keep your eyes on the prize: socially just immigration reforms.

Click below to be part of Community Days of Advocacy and download
materials to prepare for speaking with your members of Congress:

Invitation to join NNIRR for Community Days of Advocacy for Justice & Human Rights
Invitación a participar con NNIRR en los dias de Acción Comunitaria por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos
Click here to register your event / Para matricular tu evento haga clic aqui
Orientation to Community Days of Advocacy
Orientacion a los Dias de Accion Comunitaria
Participant talking points and critical messages
Puntos de discusión y mensajes principales para las y los participantes
Reportback Form (Word doc)
Reportback Form (pdf form)
Formulario para reportar los resultados (Word)
Formulario para reportar los resultados (forma pdf)

Call your Representative and two Senators today and set a meeting so
they can hear from you. Get the contact information for your:
Representative at http://www.house.gov/

Senators at http://www.senate.gov/

Our message is clear:
Ending raids is a good start. But this will not be enough to end the
ICE abuses and rights violations against immigrant and refugee members
of our communities.

Meet with or call your Congressional delegation to demand action to:
End all raids or enforcement operations;
Suspend all detentions and deportations and investigate the abuses;
Protect the labor and civil rights of all workers, regardless of
immigration or citizenship status;

Restore due process rights for all;

End the humanitarian crisis of migrant deaths & rampant rights
violations at the U.S.-Mexico border;
Hold Congressional hearings with our communities to learn directly from
those impacted by raids and other immigration enforcement and services.
ICE, police and local, county, state and other federal government
agencies must be accountable to our communities. And,
Enact fair and just immigration reforms.
Organize a community delegation to meet with your Congress members
today.
You can also call your Representative and Senators at (202) 224-3121.
Ask to be connected to their office and then talk to their staff person
in charge of immigration issues. Tell them why ending raids is not
enough!

Raise your voices, take action for justice and human rights!
National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
Red Nacional Pro Derechos Inmigrantes y Refugiados

Para leer este mensaje en español, haga clic aqui:
Días de Acción Comunitaria por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos

Will It Change Things?

2009-03-21T08:11:00.002-04:00

"If I play my ukelele long enough..."

"believe" - Ukulele's for Peace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QsXUtUOiig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZnmz50JsKE

CAPTAIN KAZOO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BFvtDTm__E

It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go

2009-03-08T08:15:00.002-04:00

I am a backseat driver from America

We drive to the left on Falls Road

And the man at the wheel's name is Seamus

We pass a child on the corner he knows

And Seamus says, now what chance has that kid got

And I say from the back, I don't know

He says there's barbed wire at all of these exits

And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go

'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life, it's a very hard life

I's a hard life wherever you go

And if we poison our children with hatred

Then the hard life is all that they'll know

And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go

Cafeteria line in Chicago

The fat man in front of meIs calling black people trash to his children

And he's the only trash here I see

And I am thinking this man wears a white hood

In the night when his children should sleep

But they'll slip to their windows and they'll see him

And they'll think that white hood's all they need

'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life, it's a very hard life

It's a hard life wherever you goAnd if we poison our children with hatred

Then the hard life is all that they'll know

And there ain't no place in Chicago for those kids to go

I was a child in the Sixties

When dreams could be held through T.V.

With Disney and Cronkite and Martin Luther

And I believed, I believed, I believed

Now I am the backseat driver from America

And I am not at the wheel of control

And I am guilty, I am war, and I am the root of all evil

Lord, and I can't drive on the left side of the road

'Cause it's a hard life, it's a hard life, it's a very hard life

It's a hard life wherever you go

And if we poison our children with hatred

Then the hard life is all that they'll know

And there ain't no place in this world for those kids to go'

Cause it's a hard life wherever you go...

(Nanci's Video, released in Europe but not the USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFzI_4_5EGg .)

Support a Truth & Reconciliation Commission

2009-03-05T15:20:00.002-05:00

I have proposed the idea of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate abuses during the Bush-Cheney Administration -- so they never happen again. These abuses may include the use of torture, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, and executive override of laws.Please sign this online petition, urging Congress to consider establishing a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the Bush-Cheney Administration's abuses.

Thank you,

Patrick Leahy

U.S. Senator

Please sign his online petition urging Congress to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the Bush-Cheney Administration's abuses.

Georgetown University. February 9, 2009.

Sign Sen. Patrick Leahy'spetition atBushTruthCommission.com

On March 19, the seventh year of the Iraq War begins.

2009-03-05T10:13:00.003-05:00

March 19 marks the beginning of the seventh year of war in Iraq.
As part of our Countdown to Withdrawal campaign, we're asking you to mark the war's anniversary with a public event during the week of March 16.

How will you wage peace?

Will you attract the public's attention with rows of lighted candles at a vigil?

Gather a circle of drummers to embody the drumbeat for peace?

Organize an outdoor prayer service or a singalong of peace songs?

Or will you let your imagination soar?

We can help:
Organize an event and put it on our national listing or find a vigil to attend.
Print signs and banners.
Post photos, videos, and stories about your event on Facebook.
The Iraq War was a tragic mistake. Let's stop it, let's fix it — and, most important of all, let's not repeat it. Help us wage peace today.

Peace,

Laurie Creasy

American Friends Service Committee

View this message as a web page.

Or click below for the video:

CODEPINK

2009-02-19T12:45:00.004-05:00

We danced the "Yes We Can-Can" on Inauguration day as we applauded President Obama's promises to take our nation in a new direction. With his recent announcement of an additional 17,000 troops to be deployed to Afghanistan, we see change come to a screeching halt and a dangerous continuation of the same failed US policies of the Bush era blaze forward. Just as in Iraq, misplaced hope in military solutions is pushing peaceful strategies to the back seat. Take action and help President Obama do the right thing- we need an escalation in peaceful alternatives, not military force!

Call 202-456-1111 today! Tell the Administration that we want:
1) Reduction of troop levels in Afghanistan

2) Rapid withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq

3) A commitment to diplomacy involving all major regional players, including major international peace-keeping bodies

4) Addressing the real needs of Afghans by funding development assistance for Afghanistan's basic human needs - health-care, clean water, education, security, rights for women and girls-, through Afghan NGOs, using local labor and services
Take a tip from Senator Feingold and ask the tough questions: "We need to ask: After seven years of war, will more troops help us achieve our strategic goals in Afghanistan? Is there a danger that a heavier military footprint will further alienate the population, and, if so, what are the alternatives?" Even Obama's advisors say the war in Afghanistan "cannot be won on the battlefield." Over 2/3 of Americans oppose the deployments, and a majority of Europeans want their troops home- leaders of Spain, France and Germany have refused to send any additional forces!

It is said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action but to expect a different result. President Obama is a deeply intelligent man, but it is crazy for him to stay on Bush's crash course of empire building, and all the devastation and loss of life it leaves in its wake. We can help Obama find the road to peace and make sure he keeps his promises! Yes we can end war,

Audrey, Dana, Deidra, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jean, Jodie, Liz, Lori, Medea, Nancy, Paris, and Rae of CODEPINK!
P.S. When you are connected to your Representative's office, keep your message short and to the point. Tell them:

More troops only means more violence, more suffering, more killing of innocents, and more recruits for the Taliban. Instead of a surge, President Obama must take bold and compassionate action to address the Afghan's real need for health care, clean water and education, instead of continuing to cripple Afghanistan with more years of war. Call on Obama to fulfill his promise for peace and change! Call (202)456-1111 TODAY!Click here for more resources

"Afghanistan needs troops--but it needs troops of doctors, troops of teachers, troops of Peace Corps volunteers, and troops of farmers to go and replant the fruit orchards."

--Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of Global Fund for Women
Afghanistan 101

Posted by Dana -
Thu, Feb 5, 2009
Afghanistan
There is a LOT of information out there about the crisis in Afghanistan and how and what we (as citizens, activists, women, progressives, humans, etc) need to do to address this multi-faceted, complex issue. Here are some resources that we at CODEPINK have found helfpul in reenforcing the importance of opposing military escalation in Afghanistan and supporting non-military solutions to the conflict. This is by no means an extensive list. If there are other resources that have helped YOU get a better grasp on the issues in the region please leave it in the comments!
First, 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows put together this Afghanistan Primer- this is choc full with useful, focused info + very easy-to-read/comprehend. On January 30, Bill Moyers (on the JOURNAL) hosted a fascinating conversation on bombing - it’s history and current use - with a historian and a former Pentagon official to see how well it works and has worked in the past. This website GetAfghanistanRight.org (launched by Robert Greenwald/Brave New Film and FireDogLake) is a wealth of information with some great video interviews and countless articles! Military Family Speaks Out has also collected some poignant key articles and additional resources.

http://codepink4peace.org/blog/2009/02/afghanistan-101/

Ghost Dance - Bill Miller

2009-02-19T08:51:00.001-05:00

Bethlehem Peace Vigil Will Continue

2009-02-04T07:36:00.004-05:00

We are still holding a Vigil for Peace every first Sunday of the month from 12 to 1 PM, on the Green in Bethlehem CT at the junctions of routes 61 and 132. There has been some confusion about this: The Litchfield Peace group has decided to take a break after six years (See article below). We will continue with ours and invite all to join us to take a stand for Peace in the World. We will also continue to post at our blog: http://bethlehempeacewatch.blogspot.com/

(Click to enlarge:)

FIRST SCOP MEETING!!!!!!!

2009-02-02T22:34:00.002-05:00

"The first meeting of the semester of the Students For A Culture Of Peace Club (SCOP) will be Thursday Feb. 5th, 4:30 PM, Cafe-West, Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury CT. The Isreal/Palistine conflict will be discussed as well as a report back from the SGA meeting. We are hoping to move forward with a number of projects - peace sculpture and club brochure. Bring new ideas! See you there. Look for the peace dove."

Video from the Schaghticoke Rally and Protest

2009-02-02T09:32:00.003-05:00

"If it was your house, and it was your mother's grave getting dug up, wouldn't you get upset?"

Tony Crone of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation

Click here: Video from the Schaghticoke Rally and Protest

More info at: http://www.schaghticoke.com/

Schaghticoke Reservation, Kent CT

2009-01-24T07:17:00.001-05:00

ProtectSchaghticoke
January 19, 2009

----- What is happening at the reservation today can accurately be called a hate crime and unmistakably desecration, despoliation and destruction of our ancestral land. In 2004 and again in November of 2007, a non-Schaghticoke individual trespassed upon our reservation, began ripping out trees, cutting and removing timber, quarrying stone and illegally excavating our sacred land without Tribal approval or official State permits. Since November 2007, Tribal members have been in contact with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and demanding an immediate cease and desist order to be applied to this intruder. No order was ever applied and the hate crime, destruction, desecration and despoliation have been allowed to proceed for over one year now. The Governor, who has been aware of this situation, allows the intruder to indiscriminately damage our ancestral land, digging up sacred artifacts and keeping them, despite constant opposition from Schaghticoke. To date, he has committed these crimes to over ten (10) acres of land. He has destroyed natural habitats including those of endangered and watched species, desecrated many burials with out any consequences as well as threatening a Tribal member with a rifle, again with out consequences. The State of Connecticut has been allowing these crimes to continue for too long. We are planning a protest in Hartford, CT on 29 January 09 at the State Capitol and Legislative Office Building. Please join us from 10 to 3 PM, snow, rain or shine. We, additionally, are circulating a petition; which can be viewed and signed at http://www.petitiononline.com/STN129/petition.html
We plan to hand deliver to the Governor on the day of our protest.
Thank you for your support.

In peace,

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Preservation Committee

Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen at the inaugural concert

2009-01-22T07:56:00.003-05:00

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
words and music by Woody Guthrie

As I was walking a ribbon of highway

I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Chorus

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California, to the New York Island

From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters

This land was made for you and me

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!
Chorus
In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.
Chorus (2x)
©1956 (renewed 1984), 1958 (renewed 1986) and 1970

TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc.

(BMI)

http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/this-land.shtml

MLK Day 2009

2009-01-19T08:26:00.008-05:00

http://www.democracynow.org/

Broadcast for 1/19/09, probably available later today if you missed the streaming broadcast this morning...

For more of King’s speeches check: Pacifica Radio Archives.

Sign a letter to President-elect Obama

2009-01-16T11:01:00.002-05:00

On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we’d like to ask you to sign an open letter to President-elect Obama asking him to use King’s vision to create a better, more peaceful country.
It’s a corollary to our Roadmap for Peace — and, by the way, we did it!
Thanks to you, we’ve delivered the Roadmap for Peace to President-elect Obama’s transition team, along with more than 10,000 signatures.
In the days, weeks, and months to come, we’ll be working with the team and with representatives on Capitol Hill to encourage the use of the Roadmap as a vision for the future a more secure, peaceful world, with the United States building stronger relationships everywhere in the world through diplomatic, not military, means.
But diplomacy has been neglected in recent years. Roughly 700,000 civil servants work for the Department of Defense. In contrast, there are 6,500 career Foreign Service Officers and 5,000 Foreign Service specialists at 265 posts abroad and at the State Department.
Our country has also failed to use other means of diplomacy, such as United Nations agencies and other multilateral institutions.
This week, please take a few minutes to e-mail your senators and representative about this great lack in our country’s resources for conflict prevention and resolution.
Some talking points:
We shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket. Yes, we need official government initiatives, but we also need to revive public diplomacy and increase people-to-people exchanges and citizen diplomacy in order to build the international partnerships the United States needs.
Americans want to be represented at the United Nations. Polls show that we view the U.N. as a way to share the responsibilities of engagement with the world. Yet the U.S. is still behind in paying its dues, and Americans are underrepresented at the staff level in three key U.N. agencies.
Open dialogue and principled negotiations need to be the diplomatic standard, not a reward.
You can use our web site to find your senators and representative's contact information and the talking points above.
Write from your heart, but keep your e-mail short and sweet. Urge your senator or representative to download and read the Roadmap for Peace at http://support.afsc.org/site/R?i=7K30BdNkgZ1u88ge2F3vrw...
Thank you for your time, your enthusiasm, and your courage in supporting our Roadmap.
Peace,
Laurie Creasy,

American Friends Service Committee

Gaza Crisis

2009-01-14T07:57:00.005-05:00

From: Maureen via Pax Christi USA
January 13, 2009

The crisis in Gaza worsens

Dear friends,

In this email you'll find two action items related to the resolutions passed last week by the Senate and the House. Immediate action is needed on these.
Please take a moment to look these items over and respond as you are able.

We have also added items to our page of resources on the crisis in Gaza. Two important items we think you'll find helpful:
1) Bill Quigley, Pax Christi National Council Member and a PCUSA Teacher of Peace left for Gaza last week and is sending us communiques back. You can read his first two reports on our site.
And 2) we have included a recent short YouTube video from Rabbi Arthur Waskow on the crisis in Gaza as well.

To see these resources and more, click here now: http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_events_more.asp?id=1497

Additionally, in this email you'll find an action alert from our friends at Catholic Relief Services and the USCCB. We hope you'll join us in taking action and bringing this conflict to an end.

In Christ's peace,
Johnny Zokovitch
Director of Communications, Pax Christi USA

Take Action: Support Congressional Resolution for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

Last Friday, the House of Representatives voted 390 yes, 5 no, and 22 present to pass H.Res.34, "recognizing Israel's right to defend itself" and "reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel." Last Thursday, the Senate voted on a similarly worded resolution, S.Res.10, which passed by unanimous consent. (For more on these resolutions,see item #2 in this email.)
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation opposed these resolutions because they failed to call for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to the occupied Gaza Strip as required under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1860. The resolutions also blamed the victims-the Palestinians-for the civilian casualties and humanitarian catastrophe Israel is inflicting upon them and absolved Israel of any responsibility for its actions.

Thankfully these resolutions will not be the final words of Congress on the issue. This week, Rep. Dennis Kucinich plans to introduce a resolution calling for "an immediate and unconditional ceasefire" and "unrestricted humanitarian access" to the occupied Gaza Strip. The US Campaign is supporting this resolution, which can be downloaded by clicking here.

Take Action: Support Congressional Resolution for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza
January 12th, 2009

Last Friday, the House of Representatives voted 390 yes, 5 no, and 22 present to pass H.Res.34, “recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself” and “reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel.” To see if your Representative cosponsored this resolution, click here. To see how your Representative voted, click here.

Last Thursday, the Senate voted on a similarly worded resolution, S.Res.10, which passed by unanimous consent. To see if your Senator cosponsored the resolution, click here.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation opposed these resolutions because they failed to call for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to the occupied Gaza Strip as required under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1860. The resolutions also blamed the victims—the Palestinians—for the civilian casualties and humanitarian catastrophe Israel is inflicting upon them and absolved Israel of any responsibility for its actions.

Thankfully these resolutions will not be the final words of Congress on the issue. This week, Rep. Dennis Kucinich plans to introduce a resolution calling for “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire” and “unrestricted humanitarian access” to the occupied Gaza Strip. The US Campaign is supporting this resolution, which can be downloaded by clicking here.
http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1785

TAKE ACTION

1. Call your Representative NOW at 202-224-3121. Thank your Representative if he/she voted “no” or “present” on H.Res.43. and ask her/him to cosponsor Rep. Kucinich’s resolution. If your representative voted “yes” on H.Res.43., then express your disagreement with the vote and ask them to cosponsor the Kucinich resolution.

2. Call your Senators NOW at 202-224-3121. Express your disagreement with your Senators’ vote on S.Res.10 and ask them to introduce a resolution in the Senate similar to Rep. Kucinich’s resolution in the House.

3. Get your organization to endorse Rep. Kucinich’s resolution. Organizations wishing to endorse Rep. Kucinich’s resolution should send their endorsement directly to his Congressional office by clicking here. Let’s make sure that Rep. Kucinich knows that hundreds of organizations support his legislative effort.

4. Join us for a conference briefing call on Thursday, January 15, 9PM Eastern to discuss our next legislative steps. To RSVP for the call and to get call-in info and an agenda, send your name, city, and organizational affiliation (if any), to us by clicking here.

5. Let us know what the offices of your Members of Congress are saying. Let us know how your call went and how the offices of Members of Congress are responding to your concerns. Send us your name, the Congressional offices you contacted, and their feedback to us by clicking here.

In addition to contacting Congress, we have many ideas for action that you can take to demand an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to the occupied Gaza Strip. For more information, click here.

1. Call your Representative NOW at 202-224-3121. Thank your Representative if he/she voted "no" or "present" on H.Res.43. and ask her/him to cosponsor Rep. Kucinich's resolution. If your representative voted "yes" on H.Res.43., then express your disagreement with the vote and ask them to cosponsor the Kucinich resolution.
2. Call your Senators NOW at 202-224-3121. Express your disagreement with your Senators' vote on S.Res.10 and ask them to introduce a resolution in the Senate similar to Rep. Kucinich's resolution in the House.
3. Join us for a conference briefing call on Thursday, January 15, 9PM Eastern to discuss our next legislative steps. To RSVP for the call and to get call-in info and an agenda, send your name, city, and organizational affiliation (if any), email us at palestinecall@gmail.com
4. Let us know what the offices of your Members of Congress are saying. Let us know how your call went and how the offices of Members of Congress are responding to your concerns. Send us your name, the Congressional offices you contacted, and their feedback to us by emailing congress@endtheoccupation.org

Register your disappointment at last week's resolutions
from Pax Christi Montgomery and Peace Action Montgomery (MD)

On Thursday, Jan. 8, the Senate passed a resolution (S Res
10) expressing unconditional support for Israel 's massive attack on the 1.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. That was the same day The New York Times reported that 12 members of one Gaza family were found dead in a house bombed by Israel, with four small children -- alive but so weak from hunger and thirst they could not stand – lying next to their dead mothers. Red Cross personnel had tried to reach the house, but were prevented for days by Israeli troops from getting to the scene.
The next day, Jan. 9, the House passed companion legislation (HRes 34), which was even more one-sided than the Senate version.

Please contact your Representative and Senators today and tell them that their vote for this resolution is an absolute outrage, and that you expect them to show more fairness and compassion -- or they will lose your support. Only when your legislators know you are watching will we get change in Congress.

This is not about being for or against Israel. It is about the wanton disregard for the livelihood and health of 1.4 million civilians and about the thousands of civilian casualties that Israeli politicians knew would result from this war. The invasion of Gaza has caused an already dire humanitarian crisis, resulting from the blockade of this small strip of land, to disintegrate into desperation and starvation for the civilian population. Many commentators, even some conservative ones, are saying the war on Gaza harms Israel in the long term and strengthens Hamas. Congressional actions such as these two resolutions only help to prolong the conflict by sending the message to Israeli politicians that the U.S. does not care about a ceasefire and will not insist on one.
Contact Information
email:
johnnypcusa@yahoo.com

phone:
352-219-8419
web:
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/

Pax Christi USA 532 West Eighth Street Erie PA 16502

http://i4.democracynow.org/2009/1/12/kucinich_cites_arms_export_and_control

Economic action in Waterbury on Wednesday

2009-01-13T07:21:00.001-05:00

Dear MoveOn Member,

President Obama is working with Congress to pass an economic recovery plan, and there's a real struggle going on over whether it will focus on green jobs, health care, and clean energy—or whether conservatives will succeed in cutting many of the progressive provisions and forcing in big tax cuts for the wealthy.
So we're organizing "Economic Recovery Congressional Actions" at offices around the country to make sure that Congress hears our message. There's one in Waterbury, and we really need a bunch of folks there.
Here are the details. Can you come?
Host: Jane M—fellow MoveOn member

Where: Wtby office of Cong. Chris Murphy (in Waterbury)

When: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009, at 12:00 PM

Here's the link to RSVP:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=89843&id=15357-3339991-4DQmsjx&t=3
And if you own a small business, have a green job, work in health care, face foreclosure on your home, or lost your job as a result of this economic mess, we'd like to extend a special invitation to you to share your story at the event. Please click here to sign up:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=89843&id=15357-3339991-4DQmsjx&t=4It's especially critical that Congress hear from us now. Conservative lawmakers and lobbyists are in D.C. right now, fighting to take some of the crucial pieces out of the package. Congress needs to hear the message that Americans want real investments in health care, green jobs, relief for struggling states, and clean energy—not more tax giveaways for corporations and the rich. Click here to RSVP and help spread that message:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=89843&id=15357-3339991-4DQmsjx&t=5
Hope to see you Wednesday. And thanks for all you do.
–Noah, Lenore, Justin, Carrie and the rest of the team

P.S. Can't make this event? Here is another event near you:
Economic Recovery Congressional Action Middle Street, Bridgeport, CT, Bridgeport at 12:00 PM—RSVP
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/.

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

This email was sent to Tim MacSweeney on January 10, 2009.

To change your email address or update your contact info, click here.

Party to Murder

2009-01-05T18:08:00.002-05:00

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081229_party_to_murder/
Posted on Dec 29, 2008
By Chris Hedges

Editor's note: In light of the recent fighting in Gaza, Truthdig asked Chris Hedges, who covered the Mideast for The New York Times for seven years, to update aprevious column (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081215_israels_crime_against_humanity/)on Gaza.

Can anyone who is following the Israeli air attacks on Gaza-the buildings blown to rubble, the children killed on their way to school, the long rows of mutilated corpses, the wailing mothers and wives, the crowds of terrified Palestinians not knowing where to flee, the hospitals so overburdened and out of supplies they cannot treat the wounded, and our studied, callous indifference to this widespread human suffering- wonder why we are hated?
Our self-righteous celebration of ourselves and our supposed virtue is as false as that of Israel. We have become monsters, militarized bullies, heartless and savage. We are a party to human slaughter, a flagrant war crime, and do nothing. We forget that the innocents who suffer and die in Gaza are a reflection of ourselves, of how we might have been should fate and time and geography have made the circumstances of our birth different. We forget that we are all absurd and vulnerable creatures. We all have the capacity to fear and hate and love. "Expose thyself to what wretches feel," King Lear said, entering the mud and straw hovel of Poor Tom, "and show the heavens more just."
Privilege and power, especially military power, is a dangerous narcotic. Violence destroys those who bear the brunt of its force, but also those who try to use it to become gods. Over 350 Palestinians have been killed (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/world/middleeast/30mideast.html?hp) , many of them civilians, and over 1,000 have been wounded since the air attacks began on Saturday. Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, said Israel is engaged in a "war to the bitter end" against Hamas in Gaza. A war? Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely crowded refugee camps and slums, to attack a population that has no air force, no air defense, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armor, no command and control, no army, and calls it a war. It is not a war. It is murder.
The U.N. special rapporteur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapporteur) for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, former Princeton University law professor Richard Falk, has labeled what Israel is doing to the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza "a crime against humanity." Falk, who is Jewish, has condemned the collective punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza as "a flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law as laid down in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention." He has asked for "the International Criminal Court to investigate the situation, and determine whether the Israeli civilian leaders and military commanders responsible for the Gaza siege should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of international criminal law."
Falk's unflinching honesty has enraged Israel. He was banned from entering the country on Dec. 14 during his attempt to visit Gaza and the West Bank.
"After being denied entry I was put in a holding room with about 20 others experiencing entry problems," he said. "At this point I was treated not as a U.N. representative, but as some sort of security threat, subjected to an inch-by-inch body search, and the most meticulous luggage inspection I have ever witnessed. I was separated from my two U.N. companions, who were allowed to enter Israel. At this point I was taken to the airport detention facility a mile or so away, required to put all my bags and cell phone in a room, taken to a locked, tiny room that had five other detainees, smelled of urine and filth, and was an unwelcome invitation to claustrophobia. I spent the next 15 hours so confined, which amounted to a cram course on the miseries of prison life, including dirty sheets, inedible food, and either lights that were too bright or darkness controlled from the guard office."
The foreign press has been, like Falk, barred by Israel from entering Gaza to report on the destruction.
Israel's stated aim of halting homemade rockets fired from Gaza into Israel remains unfulfilled. Gaza militants have fired more than 100 rockets and mortars into Israel, killing four (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7804051.stm) people and wounding nearly two dozen more, since Israel unleashed its air assault. Israel has threatened to launch a ground assault and has called up 6,500 army reservists. It has massed tanks on the Gaza border and declared the area a closed military zone.
The rocket attacks by Hamas are, as Falk points out, also criminal violations of international law. But as Falk notes, "... such Palestinian behavior does not legalize Israel's imposition of a collective punishment of a life-and health-threatening character on the people of Gaza, and should not distract the U.N. or international society from discharging their fundamental moral and legal duty to render protection to the Palestinian people."
"It is an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe that each day poses the entire 1.5 million Gazans to an unspeakable ordeal, to a struggle to survive in terms of their health," Falk has said of the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza. "This is an increasingly precarious condition. A recent study reports that 46 percent of all Gazan children suffer from acute anemia. There are reports that the sonic booms associated with Israeli overflights have caused widespread deafness, especially among children. Gazan children need thousands of hearing aids. Malnutrition is extremely high in a number of different dimensions and affects 75 percent of Gazans. There are widespread mental disorders, especially among young people without the will to live. Over 50 percent of Gazan children under the age of 12 have been found to have no will to live."
Before the air assaults, Gaza spent 12 hours a day without power, which can be a death sentence to the severely ill in hospitals. Most of Gaza is now without power. There are few drugs and little medicine, including no cancer or cystic fibrosis medication. Hospitals have generators but often lack fuel. Medical equipment, including one of Gaza's three CT scanners, has been destroyed by power surges and fluctuations. Medical staff cannot control the temperature of incubators for newborns. And Israel has revoked most exit visas, meaning some of those who need specialized care, including cancer patients and those in need of kidney dialysis, have died. Of the 230 Gazans estimated to have died last year because they were denied proper medical care, several spent their final hours at Israeli crossing points where they were refused entry into Israel. The statistics gathered on children-half of Gaza's population is under the age of 17-are increasingly grim. About 45 percent of children in Gaza have iron deficiency from a lack of fruit and vegetables, and 18 percent have stunted growth.
"It is macabre," Falk said of the blockade. "I don't know of anything that exactly fits this situation. People have been referring to the Warsaw ghetto as the nearest analogin modern times."
"There is no structure of an occupation that endured for decades and involved this kind of oppressive circumstances," the rapporteur added. "The magnitude, the deliberateness, the violations of international humanitarian law, the impact on the health, lives and survival and the overall conditions warrant the characterization of a crime against humanity. This occupation is the direct intention by the Israeli military and civilian authorities. They are responsible and should be held accountable."
The point of the Israeli attack, ostensibly, is to break Hamas, the radical Islamic group that was elected to power in 2007. But Hamas has repeatedly proposed long-term truces with Israel and offered to negotiate a permanent truce. During the last cease-fire, established through Egyptian intermediaries in July, Hamas upheld the truce although Israel refused to ease the blockade. It was Israel that, on Nov. 4, initiated an armed attack (http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/775/39991) that violated the truce and killed six Palestinians. It was only then that Hamas resumed firing rockets at Israel.
"This is a crime of survival," Falk said of the rocket attacks by Palestinians. "Israel has put the Gazans in a set of circumstances where they either have to accept whatever is imposed on them or resist in any way available to them. That is a horrible dilemma to impose upon a people. This does not alleviate the Palestinians, and Gazans in particular, for accountability for doing these acts involving rocket fire, but it also imposes some responsibility on Israel for creating these circumstances."
Israel seeks to break the will of the Palestinians to resist. The Israeli government has demonstrated little interest in diplomacy or a peaceful solution. The rapid expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank is an effort to thwart the possibility of a two-state solution by gobbling up vast tracts of Palestinian real estate. Israel also appears to want to thrust the impoverished Gaza Strip onto Egypt. Dozens of tunnels had been the principal means for food and goods, connecting Gaza to Egypt. Israel had permitted the tunnels to operate, most likely as part of an effort to further cut Gaza off from Israel. This ended, however, on Sunday when Israeli fighter jets bombed over 40 tunnels along Gaza's border with Egypt. The Israeli military said that the tunnels, on the Gaza side of the border, were used for smuggling weapons, explosives and fugitives. Egypt has sealed its border and refused to let distraught Palestinians enter its territory.
"Israel, all along, has not been prepared to enter into diplomatic process that gives the Palestinians a viable state," Falk said. "They [the Israelis] feel time is on their side. They feel they can create enough facts on the ground so people will come to the conclusion a viable state cannot emerge."
The use of terror and hunger to break a hostile population is one of the oldest forms of warfare. I watched the Bosnian Serbs employ the same tactic in Sarajevo. Those who orchestrate such sieges do not grasp the terrible rage born of long humiliation, indiscriminate violence and abuse. A father or a mother whose child dies because of a lack of vaccines or proper medical care does not forget. A boy whose ill grandmother dies while detained at an Israel checkpoint does not forget. A family that loses a child in an airstrike does not forget. All who endure humiliation, abuse and the murder of family members do not forget. This rage becomes a virus within those who, eventually, stumble out into the daylight. Is it any wonder that 71 percent of children interviewed at a school in Gaza recently said they wanted to be a "martyr"?
The Israelis in Gaza, like the American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, are foolishly breeding the next generation of militants and Islamic radicals. Jihadists, enraged by the injustices done by Israel and the United States, seek to carry out reciprocal acts of savagery, even at the cost of their own lives. The violence unleashed on Palestinian children will, one day, be the violence unleashed on Israeli children. This is the tragedy of Gaza. This is the tragedy of Israel.

(see the graphic video of the minutes after the Israeli attack on the marketplace in Gaza at: http://muslimtv. magnify.net/ video/ISRAEL- CARNAGE-CIVILIAN S-CHILDR ).

An Open Letter to Barack Obama By Alice Walker

2008-11-12T06:53:00.003-05:00

Alice Walker on expectations, responsibilities and a new reality that is almost more than the heart can bear.

Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,Alice Walker
© 2008, Alice Walker

http://www.theroot.com/id/48726

Armistice Day

2008-11-11T06:05:00.009-05:00

Long ago,
on the 11th hour
of the 11th day
of the 11th month,
“The War to End All Wars”
Was declared “Over.”

My Grandfather Ernst Mueller
Was freed from the Russian Prison Camp
Where he had been housed in a box car
As a Prisoner of War,
Somewhere in what is now Poland,
That day in 1918…

Long ago,
on the 11th hour
of the 11th day
of the 11th month
When “The War to End All Wars”
Was declared “Over.”

Happy to be free, I imagine
Happy the war was over, I imagine
- I’ve read some of the things he’d seen
Going home to the Black Forest
Bullet wound in his leg
Were strangers kind to him,
As he travelled homeward?
Were there tears in his eyes
As he passed wreckage and ruin
Going home to the Black Forest
Bullet wound in his leg
And all the images in his head…

“It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.”) - Wikipedia

Kurt Vonnegut was born on this day in 1922:
"I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.

So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.

What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.

And all music is.
(Also from Wikipedia: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut)

Two German Soldiers’ Stories:
http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/1919/Retreat_01.htm

Dec. 7, 2008 CT-wide March against the War!

2008-11-06T04:57:00.005-05:00

From the Students for a Culture of Peace:

Need Money? End the War!

BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

END THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN!

No War on Iran! No War on Pakistan!

End US Support to all Wars and Occupations!

Money for Housing! For Jobs! For Education! For Pensions! Not for War!

Sunday, December 7th

March and Rally

2:00 pm

Hartford, State Capitol Building

Next Organizing Meeting:

Sunday, November 9th at 2:00pm

Quaker Meeting House144 South Quaker Lane, West Hartford

After more than five years the war in Iraq roars on with roughly one third of Iraq's 26 million people killed, wounded or displaced; more than 4,000 US soldiers dead, hundreds of thousands suffering severe physical and psychological wounds, and trillions of dollars going up in smoke. Instead of withdrawing forces, US policy makers are expanding combat in Afghanistan and into Pakistan, ordering assaults in Syria and threatening to Invade Iran.

They Continue to support Israel's brutal occupation of Palestinians that repeatedly turns into regional war - most recently in the summer of 2006. With a full blown economic crisis bringing skyrocketing home foreclosures, rising unemployment, loan freezes, and collapsing pensions, war funds are needed at home now more than ever!

Join activists from across Connecticut as part of a week of nationally coordinated actions to demand that our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters be brought home now!

And come to the next organizing meeting at 2:00pm on Sunday November 9th at 144 Quaker Lane, West Hartford!

For More information or to sign the call contact Marissa at 860-218-0566 or e-mail http://us.mc343.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=marissablaszko@gmail.com

The Ad Hoc Connecticut December 7th Mobilization Committee

Studs Terkel, 1912-2008

2008-11-04T12:01:00.003-05:00

The legendary radio broadcaster, writer and oral historian Studs Terkel has died at the age of 96 in Chicago.

Studs Terkel worked as an activist, a civil servant, a labor organizer, an ad writer, a television actor, and a radio DJ, among many other occupations. But since the 1960s, he was particularly well-known as a world-class interviewer, a writer and radio personality who drew celebrities and, far more often, average citizens into sharing their oral histories.

For 45 years, Studs Terkel spent an hour each weekday on his nationally syndicated radio show, conversing with famous and not-so-famous guests and with a loyal audience of Chicago listeners.

With his unique style of oral history on subjects such as race, war and employment, Terkel spent decades interviewing Americans across the country, creating intimate portraits of everyday life and chronicling changing times through this century.

He was also a regular guest on Democracy Now. Below are links to watch or listen to our archive of interviews with Studs Terkel.

‘Hope Dies Last’–An Hour with Legendary Broadcaster and Author Studs Terkel

October 05, 2005
Legendary Broadcaster and Author Studs Terkel on President Bush, Mahalia Jackson, James Baldwin, Louis Armstrong, the Rebuilding of New Orleans and What Gives Him Hope

May 16, 2007
Studs Terkel At 95: ‘Ordinary People Are Capable of Doing Extraordinary Things, and That’s What It’s All About. They Must Count!’

November 13, 2007
Legendary Radio Broadcaster and Oral Historian Studs Terkel on the Iraq War, NSA Domestic Spy Program, the Labor Movement and His New Memoir ‘Touch and Go’

from:
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/10/31/studs_terkel_1912_2008

Live Election Night Coverage

2008-11-03T10:28:00.002-05:00

Democracy Now! will broadcast & video livestream a five-hour election night special on November 4th from 07:00PM–12:00AM ET to report the results as they come in.
On November 5th, Democracy Now! expands to a two-hour, “The Morning After” broadcast & video livestream from 08:00AM–10:00AM ET to provide complete coverage of the election outcome.
Ask your local TV & radio broadcasters to run this special programming and watch here.
More information …
Friday, October 31 1:39 pm EDT

Thank You

2008-10-31T12:04:00.004-04:00

A couple posts ago, I tried to upload this and now it finally worked...

Election News

2008-10-28T10:49:00.003-04:00

Today Now!: How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election

Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

Precocious Youngster Sells Cookies To Buy Attack Ad

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Thank You, Mr. Bush

2008-10-28T10:08:00.004-04:00

Sometimes we forget to say "Thank You" enough ( Above: Entry from MoveOn.org's 2003/2004 "Bush in 30 Seconds" ad contest.Produced by: Christine Rose,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU51aFMDZow).

I intended to post a little home made video that's been processing for 2 weeks now because I couldn't find one for this poem that was posted a couple years ago at:

http://melissamsw.blogspot.com/2006/09/thank-you-mr-bush.html

Thank You Mr. Bush
Vanessa German, National Slam Bush Champion, wrote this absolutely amazing, angry, filled-with-promise protest poem. Hear it in her own voice.H/T to A Poetic Justice.

Thank you George Muthaf@%#king Bush

thank you mr. george w. bush

thank u

for makin it easier for me

to get a tech9 or AR14

than a pap smear & a good education

thank u

from the first boy i kissed

who u sent off to fight your war in iraq

he returned home only by telegram

& in a box

thank u

from me

from my body

from the woman i love

that i want to marry & call my wife

without u bible thumpin daggers

& demanding constitutional amendments

to prevent us from loving this revolutionary love

(az tho we cud soil the sanctitiy of marriage)

u cud nevah touch my love or fuck with my love

its just the right u seek to deny us

so we must fight for it in the end it's all a matter of

voiceof excercising choice & flexing the muscle of democracy

which shudn't be pigeon holed marginalized

or constitutionaly compromised

under the pretense that who i love

kiss fuck hold hands & make family with

iz destructive to the fiber

that quilts the fabric of america

which ironically happens to be

cotton

that notoriously bloody lily white thread

that my grandfather

& hiz fathers fathers before picked by hand

in mer rouge louisiana

i hav not forgotton that i am america

that my blood iz in these rivers

& at the roots of these redwood trees

i know that this country was built on the backs of blacks

that were shackled strapped & stacked

slashed gashed taxed & then cashed in on

like cattle

i hav not forgotton that i am america

& even tho u want me to be quiet & invisible

i will noti hav decided that if u r not with US

then u r against US

USthe 99% of the population that makes less

than 1.2 million dollars a year

the 43 million people that hav no health care

the 14 million children that got left behind

& go to bed hungry every night

if u r not with US then

u r against US

& we understand

that terror iz not always guns & knives

& otherwise explosive devices of evil

sometimes terror iz just making no living wage

going day to day pay check to pay check

praying that no one gets sick

terror iz not knowing which of ur sons

will fit the description

& die while reaching back pocket

for identification to prove he iz american

but not american enuf to live free

terror iz being 13having no access

no choice & taking matters

into ur own hands

terror iz being a woman

begging for emergency contraception

when u've been raped taken by force & foresaken

just like the constitution

after the presidential election of 2000

which u did not win

u stole like a purse

off the shoulder of an old lady

making america ur bitch

didn't anyone ever tell u

when u take shit that's not urs u give it back

& apologizebut no.

we realize that u mr bush

r just the figure head the smoke screen

the sony nike gmc tommyhilfigerbluejeansbrand name

of a regime of evil so vicious & arrogant

u hav the audacity to murder in my name

& call it justice call it liberation long time come

when all it really iz

iz economic imperialism

or occupation

which iz the same thing hitler did

in poland austria & hungry

...if u really wanted to liberate

u cud hav liberated

delbert orr africa

janine holloway africa

micheal sims africa

or mumia abul jamal

it wasn't 6 weeks

it waz 17 thousand lives

not just american lives

but human lives

how sacred are they

tell me answer me

tell me how sacred are they

stop trying to convince us that justice

iz always this bloodythat liberation costs babies

& mothers & homes & sons& lovers & fathers & dignity& truth & purity

& hope & democracy

thank u mr bush

for showing us

that we must fight everyday for our freedom as tho we r fighting for our lives

obviously u r not going to beat a path of justice to our frontdoors

this is my requiemfor the last four years

my premptive strike on the next four years

this iz my love poem

to america even tho

he took u by force violated u

forsook u before they eye of god

made u barely recognizable to the rest of us

i still love u baby

he can not shame u before my eyes

u r beautiful

i will fight

& die for u r the people

& i am u

Andrea Gibson - For Eli

2008-10-27T08:51:00.002-04:00

Andrea Gibson performs, "For Eli" from her album, When The Bough Breaks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwh23QSrwKw

2008-10-24T20:04:00.002-04:00

It's timely to re-post this song by Jackson Browne.

It's called "Lives in the Balance."

"There are Lives in the Balance...

And they sell us the president the same way they sell us our cars..."

It's one of the few songs I've ever sung -and played- publicly, in the pursuit of Peace...

"Ive been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear

You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that youve seen it before
When a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war
And there's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the t.v.
You hear one thing again and again
How the U.S.A. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends
--These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone

There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire...

There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
We can't even say the names...

They sell us the president the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die

And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire..."

And I think of Utah Phillips, quoting Ammon Hannessey,
Saying "Pick dead people as your heroes, since they can't let you down,"
Which I mention because of that photo of Jackson wearing an Obama for president pin,
Hearing phrases like "Clean Coal," "Safe Nuclear Power," and "Troop Surge in Afghanistan,"
Being spoken by Mr. Obama...

Burbank for Congress Forum

2008-10-23T14:32:00.004-04:00

Photo from:
http://www.myspace.com/burbank4congress

Date: Thursday, October 23, 2008
Times: 6;30 to 9 PM
Location: Canton Library Program Room
Address:
40 Dyer Ave.Canton, CT 06019
Contact: Harold Burbank
Phone: (860) 693-2687
Email: haroldburbank@comcast.net
Details: This is an open public forum for groups and indivduals to ask questions, obtain literature, and make suggestions about my campaign. The Library Program Room is located about halfway down the hallway on the left in the Canton Community Center adjacent to the Dyer Avenue Canton Public Library.

Date: Monday, October 27, 2008
Times: 5:30 PM
Location: Farmington High School
Address:
Rte. 4Farmington, CT
Contact: Harold Burbank
Phone: (860) 693-2687
Email: haroldburbank@comcast.net
Details: Farmington Chamber of Commerce will hold an all-candidates US House 5th District debate 10-27-08. This is the first REAL DEBATE to be scheduled for ALL VOTERS in the 5th District. Bring all your friends and relatives for a great GREEN cheering section for this blockbuster debate, where Murphy and Cappiello will answer for their support of bail outs of criminal corporations, war crimes, no energy plan, skyrocketing living costs, no national health insurance, no free education through college, and deep recession.

Date: Monday, October 27, 2008
Times: 9 AM to 10 AM
Location: Hartford, CT
Address:
Hartford, CTHartford, CT
Contact: Harold Burbank
Phone: (860) 693-2687
Email: haroldburbank@comcast.net
Details: I will appear with all CT Green Party US House candidates on John Dankosky's call in radio show "Where We Live". Call in and ask a tough question about bail outs, the wars, impeachment, indictment of the Bush cabal, and Murphy and Cappiello's tolerance and support of these crimes against the Constitution and humanity.

Let the debate begin!

2008-10-23T14:24:00.003-04:00

The third party and independent candidates for President will duke it out tomorrow night.

At the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. October 23, 2008 at 9 p.m. EST.

And it will be shown live on C-Span.

Ralph Nader will be there.

Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin will be there.

We've been told that Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney and Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr have been invited but haven't committed to attend yet.

If you are in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, please come on down to the Mayflower Hotel (1127 Connecticut Avenue NW -- Farragut North Metro Stop on the Red Line) and catch an historic event -- a Presidential debate that includes Ralph Nader.

If you are not in the the DC area, hope you get a chance to watch it live on C-Span.

If you get a chance, organize a debate party and watch with friends, family and neighbors.

Should be a lot of fun.

Can Coal really be called "Clean" with a straight face?
Can Nuclear-waste producing steam-generated electricity actually be labeled "Safe"?

Why are the corporate-funded Candidates so very afraid to debate the next highest placing Presidential Candidate?

Find out why by going to:

http://www.votenader.org/

And Ralph will have a chance to lay out before a national television audience the Nader/Gonzalez people-powered platform that Obama and McCain and the national media ignored during the three Anheuser-Busch sponsored parallel interviews (aka The Presidential Debates.)

Onward to November.

The Nader Team

John McCain Accidentally Left On Campaign Bus Overnight

2008-10-22T09:30:00.001-04:00

John McCain Accidentally Left On Campaign Bus Overnight

Come plan CT Dec. antiwar action!!

2008-10-22T09:22:00.002-04:00

- Please circulate widely -
Statewide Meeting to Call and Build a December Demonstration to End the War and Bring the Troops Home Now!

Sunday, October 26th, 2008
2:00 pm
Quaker Meeting House
144 South Quaker Lane
West Hartford, CT 06105

On October 9th and 11th students at Central Connecticut State University, Trinity College and UConn held inspiring actions to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home now. They joined activists across the country in a nationally coordinated week of local actions against the war which included a rally in Boston of over 1000.

Earlier, in a late summer fight to prevent the closure of two neighborhood libraries in Hartford, children and adults tied their struggle to the war with signs demanding, "Money for Libraries, not for War!"

The pressure to oppose the U.S. war machine is only growing. The war in Iraq roars on with an approximate 1.6 million dead Iraqis, 5 million refugees, over 4,000 dead US soldiers, a shattered infrastructure, and trillions going up in smoke. Anti-Iran venom grows, with officials commonly labeling its national guard a "terrorist organization." U.S. operations are already spreading into Pakistan where they killed 11 Pakistani troops in a recent June airstrike. Rather than admit defeat, the war-makers are attempting to extend combat into new terrain.

As the world economy tumbles into depression, the drive for war will only intensify. Investors will look more towards arms spending to turn a profit. The rush to control resources and trade routes; to attain regional hegemony; to smother discontent and dissent in a tsunami of war-mongering nationalistic fervor - will escalate. Conflicts between Georgia and Russia could very well turn into war between Russia and the U.S.

Amidst an economic crisis involving hundreds of billions in corporate bailout dollars, skyrocketing home foreclosures, rising unemployement, loan freezes, and collapsing pensions, war funds are needed at home more than ever before.

Now more than ever it is time to bring anti-war forces across Connecticut together to oppose this war! Activists across the country will demonstrate against the war on the week of December 9-14 as part of nationally coordinated actions responding to the proposal put forth by anti-war activists across the country, including the National Assembly to End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Let us unite in Connecticut for a mass action in December to Bring the Troops Home Now! Join us on October 26th at the Quaker Meeting House in West Hartford for a meeting to call and begin organizing a state-wide anti-war demonstration in Connecticut!
Initial signers:
Organizations:

Trinity College Anti-War Coalition
CCSU Progressive Student Alliance
Students for Change, Norwich
Students for Justice, WCSU
Stop the Raids! Students of Trinity College
Progressive Alliance, Quinepaug Valley Community College (Danielson branch)
Queers without Borders
Middle East Crisis Committee
Iranians for Peace and Justice
Colectivo Puertorriqueño Pro-Independencia
Iraq Veterans Against the War, CT
Socialist Action, CT
People of Faith, CT
Socialist Party, CT
International Socialist Organization, CT
ANSWER, CT

Individuals (All below organizations for identification purposes only):
Joyce McKelvey, AFSC
Jason Ortiz, Idealists United, UConn
Hannah Kluger, UHart, Greater Glastonbury for Peace and Justice
Brittany Kilburn, Tim MacSweeney and Juan Veliz, Students for a Culture of Peace, Naugatuck Community College
Marissa Blaszko, Opinion Editor, CCSU Recorder
Wayne DeRoy and Paul Ofori, Africana Students Organization, CCSU
Erin McAuliffe, CCSU PRIDE
Gabrielle Pierce, CCSU Art Club
Erin Kenney, CCSU Central Counseling Society
Laura Lockwood, Director of Trinity Women & Gender Resource Action Center
Christopher Hutchinson, Manchester Community College
Harold Burbank, Green Party, running for CT 5th district Senate
Opton Martin, CCSU
Ebony Murphy, Hartford
Barbara Byrd, Bloomfield
Sharyn Murphy, Southington

If you are interested in joining the call for the meeting to call a mass action against the war in December, or want to find out more about the October 26th meeting contact Beth @ 203-448-9140 or eilis.dyer@gmail.com

Statewide Meeting to End the War and Bring the Troops Home Now!

2008-10-21T09:30:00.003-04:00

"hey tim! it's brittany from students for a culture of peace. i just wanted to get into contact with you because there has been a proposal set forth to hold anti-war actions in the month of december and we are looking for endorsers to lend their names to the call in support of the proposal to hold actions. i know that you were interested in being involved before, and it would be great if you could lend your name in support. also, there is a meeting this sunday, october 26th at 2:00 pm at the quaker meeting house in west hartford, and it would be great if you might be able to attend that as well. i have asked others from students for a culture of peace if they were interested. no one has gotten back to me yet, but we could possibly have a carpool. let me know what you think, preferably tonight if possible, tonight is the deadline for endorsements. (sorry for the short notice). have a good night, thanks!!

brittany kilburn, Students for a Culture Peace

burnt_jamb@hotmail.com

Statewide Meeting to Call and Build a December Demmonstration to End the War and Bring the Troops Home Now!

Sunday, October 26th, 2008
2:00 pm
Quaker Meeting House
144 South Quaker Lane
West Hartford, CT 06105

On October 9th and 11th students at Central Connecticut State University, Trinity College and UConn held actions to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home. They joined activists across the country in a nationally coordinated week of local actions against the war in Iraq which included a rally in Boston of over 1000.

Earlier, In a late summer fight to prevent the closure of two neighborhood libraries in Hartford, children and adults tied their struggle to the war with signs demanding, "Money for Libraries, not for War!"

The pressure to oppose the U.S. war machine is only growing. The war in Iraq roars on with an approximate 1.6 million dead Iraqis, 5 million refugees, over 4,000 dead US soldiers, a shattered infrastructure, and trillions going up in smoke. Anti-Iran venom grows, with officials commonly labeling its national guard a "terrorist organization." U.S. operations are already spreading into Pakistan where they killed 11 Pakistani troops in a recent June airstrike. Rather than admit defeat, the war-makers are attempting to extend combat into new terrain.

As the world economy tumbles into depression, the drive for war will only intensify. Investors will look more towards arms spending to turn a profit. The rush to control resources and trade routes; to attain regional hegemony; to smother discontent and dissent in a tsunami of war-mongering nationalistic fervor - will escalate. Conflicts between Georgia and Russia could very well turn into war between Russia and the U.S.

Amidst an economic crisis involving hundreds of billions in corporate bailout dollars, skyrocketing home foreclosures, rising unemployement, loan freezes, and collapsing pensions, war funds are needed at home more than ever before.

Now more than ever it is time to bring anti-war forces across Connecticut together to oppose this war! Activists across the country will demonstrate against the war on the week of December 9-14 as part of nationally coordinated actions responding to the call put forth by anti-war activists across the country, including the National Assembly to End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ANSWER, and the Troops Out Now Coalition.

Let us unite in Connecticut for a mass action in December to Bring the Troops Home Now! Join us on October 26th at the Quaker Meeting House in West Hartford for a meeting to call and begin organizing a state-wide anti-war demonstration in Connecticut!

If you are interested in joining the call for December actions, or want to find out more about the meeting contact Beth @ 203-448-9140 or eilis.dyer@gmail.com

COLUMBUS AND THE INDIANS

2008-10-13T07:02:00.002-04:00

"When we read the history books given to children in the United States, it all starts with heroic adventure--there is no bloodshed-and Columbus Day is a celebration..."
Howard Zinn
"Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress,"
A People's History of the United States.
More at: http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2008/10/christopher-columbus-and-indians.html

VP Candidate Matt Gonzalez Talks to Protesters Outside Rally

2008-10-10T06:59:00.001-04:00

In Santa Cruz, CA

Added (to YouTube): October 06, 2008

Ralph speaking to an audience in Waterbury, Connecticut.

2008-10-10T06:12:00.004-04:00

2008 Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader discusses the passage of the bailout bill. Waterbury, Connecticut - October 4, 2008.

From: votenader08

Added: October 05, 2008

Words and phrases I keep hearing:

Middle class, Safe nuclear, "I agree with Senator McCain," Clean coal, Biodiesel, Troop surge is working, Rescue package, Terror, al Qaeda, Countries that don't like us, Dependence on foreign oil, Capture and kill, Change, Innovation, Bipartisan, "I agree with Senator Obama," Failed economic policies, Tax cuts, Fundamentals, Maverick, Grave threat, Reform, Working familes...

Words I don't hear enough:

Working class, No to nuclear power, Yes to solar, Carbon tax, Taft Hartley Act, Labor Unions, Consumer Protection, Bailout, Military Industrial Complex, Poverty, PEACE, Single Payer Healthcare, Impeachment, Corporate power/Corporate welfare/Corporate crime, Living wage, Open Presidential Debates...

Three Way Presidential Debate

2008-10-09T19:09:00.001-04:00

- Obama, McCain, and Nader:

The Question

2008-10-09T19:04:00.002-04:00

2008 Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader responds to a question from the audience about impeachment/prosecution of Bush/Cheney.

Excerpted from the Open the Debates super rally in Minneapolis on September 4, 2008.

http://www.votenader.org/

Three Way Vice Presidential Debate - Palin, Biden, Gonzalez

2008-10-09T18:58:00.002-04:00

Vice Presidential Candidate Matt Gonzalez was barred from the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) on October 2nd, just as Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader was barred from the first Presidential CPD Debate on September 26th.

If you'd like to see all major candidates participate in a debate please visit:http://thirdpartyticket.com/

Spread this video along and help them reach their goal of 10,000 pledges today!

Video created by Manila Ryce

http://www.youtube.com/ManilaRyceTLM

From: votenader08
October 07, 2008

Associations

2008-10-07T09:50:00.005-04:00

In a televised interview last spring, Senator John McCain asked,

"How can you countenance someone who was engaged in bombings

that could have or did kill innocent people?"

http://maineowl.net/blog/

"I was reading my copy of the New York Times the other day," she said.
"Booooo!" replied the crowd.
"I knew you guys would react that way, okay," she continued. "So I was reading the New York Times and I was really interested to read about Barack's friends from Chicago."
It was time to revive the allegation, made over the weekend, that Obama "pals around" with terrorists, in this case Bill Ayers, late of the Weather Underground. Many independent observers say Palin's allegations are a stretch; Obama served on a Chicago charitable board with Ayers, now an education professor, and has condemned his past activities.
"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said.
"Boooo!" said the crowd.
"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.
"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

from: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/06/in_fla_palin_goes_for_the_roug.html

Students for a Culture Of Peace

2008-10-05T04:28:00.004-04:00

The Students for a Culture of Peace at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury CT sent me this:

upoming anti-war actions

"hello members and future members of students for a culture of peace!

i just wanted to let you guys know of a couple upcoming important dates for the fight against the wars inIraq and Afghanistan. the week of october 6th through 11th is a nationally called week of action for the anti-war movement, and many campuses around the state are holding anti-war actionsin this week. the list is as follows:

Event: CCSU Against the War October 9th

"All Out for October 9th"

What: Rally

Host: CCSU Against the War Organizing Committee

Start Time: Thursday, October 9 at 12:15pm

End Time: Thursday, October 9 at 3:15pm

Where: Student Center Mall Area - The Big Circle Thing Outside

To see more details and RSVP,

follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=32926520770

October 11 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Trinity College, Hartford, CT

Mather quad

Endorsers: Stop the Raids!

La Voz Latina (LVL)

Arab American Student Association

Temple of Hip Hop

ConnPirg? (no confirmation yet)

Performers:

Zee Santiago

Sagacity

Speakers:

ACLU Director Mike Alewitz Professor Chatfield (Trinity History)

Andrew Page (Trinity anti-war)

Stop the Raids! Member

Arab American Student Association

- president LVL- i think gustavo

Marissa Blazko- she said sounds good on facebook, will call her soon

IVAW- ?

that is all i know right now, but let me know if you can make it and maybe we can carpool. have a good weekend!!"

HOLLY NEAR TO DAVID MIXNER, SEPTEMBER 2008

2008-10-02T16:08:00.004-04:00

To read this interview on David Mixner's blog, go to http://www.davidmixner.com/holly_near/index.html

If Woody Guthrie were alive today he would be Holly Near. This kind, gentle person is one of the great folk singers, writers, activist and teachers alive. She was the one of the first women to ever create an independent record company called Redwood Records over thirty years ago. She has been a major presence in the LGBT, feminist, peace and justice movements her entire life. When one thinks of champions of civil rights and human rights you think of Holly Near. Most of all, Holly is a brilliant singer and entertainer who has sung in all corners of the world. Coming from a left, feminist and activist viewpoint, we asked her to discuss her support of Obama with us.

Who did you support in the primaries and why?

I didn’t work for any of the candidates. I don’t like either party much and have always worked outside of the mainstream political system. But I do vote.
Kucinich's ideas were probably the closest to my own. I have a friend who voted for Edwards by absentee ballot but by the time the actual California Primary happened, he had withdrawn so her vote was wasted. Clinton would have been her second choice. It is crazy her vote didn’t count. We need a new system. I voted for Obama in the primary.
I feel frustration during an election year. I can’t stand flag waving and phrases that suggest this country was built on the principles of democracy and equality when in truth our “fore-folks” had slaves, lynched people, and terrorized indentured servants including little northern European irls who looked like me working in sweat shops. Millions of indigenous people were killed - so the whole show un-nerves me.
That said, I’m not stupid. I think critically and strategically. I like Obama and McCain scares me to death. If Clinton had won the primary I would be supporting her as well. I am a long time activist - always left of the democrats - but I like to choose with whom I am going to struggle. I did NOT vote for Nader last time nor would I vote 3rd party this time. I like the idea of building a third party from local level up but I am startled by the thought that experienced political organizers would vote 3rd party this time around at the presidential level.
I don’t feel I’m voting for an icon or a politically perfect social feminist…

…Some indigenous tribes say that the clan mothers pick the ones who will serve different aspects of the community. They would never put a warrior as chief. They would only put a diplomat. So, when I imagine that red blinking button and a cinder box moment involving nuclear weapons, it terrifies me to think of McCain or Palin representing our national security. Obama is not an anti war candidate but he is thoughtful and seems to know how to listen. And he makes room for an anti war movement in his belief system. I don’t feel hated by Obama. I feel hated by McCain…

...This is one of the most historic and important elections I have experienced in my lifetime. And the Republican Convention just upped the ante. How often do we get to do something as the citizens of the United States? I’m not a nationalist but I do live in a nation that is seen around the world as violent and insensitive and greedy and weak and self absorbed.
I want the world to see the other side of our nation, see us make a choice, even if it seems to some to be symbolic. Most people in the world don’t know about the in fighting in the left or about gay marriage. All they know is that their lives and the very safety of the planet has been in grave danger for the last 8 years. I believe they are looking at us to see if we will stand with them to form the biggest circle of resistance the world has ever seen in opposition to Bush-Cheney policy. Regardless of what Obama can achieve or not achieve, I believe one of the strongest things we could do for national security is to show the world we have the courage throw out the Republican agenda and replace it with an offer friendship - to each other and to the world.

"Open the Debates" Tour in Connecticut!

2008-10-02T06:06:00.004-04:00

Since 1988, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has sponsored every presidential debate. Since its inception, the CPD has always been headed by two former chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties. In 1987, the League of Women Voters refused to sponsor any more presidential debates, "because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter."

The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign is on a mission to open these debates for third party candidates, and bring back democracy to the American Voter!

If you cannot make it to these rallies,

please help us spread the word by forwarding these events:

October 4th, Noon - Waterbury, CT

Nader for President 2008 Rally

195 Grand St. Waterbury, CT 06702

For more information: (203)982-8578 or events@votenader.org

October 4th, 4 pm- Hartford, CT

Private Gathering with Ralph Nader

RSVP: Rob Socket at (202) 471-5833 or rob@votenader.org

October 4th, 7 pm - Storrs, CT

Nader for President 2008 Rally

Edwin O. Smith High School

1235 Storrs Rd. Storrs, CT 06268

Suggested Contribution: $10/$5 students

For more information: (203) 468-1268 or http://ssomail.charter.net/do/mail/message/mailto?to=events%40votenader.org

Separation of State and Witchcraft

2008-09-25T16:32:00.002-04:00

Subtitled Version. Palin appears at 7:10 (in the YouTube video).

She gets protection from Witchcraft from these pastors. Kenyan Pastor, Pastor Muthee- including prayers for campaign finances and protection from "witchcraft". This is video of the prayer session that Sarah Palin credits with getting her into the Governor's Office.

The first 7 minutes show this Pastor praying for religion to overtake government & education- a clear violation of separation of church & state. Sarah Palin goes up to the pulpit at 7:15 where 2 men lay their hands on her and they pray to "make a way, to bring finances to her, to bring her personnel, to rebuke "every form of witchcraft" is what you will rebuke (8:36)Witchcraft??!?!?!Pastor Muthee preaches his sermon:

"The problem is do we just pray, but we do nothing about it. If the believers had not done something in this country, your President (George W Bush) would not be in office today.

We need believers who are educationists. If we had them, today we would not be talking about the Ten Commandments being kicked out of our schools. They would still be there.

...Im a child of revival of the Seventies, and that revival swept through the schools.

...You go to any school, there is what we call Christian Union. Christian Union is nothing more but a bunch of kids that are born again, spirit-filled, TONGUE TALKING, DEVIL CASTING....ALL OVER THE COUNTRY...We need God taking over our education system! Otherwise, we, if we have God in our schools, we will not have kids being taught, you know, how to worship Buddha, how to worship Mohammed, we will not have in the curriculum witchcraft and sorcery."

Palin says that Pastor Muthee was very bold and didn't pray for what God's will was, but just that he "make a way", as he didn't know what her plans were and what she was going to do. The beginning of this Pastor's sermon and intent clearly shows that there will not be a separation of church and state. He specifically states that children should not be taught about other religions other than Christianity.

Keep in mind that Sarah Palin has not answered any questions about religion or her intentions, has not given any press conferences - a first for a Presidential or VP candidate at this point in the campaign. We, the AMERICAN PEOPLE still do not know what her plans are or what she intends to do with the office, should she get in. The debate has been tightened so there will not be the opportunity for her to expound on her intention for the office.

After the last 8 years of having a President who feels that he was annointed by God, it is imperative that we examine the intentions of ALL Candidates before electing them into office."

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkViRp6W5oE

No, You Can't

2008-09-24T09:16:00.002-04:00

From: http://lobbyistsformccain.com/ (where the whole screen shows if you play the "AD/No You Can't")

business proposal

2008-09-24T09:04:00.005-04:00

In among the daily notifications I get informing me that I'd won the Lottery in Timbuktu and urgent messages from people with strange names asking for my routing number etc, I got this one too:

"Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We can not directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may speedily transfer your commision for this transaction. After I receive that information I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully,

Minister of Treasury Paulson"

No More War

2008-09-22T06:48:00.002-04:00

"John McCain has made it clear that if elected, he plans to continue the Bush Administration's "legacy", specifically when it comes to the war in Iraq. Over 4,000 American troops have been killed in the war, and it is estimated that at least 1,000,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war. We've already had 5 years of a disastrous war. Do we really need four more?"
From: http://www.peacetakescourage.com/ (& http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=peacetakescourage)

Open the Debates

2008-09-22T05:56:00.003-04:00

"2008 Presidential candidate Ralph Nader hosted an Open the Debates rally during the Republican National Convention in Minnesota on September 4, 2008. In this highlight reel you can see excerpts of speeches by Ralph Nader, his VP Candidate Matt Gonzalez, and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura talking about open debates and how they impact elections.

This also features a musical performance by 98 Degrees' Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons."

http://www.votenader.org/

September 21, 2008
"William Greider put it best yesterday when he called Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's upcoming bailout of Wall Street:

"All sugar for the villains, lasting pain and damage for the victims."

"As I have been saying for several months, this crisis has the potential to bring down one or both political parties, take your choice," Greider said.

And investment analyst Christopher Whalen chimed in:
"The joyous reception from Congressional Democrats to Paulson's latest massive bailout proposal smells an awful lot like yet another corporatist lovefest between Washington's one-party government and the Sell Side investment banks."

"Strip aside the rhetoric of the two major parties.
And what is left is one party devoted to Wall Street.
Who represents Main Street?
Nader/Gonzalez.
So, why is that when the Presidential debates open this Friday, only Wall Street will be in the ring?
And the man who predicted the disaster of deregulation is out?
Because the Commission on Presidential Debates is controlled by the two parties and funded by the corporations.
That's why we're sponsoring a National Day of Action to Open the Debates.
This Thursday, September 25, 2008, the day before the first debate.
Once again the Commission intends to silence the majority of Americans by shutting out Nader/Gonzalez from the debates.
We're asking all of our supporters to get ready.
Because on Thursday, there are four ways you can take action to Open Up the Debates.
1. Write:
Letters to the editor, to your friends, family and anyone in your address book, companies and corporations who sponsor the presidential debates.
2. Phone:
The Commission on Presidential Debates, Obama and McCain Campaigns, Talk Shows, Newspapers, and National and Local Media Outlets.
3. Create:
Posters, fliers and literature to pass out and hang up at college campuses and other high traffic areas and banners to display to morning and evening rush hour traffic -- Check out our "Open the Debates" section on the website for downloadable materials.
4. Protest:
Outside the Democratic and Republican headquarters in your community, at corporations that sponsor the debates, at radio stations, newspapers and media outlets not covering Ralph Nader.
(Phone numbers, e-mails and addresses will be available tomorrow at votenader.org/debates.)
Many Americans believe they are getting the full story when they tune into the televised and highly publicized debates.
What people don't see is that behind the scenes the debates are controlled by a corporate funded entity.
Third party and independent candidates are arbitrarily required to be polling at 15% according to five national polls in order to participate in the debates, even though these third parties are forced to devote all resources to get on the ballot in all 50 states during the months leading up to the debates -- costing well over a million dollars!
Who decides who gets into the debates?
The so-called "non-partisan" Commission (as described by the New York Times today). Non-partisan? Headed by Paul Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf, the former heads of the Democratic and Republican parties?
Since the media blithely adopts the framing of the corporate parties, we must take it upon ourselves to expose the Commission on Presidential Debates as the real spoiler of the democratic system in this country.
Just recently Green party candidate Elizabeth May was included into the debates in Canada.
Why?
Massive e-mailing, phone calls, and letters to the editor, including one from former Prime Minister Joe Clark, displaying public outrage prompted the debate commission to invite Elizabeth May to participate..."

National debate sponsors: http://www.votenader.org/debates/sponsors/ & http://www.votenader.org/debates/sponsors1/

Commission on Presidential Debates1200 New Hampshire Ave NW #445Washington, DC 20036202-872-1020http://www.debates.org/index.html

Bush Tour

2008-09-21T06:57:00.003-04:00

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Harold Burbank

2008-09-08T13:45:00.003-04:00

I think I got this because of a MySpace link to Bethlehem Peace Watch:

"Thank you for the add and thank you for taking a stand for this great nation. We are in a troublesome place as a country. We face an uphill battle, but with people like yourself and a message of liberty we can defeat any obstacle. Thank you again for your support."– Attorney Harold Burbank

He has an interesting story - and is running for the seat of the only person I've ever actually voted for who actually won the election (but doesn't want to impeach certain individuals guilty of certain crimes - unlike Harold).

More Here:
MySpace URL:
http://www.myspace.com/burbank4congress

(He has a "Cost of the War" banner that I'll soon figure out how to aquire.)

Also: Interesting coverage of the recent conventions at:

http://popdefectradio.blogspot.com/

Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now! Producers Unlawfully Arrested At the RNC

2008-09-03T08:28:00.004-04:00

Breaking With Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency
Democracy Now! expands to daily two-hour broadcasts during the Democratic and Republican National conventionsDNC: Aug. 25–Aug. 29RNC: Sep. 1–Sep. 5

Read more…

September 02, 2008

(This below is the "most viewed YouTube Video" on Sept. 2, 2008)

Amy Goodman & Two Democracy Now! Producers Arrested at RNC Protest
More than 280 people were arrested here in St. Paul Monday, the opening day of the Republican National Convention. Among them were several journalists covering the protests in the streets, including three of us at Democracy Now! Amy was detained trying to question police officers about the arrests of Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.democracynow.org/
September 1, 2008
Contact: Dennis Moynihan Mike Burke
ST. PAUL, MN—"Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her. Video of her arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ
Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfuly detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.
Ramsey County Sherrif Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.
Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman’s office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).
Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amenmdent rights of these journalists.
During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.
Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism’s top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation’s leading independent news outlet.
Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe."

Sign the online petition for Impeachment Hearings today

2008-08-16T05:15:00.005-04:00

"Why is this man in the White House?

The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there?

And I tell you this morning that he's in the White House

because God put him there for a time such as this."

- Lt Gen William Boykin,

speaking of G. W. Bush, New York Times, 17 October 2003

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"God gave the savior to the German people.

We have faith, deep and unshakable faith,

that he was sent to us by God to save Germany."

- Hermann Goering

speaking of Hitler

Together we can:

* Urge real Congressional action to hold President Bush accountable now

* Reinstate the authority of our Constitution* Document crimes committed by President Bush for historical account

* Facilitate post-Administration law enforcement and prosecution

* Reset the standard for the incoming and future administrations

* Demand justice for the over 3,000 who died on 9/11and whose deaths were tragically exploited to take us into an illegal war in Iraq

* Demand justice for the estimated 30,324 U.S. military personnel who have been injured/wounded

* Demand justice for the estimated 4,138 U.S. military personnel who have been killed or died

* Demand justice for the 1 Million innocent Iraqis who have died

** Avert another illegitimate looming war – this time against Iran

We need your active participation to deliver 1 Million signatures to Congress by September 10, 2008.

Please give at least ten of your friends the opportunity to stand up for our country – the way you and I have, by inviting them to sign the impeachment petition online at www.Kucinich.us. Send your friends an email invitation to sign the petition=> http://kucinich.us/ Together we can make September 10, the day before the world changed, a day we change the world!"

Dennis Kucinich

http://kucinich.us/

Thank you for your active and ongoing citizenship.
Dennis Kucinich

"WHEREAS, in his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed abuses of power.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and Commander in Chief, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States and that he be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors."

Support impeachment hearings - http://kucinich.us/

Join the campaign with Rep. Dennis Kucinich to make September 10th a day to change the world!

"Dear Friends,

On August 1st, I delivered to Speaker Nancy Pelosi; a petition bearing the names of over 100,000 Americans that, like us, feel that the President must be held accountable for abusing executive power and disregarding his Constitutional obligations. Your voices have been heard and your support continues to send a powerful message to lawmakers. That is why I call on you again to help us in a new effort to deliver 1 Million signatures to Speaker Pelosi on September 10, 2008."

Connecticut's Nuclear Weapons

2008-08-14T15:15:00.005-04:00

There are no signs pointing the way to Above All State Park. It is not even marked on the newer editions of the official state tourism map, nor is it included in the official list of state parks. Nevertheless, it is a public park managed by the CT Department of Environmental Protection, like the other state parks. And it is the former command center for Connecticut' s network of nuclear missiles.

To reach the park, you have to follow Above All Road in the town of Warren, up to the summit of a hill overlooking Litchfield County. At the entrance is a small marker to show it is state property, and a gate just high enough for a bicycle to pass underneath (without rider). A dirt road leads up to a meadow in the woods. In the 19th century there were plans to build the "Above-All Mountain House" as a holiday resort, but nowadays the road is frequented more by little red salamanders than by human visitors.

At the top of the meadow is an empty cinderblock bunker. Behind the bunker is the concrete base of what was once a launchpad for Nike anti-aircraft missiles. Each missile carried a 2-to-40 kiloton nuclear warhead. This was the control center for 12 Nike batteries distributed around Connecticut during the Cold War. Ours was the only state to have had every square inch of its territory protected (or targeted) by nuclear weapons.

The Nikes were intended to defend against Soviet bomber planes, but they were never tested since even an unarmed missile could have killed people if it fell to earth in a populated place like Connecticut. And they became obsolete soon after installation because they were useless against the new Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) which replaced bombers.

After the 1972 SALT treaty banned rapid-fire Nike missiles, the launchpads were dismantled. The Above All site became a state park again. For a while it reappeared on the maps, but now it has reverted to secrecy and is seldom mentioned.

The only Red Menace now are the red efts which creep across the road and which you have to watch out for if you want to avoid squashing them under foot or tire. I am reminded of Karel Capek's "War With the Newts," the 1936 Czech science-fiction satire in which salamanders take over human military installations, and the world descends into a nightmarish arms race and world war. Fortunately, these newts seem to be the peaceful kind.

--from an email from David Bedell [CT_Peace_Justice]

Torture

2008-07-23T08:45:00.006-04:00

Senator McCain: Torture is Wrong

by True Majority, US Action, Catholics United (http://www.catholics-united.org/), & the School Of the Americas Watch (http://www.soaw.org/)

Click

Watch this video from Joshua Casteel, a former military interrogator. Then join Joshua and call on Sen. McCain to lead his party by bringing an end to torture in all circumstances.

http://www.TrueMajority.org/NoTorture

Nov. 21-23, 2008: Converge on Fort Benning, Georgia

The annual November vigil to close the School of the Americas at the gates of Fort Benning will follow the presidential election by two weeks. It will be an opportunity for the progressive movement to push for the closure of the SOA/WHINSEC and to set an agenda against oppressive U.S. foreign policy, whatever the result of that election is.

Click here to download the November Organizing Packet

The Folk Process

2008-07-09T08:43:00.001-04:00

Pete Seeger often talks about "The Folk Process."

It's almost like plagarism, but it's not really.

It's more like bending the words of someone elses song to fit your voice or capture your mood or convey your point of view, whether it's an old Russian Lullaby like "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," with the addition of Pete's line: "When Will They Ever Learn?" or your friend Bob's song in which you change the title a little bit and switch some words about (and I've got a "take one recording" but it's difficult for me to sing and play at the same time, so I won't torture you with it - yet).

Something like this:

Our Lady of Perpetual War
Shishka Bob (and Slider Tim’s Folk Processing)
C: 2008

Well he looked to the right, and he looked to the left
And he felt something funny as it pierced through his vest
And the bullet gave another of America’s best
To Our Lady of Perpetual War

He was just 23, with a wife and a kid
And he joined at 18, like a good young man did
And he bought all the bullshit from the cowards who hid
Behind Our Lady of Perpetual War

They cock and they crow and they make others pay
For their greedy decisions while they kneel down and pray
And seek absolution from an idol of clay
Our Lady of Perpetual War

Maybe someday we’ll know why the good die so young
Why a mother’s heart’s brok’n by a rocket or gun
Why the rich just get richer and the poor pay the sum
To Our Lady of Perpetual War

When you gas up your car instead of buying kid’s shoes
Think of Oil Man’s profits, know that his kid’s excused
From the high cost of living, from his body being used
By Our Lady of Perpetual War

You may think that I’m crazy, or politically naive
As I watch you deal with a card up your sleeve
It’s just that I refuse to bow at the knee
To Our Lady of Perpetual War

Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

2008-07-01T09:26:00.003-04:00

A new tune by my friend who "can't stay mum. War isn't working."

Lifted from: bobnield

Well he looked to the right, and he looked to the left
He felt something funny as it pierced through his vest
And the bullet gave another of America’s best
To Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

He was just 23, with a wife and a kid
And he joined at 18, like a good young man did
And he bought all the bullshit from the cowards who hid
Behind Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

They cower and cringe and they make other’s pay
For their greedy decisions while they kneel down and pray
And seek absolution from an idol of clay
Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

Maybe someday we’ll know why the good die so young
Why a mother’s heart’s brok’n by a rocket or gun
Why the rich just get richer and the poor pay the sum
To Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

When you gas up your car instead of buying kid’s shoes
Think of Oil Man’s profits, know that his kid’s excused
From the high cost of living, from his body being used
By Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

You may think that I’m rash, or politically naive
That I don’t know how to play with a card up my sleeve
It’s just, I refuse to bow at the knee
To Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

All 5 CT Representatives Vote for Impeachment Resolution

2008-06-12T07:26:00.003-04:00

[From: CT_Peace_Justice]

Today's Vote on Kucinich Impeachment Resolution

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:41 PM
To: WaronokePeaceAction@yahoogroups.com, "Connecticut Peace and Justice list" , ctupmiddleeast@lists.riseup.net, WHCPJ-Core@yahoogroups.com, "CTUnitedforPeace" , "Actshare" , CTpeace-activists@yahoogroups.com, sect_peace_network@yahoogroups.com, connecticut@afsc.org, himc@riseup.net... more

"It looks like all five CT representatives voted for the impeachment resolution.

Now the Judiciary Committee needs to hold some hearings on this."

------------ --------- ---------

http://rawstory.com/news08/2008/06/11/house-voting-to-send-impeachment-resolution-to-judiciary-committee/

By Nick Juliano Uncategorized Wednesday, 11 June 2008

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send articles of impeachment against President Bush to the Judiciary Committee for review. The impeachment resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, requested a recorded vote on the motion around 3 p.m. Wednesday, and 24 Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in voting to send the impeachment measure to the committee. The motion passed 251-166. “It is imperative that Members of Congress have a thorough opportunity to read the Articles of Impeachment and study the documentation,” Kucinich said in a news release Tuesday. “When they do, I am confident that they will agree that it is both appropriate and necessary for the Judiciary Committee to begin hearings on the Resolution.” Kucinich took to the floor of the House Monday evening to read his 35 articles of impeachment, accusing Bush of war crimes, breaking his oath of office and misleading Americans to launch an illegal invasion of Iraq. The Ohio Democrat said impeachment was the only way to keep Bush from launching another invasion of Iran.

The Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), already has before it articles of impeachment aimed at Vice President Dick Cheney. Since receiving that impeachment measure in November, the committee has done nothing.

Democratic leaders in the House seem determined to block the latest impeachment measure as well, and it remains all-but-impossible that the House would proceed with impeachment hearings before Bush leaves office.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sticking by her earlier pledge to make sure impeaching Bush and Cheney is an option that remains strictly “off the table.”
Click here to see the votes: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll401.xml

Kucinich: Articles of Impeachment

2008-06-11T09:18:00.001-04:00

On Monday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich made history on the floor of the House by reading 35 Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush.
At last!!!!!
We've waited years to find one Member of Congress brave enough to stand up for our Constitution, for which generations of Americans have fought and died. We are thrilled and honored that Dennis Kucinich has chosen to be that one genuine patriot.
We congratulate him on his historic leadership, and pledge to do everything in our power to persuade the House to adopt all 35 Articles and put George W. Bush on trial before the Senate of the United States, exactly as the Founding Fathers wanted.
Of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-8), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-5), and Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel (IL-5) all remain adamantly opposed to impeachment - despite the overwhelming evidence of High Crimes, including the "Phase II" report by the Senate Intellligence Committee and Scott McClellan's new book.
And when Rep. Robert Wexler (FL-19) called for Judiciary Committee hearings on Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Cheney in January, only 17 Democrats joined them: Neil Abercrombie (HI-1), Tammy Baldwin (WI-2), Michael Capuano (MA-8), Yvette Clarke (NY-11), Lacy Clay (MO-1), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Peter DeFazio (OR-4), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Sam Farr (CA-17), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7), Luis Gutierrez (IL-4), Barbara Lee (CA-9), Gwen Moore (WI-4), Jim Moran (VA-8), Mike Thompson (CA-1), Ed Towns (NY-10), and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6).
So Kucinich's heroic efforts will be in vain unless we inundate Congress with emails and calls (202-224-3121) showing our full support for Rep. Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment:
http://www.democrats.com/35-articles-of-impeachment
And if you have time to do more, please login to Democrats.com, click "Local" and connect with other activists in your Congressional District to organize a Honk-To-Impeach gathering at the District Office of your Representative or a major local intersection:
http://www.democrats.com/honktoimpeach
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your constant support throughout this long and historic struggle.
Bob Fertik
p.s. Events are moving incredibly fast so we will do our best to keep you informed by posting the latest news on our blog at Democrats.com. We apologize in advance if our site crashes under the massive surge of traffic - our support team is working hard to upgrade our site. If our site is down when you visit, please read the latest news at http://afterdowningstreet.org/
#####
Forward this message to everyone you know!
To subscribe, create a free Democrats.com account here: http://www.democrats.com/user/register

Arlo Guthrie/Patriots Dream

2008-06-09T09:01:00.003-04:00

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Living now here but for fortune
Placed by fate's mysterious schemes
Who'd believe that we're the ones asked
To try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Arise sweet destiny, time runs short
All of your patience has heard their retort
Hear us now for alone we can't seem
To try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Can you hear the words being whispered
All along the American stream
Tyrants freed the just are imprisoned
Try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

Ah but perhaps too much is being asked of too few
You and your children with nothing to do
Hear us now for alone we can't seem
To try to rekindle the patriot's dreams

©1976 by Arloco Music Inc (ASCAP)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIEaso4Ty1M

In the comments you'll find: "The national treasure, Bill Moyers, just quoted this song in his incredible speech at the National Conference for Media Reform. Great song for the times. Expect this one to get many more hits in the coming days. Thanks Arlo, you done Woody proud."

I saw the speech at DemocracyNow! (http://www.democracynow.org/) this morning...

100 Acorns

2008-06-09T05:44:00.003-04:00

100 days of conceptual instructions by Yoko Ono

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Introduction

On 15 June 1968, John Lennon & I planted two acorns for peace at Coventry Cathedral. It was the first of our many Peace 'Events'.

In the summer of 1996, I picked up from where I left off, and wrote 100 ACORNS.

Starting on the 40th anniversary of the Acorn Peace Event on 15 June 2008, I will publish here an 'Acorn' every day for 100 days.

After each day of sharing the instructions, you should feel free to question, discuss, and/or report what your mind tells you.

I'm just planting the seeds.

Have fun.

Love, yoko

June 2008

Links:
IMAGINE PEACE website
Yoko Ono MySpace
Yoko Ono Facebook
Yoko Ono YouTube
More links

Bridges - Ani Difranco and Utah Phillips

2008-06-04T10:08:00.002-04:00

Utah Phillips

2008-05-26T05:17:00.004-04:00

Sun, 25 May 2008 07:08:05 -0400
From:
"David Rovics"

I was watching my baby daughter sleep in her carseat outside of the Sacramento airport about ten hours ago when I noticed a missed call from Brendan Phillips. He's in a band called Fast Rattler with several friends of mine, two of whom live in my new hometown of Portland, Oregon, one of whom needed a ride home from the Greyhound station. I called back, and soon thereafter heard the news from Brendan that his father had died the night before in his sleep, when his heart stopped beating.
I wouldn't want to elevate anybody to inappropriately high heights, but for me, Utah Phillips was a legend.I first became familiar with the Utah Phillips phenomenon in the late 80's, when I was in my early twenties, working part-time as a prep cook at Morningtown in Seattle. I had recently read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, and had been particularly enthralled by the early 20th Century section, the stories of the Industrial Workers of the World. So it was with great interest that I first discovered a greasy cassette there in the kitchen by the stereo, Utah Phillips Sings the Songs and Tells the Stories of the Industrial Workers of the World.
As a young radical, I had heard lots about the 1960's. There were (and are) plenty of veterans of the struggles of the 60's alive and well today. But the wildly tumultuous era of the first two decades of the 20th century is now (and pretty well was then) a thing entirely of history, with no one living anymore to tell the stories. And while long after the 60's there will be millions of hours of audio and video recorded for posterity, of the massive turn-of-the-century movement of the industrial working class there will be virtually none of that.To hear Utah tell the stories of the strikes and the free speech fights, recounting hilariously the day-to-day tribulations of life in the hobo jungles and logging camps, singing about the humanity of historical figures such as Big Bill Haywood, Joe Hill or Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, was to bring alive an era that at that point only seemed to exist on paper, not in the reality of the senses. But Utah didn't feel like someone who was just telling stories from a bygone era -- it was more like he was a bridge to that era.Hearing these songs and stories brought to life by him, I became infected by the idea that if people just knew this history in all it's beauty and grandeur, they would find the same hope for humanity and for the possibility for radical social change that I had just found through Utah.
Thus, I became a Wobbly singer, too. I began to stand on a street corner on University Way with a sign beside me that read, "Songs of the Seattle General Strike of 1919." I mostly sang songs I learned from listening to Utah's cassette, plus some other IWW songs I found in various obscure collections of folk music that I came across.It was a couple years later that I first really discovered Utah Phillips, the songwriter. I had by this time immersed myself with great enthusiasm in the work of many contemporary performers in what gets called the folk music scene, and had developed a keen appreciation for the varied and brilliant songwriting of Jim Page and others. Then, in 1991, I came across Utah's new cassette, I've Got To Know, and soon thereafter heard a copy of a much earlier recording, Good Though.
Whether he's recounting stories from his own experiences or those of others doesn't matter. There is no need to know, for in the many hours Utah spent in his troubled youth talking with old, long-dead veterans of the rails and the IWW campaigns, a bridge from now to then was formed in this person, in his pen and in his deep, resonant voice. In Good Though I heard the distant past breathing and full of life in Utah's own compositions, just as they breathed in his renditions of older songs.
In I've Got To Know I heard an eloquent and current voice of opposition to the American Empire and the bombing of Iraq, rolled together seamlessly with the voices of deserters, draft dodgers and tax resisters of the previous century.In reference to the power of lying propaganda, a friend of mine used to say it takes ten minutes of truth to counteract 24 hours of lies. But upon first hearing Utah's song, "Yellow Ribbon," it seemed to me that perhaps that ratio didn't give the power of truth enough credit. It seemed to me that if the modern soldiers of the empire would have a chance to hear Utah's monologues there about his anguish after his time in the Army in Korea, or the breathtakingly simple depiction of life under the junta in El Salvador in his song "Rice and Beans," they would just have to quit the military.
Utah made it clear in word and in deed that steeping yourself in the tradition was required of any good practitioner of the craft, and I did my best to follow in his footsteps and do just that. I learned lots of Utah's songs as well as the old songs he was playing. Making a living busking in the Boston subways for years, I ran into other folks who were doing just that, as well as writing great songs, such as Nathan Phillips (no relation). Nathan was from West Virginia, and did haunting versions of "The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia," "Larimer Street," "All Used Up," and other songs. In different T stops at the same time, Nathan and I could often be found both singing the songs of Utah Phillips for the passersby.
Traveling around the US in the 1990's and since then, it seemed that Utah's music had, on a musical level, had the same kind of impact that Zinn's People's History or somewhat earlier works such as Jeremy Brecher's book, Strike!, had had in written form -- bringing alive vital history that had been all but forgotten. With Ani DiFranco's collaboration with Utah, this became doubly true, seemingly overnight, and this man who had had a loyal cult following before suddenly had, if not what might be called popularity, at least a loyal cult following that was now twice as big as it had been in the pre-Ani era.
I had had the pleasure of hearing Utah live in concert only once in the early 90's, doing a show with another great songwriter, Charlie King, in the Boston area. I was looking forward to hearing him play again around there in 1995, but what was to be a Utah Phillips concert turned into a benefit for Utah's medical expenses, when he had to suddenly drastically cut down on his touring, due to heart problems. I think there were about twenty different performers doing renditions of Utah Phillips' songs at Club Passim that night. I did "Yellow Ribbon."Traveling in the same circles and putting out CDs on the same record label, it was fairly inevitable that we'd meet eventually. The first time was several years ago, if memory serves me, behind the stage at the annual protest against the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia. I think I successfully avoided seeming too painfully star-struck. Utah was complaining to me earnestly about how he didn't know what to do at these protests, didn't feel like he had good protest material. I think he did just fine, though I can't recall what he did.
Utah lived in Nevada City, and the last time I was there he came to the community radio station while I was appearing on a show. This was soon after Katrina, and I remember singing my song, "New Orleans," and Utah saying embarrassingly nice things. I was on a little tour with Norman Solomon speaking and me singing, and we had done an event the night before in town, which Utah was too tired to attend, if I recall.
Me, Utah, Norman, and my companion, Reiko, went over to a nice breakfast place after the radio show, talked and ate breakfast. Utah did most of the talking, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that his use of mysterious hobo colloquialisms and frequent references to obscure historical characters in twentieth-century American anarchist history was something he did off stage as well as on.
I've passed near enough to that part of California many times since then. Called once when I was nearby and he was out of town, doing a show in Boston. Otherwise I just thought about calling and dropping by, but didn't take the time. Life was happening, and taking a day or two off in Nevada City was always something that I never quite seemed to find the time for. Always figured next time I'll have more time, I'll call him then. It had been thirteen years since he found out about his heart problems, and he hadn't kicked the bucket yet...
Of course, now I wish I had taken the time when I had the chance, and I'm sure there are many other people who feel the same way.In any case, for those of us who knew his music, whether from recordings or concerts, for those of us who knew Utah from his stories on or off the stage, whether we knew him as that human bridge to the radical labor movement of yesterday, or as the voice of the modern-day hobos, or as that funky old guy that Ani (DiFranco) did a couple of CDs with, Utah Phillips will be remembered and treasured by many.
He was undeniably a sort of musical-political-historical institution in his own day. He said he was a rumor in his own time. No question, one man's rumor is another man's legend, but who cares, it's just words anyway.

Dave Rovics

http://www.davidrovics.com/

(Listen to Dave sing some of Utah's songs, like Yellow Ribbon at: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=111310

Yellow Ribbon

I've traveled through this country
And I'll tell you what I've seen
A million yellow ribbons
And I wonder what they mean
It's love and hope and sympathy
For those who've gone to fight
But still I know that none of them
Can make the killing right
When we see two children fighting
Don't we try to come between
Get 'em both to talk
Instead of acting rough and mean
We give 'em love and limits
Say now try to get along
Then we tell 'em it's alright to kill
To prove that killing's wrong
Sometimes your yellow ribbon
Tries to make me feel ashamed
Tells me I'm a traitor
That somehow it's me to blame
But I can't hide behind it
Just to prove that I belong
And I won't be an accomplice
To a thing I know is wrong
But I'd wear a yellow ribbon
For the peace that's in my heart
I'd wear it for the loved ones
That should never have to part
I'd wear it for the wasted lives
No matter friend or foe
And I'd wear it for the children
If they never had to go
Yes, I've seen your yellow ribbons
Hanging up all over town
But I don't think they'll ever buy
The peace we've never found
Oh, the guns will all be silent
And the battle flags all furled
When we tie a yellow ribbon
'Round the world
Yes, the guns will all be silent
And the battle flags all furled
When we tie a yellow ribbon
'Round the world

U. Utah Phillips performing at the Spring 2007 Strawberry Music Festival:

Litchfield Event

2008-05-23T10:56:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday, May 28th, MoveOn members in Litchfield are asking people on the street to take The Bush-McCain Challenge. It works like the old Pepsi-Coke Challenge—we'll set up a sidewalk table and ask passersby to guess whether a quote or position is Bush's or McCain's. It's surprisingly hard to tell the difference!
Another MoveOn member is already hosting an event near you. Can you come by to help set up and ask quiz questions in Litchfield?
Here's the closest event to you:
Host: Sanna J.—fellow MoveOn member Where: Litchfield Green (in Litchfield) When: Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at 12:00 PMHere's the link to RSVP: http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=46581&id=12715-3339991-MM2rIE&t=4
Polling shows voters will reject John McCain if they realize how similar he is to George Bush.

The Bush-Challenge is a persuasive way to make this point.

Memorial Day

2008-05-23T10:46:00.002-04:00

From Code Pink:

"This Memorial Day, as we mourn those who have been killed during wartime, we are inspired to work even harder to bring our troops home and stop the next war now."

http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?list=type&type=356

From Natural Wisdom

2008-05-23T10:29:00.003-04:00

I came by this quote at Ji Hyang's blog:
http://naturalwisdom.blogspot.com/

Martin Luther King encouraged us to "Hew, out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

http://naturalwisdom.blogspot.com/2008/03/hope.html

I say that if we all pile up our little stones, we can build a mountain of hope...

Summertime, and It's Time for a Peace T-Shirt Sale!

2008-05-22T08:20:00.005-04:00

Please share this message as widely as possible.
Dear Tim ,
Just in time to help you look cool and stay cool this summer, we are putting some of our most popular peace t-shirts on sale!Click on the following links for substantial savings (10%-60% off!) on our "5 Years Too Many," "Peace Doesn't Grow on Trees," and "We Will Not Be Silent" t-shirts, while supplies last. Discounts on books, buttons, posters, stickers and more are also available. Summer is also yard-sign season ... especially during this election year. Amid the sea of campaign slogans, keep the real issues in the forefront with our "End the War!" yard signs.

(Discounts available for bulk orders.)

Our new sticker design highlights the connection between our troubled economy and the staggering financial costs of the war. Make this connection visible in your community with our "It's the War Economy, Stupid!" stickers, available in two sizes (and as a t-shirt too!). Other new items include our "US Out of Iraq" leaflet, which doubles as a poster, perfect for wheatpasting.More t-shirts, buttons, stickers and more are available through our friends at Zazzle.com.

And, if you received an economic stimulus check, please consider investing all or part of it in the peace and justice movement! For donations of $50 or more, you will receive a copy of War With No End or a 5 Years Too Many t-shirt as a thank-you gift! Click here for our secure online donation page.

Yours, for peace and justice,

Susan Chenelle

UFPJ Internet Coordinator

From Code Pink

2008-05-08T18:16:00.004-04:00

Trip to Jordan and Syria to Research Plight of Iraqi Refugees
by Medea Benjamin

Day One ~ April 29, Amman, Jordan
"It was an amazingly full first day in Jordan. Asma Al-Haidari, a brilliant Iraqi woman who lives in Amman and works with political as well as humanitarian groups, picked me up at 8am from the Toledo Hotel. Our first stop was the office of UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees), where a group of about 40 Iraqis was waiting on line to register with the agency or ask for some type of assistance. We started talking to the people on line. One woman, who was completely covered in a black abaya except for her eyes, had a disabled son she was trying to get medical help for. Another woman had a child with a tumor who needed an operation. All had fled the violence in Iraq and were living in Jordan without funds and in legal limbo…"

Homeless in Iraq

Full Article:
http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=4141

From The Declaration of Peace Website

2008-05-07T07:16:00.004-04:00

http://declarationofpeace.org/campaign-updates/comprehensive-peace-plan-for-iraq

May 7, 2008:

CALL TODAY

to Stop $178 Billion War Funding Bill
Phone calls and e-mails to your Congressional Representatives

are needed now!

“Vote NO on any more Iraq War funding.”

A huge $178 billion war funding bill is expected to be brought to the House floor on Thursday (May 8, 2008).

(Click here to see the May 6, 2008 N.Y. Times article.)

Please CALL or E-MAIL your members of Congress on Wednesday.
Contact information for all U.S. Representatives and Senators can be found at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
The Congressional Switchboard number is: (202) 224-3121
Toll-free number for Congress: 1-800-828-0498
Ask to be connected to your Representative’s office.

Our message to members of Congress is simple:
Vote NO on any more Iraq War funding.
End the war!
Now is the time to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
Bring the troops home now!
The best way to support the troops is to bring them home ALIVE and INTACT NOW!
The only effective way to end the war and bring the troops home is to

STOP FUNDING WAR AND OCCUPATION NOW!
It is critically important that we encourage everyone to call their U.S. Representative on Wednesday to tell them to …
Vote NO on any more funding for continuing U.S. military operations in Iraq.

Thank you!
Timothy Baer
Campaign Coordinator, The Declaration of Peace
Organizer, Bloomington Peace Action Coalition

Bush & Kissenger & Kent CT & Kent Ohio

2008-05-06T08:49:00.009-04:00

I Saw Marine One Fly By, Heading Toward Kent CT:

I was working, driving through Torrington, CT when I saw the helicopters fly by on April 25th, 2008. My camera was on the seat behind me, driving through traffic, and couldn’t easily reach it to take a photo of the four choppers in the sky, two military escorts and two identical others exactly alike, the decoy and Marine One…

...so I lifted this picture from somewhere.

I had been thinking about the following Dave Rovics song ever since I'd heard about the visit and would have gone to Kent with “3,904 Miles to Nuremberg” printed on a sign, if I had been able to:

(Dave writes at his website: “YouTube Music videos from my DVD that Chris Chandler did and many other videos can be found there.)

Kent Ohio: The end of April and the beginning of May always make me think of Kent State in 1970:

I can’t imbed this:
“May 4th 1970, Kent State University: National Guard killed 4 students and wounded 9. Some of them who did not take part in any action at a 100 yds range.Start and end sequence of a 1 hr documentary special by Germany's WDR TV. Coverage originating from major U.S. networks. TV Teams of NBC, ABC and CBS had been present. Where has their material gone?
But you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1H6DSzBlVk

The tragic events of May 4, 1970 from the University website with links:
http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/4may70/exhibit/chronology/index.html

Trap Rock Peace Center

2008-05-05T08:42:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the first Sunday of May 2008, so starting at Noon we were there on the Green in Bethlehem, CT.
The sun came out from behind the clouds during the hour and we stayed talking for about forty minutes with someone who came by and stood with us for the first time.

Time flies when you talk about Peace and all the related issues; a wiser man than I once said, "Peace is much more than just the absense of war," or something like that...

I always intended to include a link to the Traprock Peace Center website, and I find it changed, but with a link to their "Archives." There is so much information available there that is hard to come by on your television.

Especially regarding so-called Depleted Uranium (The question was asked, as we stood talking by the side of the road, "Are you afraid of Nuclear War?" By using Depleted Uranium (DU), the United States of America may already be waging a Nuclear War).

Anyway, here's what I found this morning:

"November 5, 2007: This website is an archive of the former website, traprockpeace.org, which was created 10 years ago by Charles Jenks. It became one of the most popular grassroots peace sites in the US, and its content remains as an important resource on the antiwar movement, student activism, 'depleted' uranium and other topics. Jenks authored virtually all of its web pages and multimedia content (photographs, audio, video, and pdf files. As the author and registered owner of that site, his purpose here is to preserve an important slice of the history of the grassroots peace movement in the US over the past decade. He is maintaining this historical archive as a service to the greater peace movement, and to the many friends of Traprock Peace Center. Blogs have been consolidated and the calendar has been archived for security reasons; all other links remain the same, and virtually all blog content remains intact.
THIS SITE DOES NOT REFLECT THE CURRENT AND ONGOING WORK OF TRAPROCK PEACE CENTER, which has reorganized its board and moved to Greenfield, Mass. To contact Traprock Peace Center, call 413-773-7427 or email. We'll post a link to its new website when it goes online. Charles Jenks is posting new material to PeaceJournal.org, a multimedia blog and resource center. You may contact him by email."

PeaceJournal.org

http://peacejournal.org/

As a post script, I'll add a video I found on the new site:

And since that's Holly Near singing, I'll add this quote too:

“It is our apathy, fear, indifference, silence, and hopelessness that is a gift to those who wish to dominate. The greatest gift we can give ourselves and the world is to not let them have that silence.”
Holly Near (http://hollynear.com/)

Let's Pretend!

2008-05-01T12:10:00.004-04:00

Still No 'Mission Accomplished'
By Paul Reynolds

World affairs correspondent, BBC News website

"President Bush did not say "Mission Accomplished" on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego on 1 May five years ago. But the banner above him did.
And the picture of those two words said more than the 1,829 words of his speech.
What the president said, among a lot of other things, was: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country."
But the message from the banner said it simpler - mission accomplished. It was all over...

Afghanistan, too
...Mr Rumsfeld himself said, on the same day as the Abraham Lincoln event, that major combat in Afghanistan had also ended.
He declared in Kabul: "We're at a point where we clearly have moved from major combat activity to a period of stability and stabilisation and reconstruction activities. The bulk of this country today is permissive, it's secure."

There is not much optimism about Iraq these days
The story of the banner would have made a good episode of the US television series The West Wing..."

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7377036.stm

But let's listen to this and "Let's Pretend!"

http://www.folkmusic.com/

President Bush is Coming to Connecticut

2008-04-24T14:53:00.008-04:00

From
Connecticut OPPOSES the WAR

President Bush is Coming to Hartford

President Bush will read a statement on Malaria Awareness in Hartford on Friday morning. As if $3 TRILLION for war is not enough, this visit is a thinly-netted ruse to get taxpayers to pay for a fundrasing trip to Henry Kissinger's house in Kent a short time later.
Protesters will gather at the Northwest Boys & Girls Club at the corner of Nahum Drive and Granby Street in Hartford from 10 AM until 12 noon.

AND THEN:

President Bush is appearing at Henry Kissinger's house for a fundraiser for David Cappiello, who is challenging freshman Chris Murphy (D5-CT). Fundraiser guests are being told to arrive by 12 noon so they can be checked in by security. Bush is coming at 1 PM.

At 3 PM we will march against the War on Iraq on Main Street (Route 7) in the center of Kent. Even if you can't make it until the end, it is important to come and make a statement against the war.
We will be protesting Bush's wrongheaded war without end, which has cost taxpayers over $3 trillion and has wrecked our economy.

At this point, we are telling people to gather at the home of Henry Kissinger, 50 Henderson Road, Kent, CT

(Google will call it Cornwall Bridge; the town is wrong but the map and directions are correct).

If you need a ride or can offer one or more other people a ride, please use the registration link below and let us know

We expect the authorities to push us back from this point but we expect to be nearby. People should go to the Connecticut Opposes the War (COW) www.ctcow.org website to register, rideshare and to keep up to date with the latest logistics as details for the event change -- and they will.
When April 25th, 2008 12:00 PM through 3:00 PM
Location 50 Henderson Road
Kent, CT 06754

From: http://ctcow.org/, where more info may be obtained

COW's Mission Statement: "Nothing less than to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home safely, and change our national priorities from a war based on lies to health care, jobs and proper treatment of our suffering vets."

From the local newspaper, I find (with my editorial italics):

"The president is coming, but no one in Kent seems to notice"

(More obvious evidence that the Waterbury paper has no proof reader and relies solely on spell check - a paper that calls itself the "Republican" but fails to capitalize this particular President?)

BY GEORGE KRIMSKY

WTBY REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2008/04/24/news/335501.txt

(KENT) -- "If this bustling little village in the Litchfield Hills is excited about the upcoming visit of the president, it's sure doing a good job of hiding it.

A visit downtown earlier this week showed no preparations under way, no special sprucing up, no signs of welcome or protest, and very little chatter about George W. Bush's expected arrival Friday for a brief Republican fundraiser at the home of Henry and Nancy Kissinger.

"Of course it's a big deal, but there's more interest around town in what's happening with the budget," said liquor store owner Ira Smith, referring to local angst over the size of the 2008-09 municipal and education budget proposals.

Although the reasons differed, the general feeling of apathy was confirmed in interviews with trade and service people around town. "From what I've heard, more people got excited about the Pope in New York," said hairdresser Jennifer Yodkin."

This is a Democratic town, and becoming more so every day," explained Carol McCann, who runs a fabric shop off Main Street. Although Republicans used to dominate politics here and in other Litchfield County towns, registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans 663 to 519 in Kent. But unaffiliated voters number 728.Over at Town Hall, First Selectman Ruth Epstein was more upbeat about the visit, based on calls she had been receiving in recent days. "I think a lot of people are excited. It's not often a sitting president comes to a small town like ours," said the chief elected official, who is a Democrat.

But Epstein said she knew only one local person who planned to go to the fund-raiser, which will cost $1,000 per head to attend and $10,000 to have one's picture taken with the president. "Some people wanted to know if I was going, but I haven't been invited. You'd think it would be protocol," she said.

"Yes, I'm going," GOP Town Chairman Anthony DiPentima said. "Obviously it's a great honor to have the president of the United States come to Kent."

Basically, this is a fairly sophisticated community that doesn't gawk over such things. More than most towns in northwestern Connecticut, Kent is quite accustomed to visitors, including celebrities, given its location on busy Route 7, its reputation as a haven for New Yorkers, and its plethora of high-end galleries, shops and restaurants.

Also, the village itself is not likely to be directly impacted by President Bush's visit. He will reportedly fly by helicopter directly to the Kissinger home, which has its own helipad. Their house is nearly five miles east on the border with Warren, tucked away in a wood-rimmed clearing off a long dirt road.Indirectly, downtown commerce could thrive from an influx of fat-cat Republicans.

And then there are the demonstrators, who have announced their intention to gather here Friday to peacefully protest the Iraq War and other administration policies. They've scheduled a march down Main Street.

"They don't spend much," Smith said with shrug. "The coffee and doughnut trade will do well."

None of the dozen vendors interviewed in town had been asked to supply or cater the fundraiser, although there were unconfirmed rumors that local chocolate maker Belgique was sending sweets, after it provided the dessert at the White House for Queen Elizabeth's visit a year ago. Belgique was closed for the first three days of the week.

But local florist Jessie Rundall said she gave her business card to some groundskeepers at the Kissinger estate in hopes of handling the flower arrangements. "I'd like some of that business," she smiled."

My google search on "Nuremberg, Germany + distance from Kent, CT" reveals that the two cities are 3,904 miles apart...

David Rovics

2008-04-23T06:47:00.004-04:00

David Rovics is a friend of mine that I’ve never met yet.
This morning he sent me this:

"Hey folks in Connecticut!
Just wanted to spread the word that I'm hoping to visit the northeast sometime around early June, likely making the trip with my little daughter, largely to visit friends and relatives, but I'm very much hoping to do a few gigs while I'm in the area, too... If you or anybody you know might be inclined to organize something, like a concert for kids or a concert for adults (two entirely different musical programs), please let me know!"

Yours,
David
http://www.davidrovics.com/
www.davidrovics.com/kids
DRovics@gmail.com
(503) 863-1177

A short one:

A long one, David Rovics with Attila the Stockbroker:

Response Song to "Will It Change Things?"

2008-04-22T08:50:00.003-04:00

News travels fast in these days of electric communications: a response song to "Will It Change Things?" has been already been speedily posted and is being reported by the media:

Almost related:

Will It Change Things?

2008-04-21T11:10:00.002-04:00

A song by Bob Nield, that I posted the lyrics to, and now have added some tracks to his original song, using that to create this video...

Wordless Interview

2008-04-17T21:34:00.001-04:00

Civics Quiz

2008-04-15T10:33:00.003-04:00

I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.- Thomas Jefferson

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.- Abraham Lincoln

Big business is not dangerous because it is big, but because its bigness is an unwholesome inflation created by privileges and exemptions which it ought not to enjoy. - Woodrow Wilson

The citizens of the United States must control the mighty commercial forces which they themselves called into being.- Theodore Roosevelt

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. - Dwight Eisenhower

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves - and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion. - Thomas Jefferson

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Civics Quiz
Which of the following candidates for President of the United States best reflects values expressed above?

a) John McCain

b) Hillary Clinton

c) Barack Obama

d) Ralph Nader

from an email:

April 14, 2008

www.votenader.org

“The Tree of Peace”

2008-04-11T09:40:00.007-04:00

I know you’ve heard of “Bury the Hatchet,” but did you know the rest of the expression is: “And Plant the Tree of Peace?”

The Haudenosaunee story and more here:

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2008/04/tree-of-peace-and-treaty-trees.html

Including these possible "Treaty Trees" in Woodbury CT...

2008-04-07T14:51:00.008-04:00

Thinking about the presidential candidate who has done the least harm, I could easily name one without hesitating at all.
But you might not hear too much about him on TV.
I wonder why, and so might you.
(And he's the only one talking about impeachment.)

Then this morning, I was surprised to see this in my local newspaper:

Ralph Nader has been a life-saver many times over

BY ANITA BOLOGNA

In response to Bill Dunn’s irresponsible op-ed piece March 10, “‘Ralph Quixote’ tilts again at presidential windmill,” and the accompanying cartoon “Irrelevant at any speed,” it needs to be pointed out Winsted native Ralph Nader ’s accomplishments as a lawyer, researcher, writer, consumer advocate and founder of more than 100 citizen-action nonprofit groups has resulted in legislation that is relevant, landmark and lifesaving.
Mr. Nader was named by Atlantic magazine one of the 100 most influential figures in U.S. history, one of only four living people to be so honored. He has worked to create the framework of laws, regulatory agencies and federal standards that not only have improved the quality of life for all Americans, including Mr. Dunn, but actually saved lives, starting with the legislation he initiated making seat belts standard equipment in cars. The auto industry had neglected to take this step for decades. Ralph Nader has been instrumental in passing such monumental legislation as the Freedom of Information Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Water Drinking Act, Clean Air Act, Wholesome Meat Act, Wholesome Poultry Production Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, the law establishing the Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Products Safety Act, Whistleblower Protection Act, Mine Health and Safety Act, National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and National Automobile and Highway Traffic Safety Act. His largest group, Public Citizen, now under the direction of Joan Claybrook, has more than 100,000 members. The Public Interest Research Groups that Mr. Nader helped establish on college campuses in 23 states have published hundreds of ground-breaking reports, lobbied for laws in state legislatures, and called the media’s attention to environmental and energy problems.
Mr. Nader has been instrumental in legislation concerning the safety of medical devices, mobile-home safety and food labels. Who knew? Probably not Mr. Dunn. Ralph Nader has improved the quality of Bill Dunn’s life more than Bill Dunn, and most of us, realize. One wonders if Mr. Dunn has anything against clean air, clean water, wholesome meat, safe cars, food labels, no smoking on airplanes, freedom of information and protection of whistle blowers. In an ideal world, businesses wouldn’t dump toxins into rivers, make unsafe products and sacrifice the health of consumers and employees to raise profits.
In an ideal world, the auto industry would design safer cars voluntarily. In an ideal world, legislators would have initiated laws concerning all of the above to promote the rights, safety and concerns of their constituents.
But they didn’t.
Instead, it took a private citizen, Ralph Nader. Ralph Nader studied at the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He has traveled through Latin America, Africa and Europe, where he witnessed great social struggles and interviewed world leaders as a freelance journalist. He also speaks Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
How refreshing it would be to have a president who could speak to heads of state in their own languages. Mr. Dunn’s schoolyard name-calling reminds me of a couple of old sayings. If you can label someone, you don’t have to deal with him. And if you can tell a lie long enough, people will believe it. Ralph Nader ’s intellect, integrity, knowledge, experience, wisdom and dedication to this country and to social justice worldwide make him eminently qualified to be president.

Anita Bologna is a writer who lives in Waterbury.

Just this issue alone, a living wage, might bring those people who don't vote into the picture, and at least scare that 1% that's done so well lately...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader

http://www.votenader.org/index.html

Dr. King

2008-04-03T14:54:00.002-04:00

LISA KALVELAGE

2008-04-02T06:35:00.005-04:00

As the first Sunday of the month approaches

A day when I'll stand

for Peace

perhaps with my wife

perhaps with some friends

perhaps all alone

For an hour

On the green

Of a little town called Bethlehem

I think of a question

I'm always asked: "Why do you do it?"

I have many answers for that

But sometimes

I think of my grandparents

who moved here

to America

from Germany

In the years between

The First and Second World Wars

And this song comes to mind:

LISA KALVELAGE

(One of the four housewives, who in May 1966, made a personal demonstration, and prevented a load of napalm bombs from being delivered on time, made a statement as to why she had done it. I have simply tried to put the statement into meter, rhyme, and music. — Pete Seeger)

My name is Lisa Kalvelage, I was born in Nuremberg

And when the trials were held there nineteen years ago

It seemed to me ridiculous to hold a nation all to blame

For the horrors that the world did undergo

A short while later when I applied to be a G. I. bride

An American consular official questioned me

He refused my exit permit, said my answers did not show

I'd learned my lesson about responsibility.

Thus suddenly I was forced to start thinking on this theme

And when later I was permitted to emigrate

I must have been asked a hundred times where I was and what I did

In those years when Hitler ruled our state

I said I was a child or at most a teen-ager

But that only extended the questioning

They'd ask, where were my parents, my father, my mother

And to this I could answer not a thing.

The seed planted there at Nuremberg in 1947

Started to sprout and to grow

Gradually I understood what that verdict meant to me

When there are crimes that I can see and I can know

And now I also know what it is to be charged with mass guilt

Once in a lifetime is enough for me

No, I could not take it for a second time

And that is why I am here today.

The events of May 25th, the day of our protest,

Put a small balance weight on the other side

Hopefully, someday my contribution to peace

Will help just a bit to turn the tide

And perhaps I can tell my children six

And later on their own children

That at least in the future they need not be silent

When they are asked, "Where was your mother, when?"

I'm there for the same reason

As the woman in the song

As the writer of the song

I'm standing there

In case anyone asks

"Where was I, when?"

A little Pete Seeger story:

"About two winters ago, on Route 9 outside Beacon, one winter day, it was freezing—rainy and slushy, a miserable winter day—the war in Iraq is just heating up and the country's in a poor mood," Cronin said. "I'm driving north, and on the other side of the road I see from the back a tall, slim figure in a hood and coat. I'm looking, and I can tell it's Pete, He's standing there all by himself, and he's holding up a big piece of cardboard that clearly has something written on it. Cars and trucks are going by him. He's getting wet. He's holding the homemade sign above his head—he's very tall, and his chin is raised the way he does when he sings—and he's turning the sign in a semicircle, so that the drivers can see it as they pass, and some people are honking and waving at him, and some people are giving him the finger. He's eighty-four years old. I know he's got some purpose, of course, but I don't know what it is. What struck me is that, whatever his intentions are, and obviously he wants people to notice what he's doing, he wants to make an impression—anyway, whatever they are, he doesn't call the newspapers and say, 'I'm Pete Seeger, here's what I'm going to do.' He doesn't cultivate publicity. That isn't what he does. He's far more modest than that. He would never make a fuss. He's just standing out there in the cold and the sleet like a scarecrow. I go a little bit down the road, so that I can turn and come back, and when I get him in view again, this solitary and elderly figure, I see that what he's written on the sign is 'Peace.'"

John Cronin quoted in a New Yorker Magazine article (April 17, 2006) by Alec Wilkinson "THE PROTEST SINGER; Pete Seeger" (http://www.peteseeger.net/new_yorker041706.htm)

Image from: http://picasaweb.google.com/vlashua/PeteSeeger/photo#5090620293104771666

Cats, dogs, and people

2008-04-01T07:00:00.003-04:00

(Video lifted from YouTube - it was in my head this morning, thinking about many things

- and another original poem...)

Cats, dogs, and people
Respond favorably to
Kindness, smiles, a gentle touch and a soft voice
Ask any kitten, puppy, or baby
And they’ll tell you the same

Let the violence cease
Let every action you take
Be a prayer for Peace;
Peace in your heart,
Peace in your home
Peace in your family
Let every action you take
Be a prayer for Peace…

And I’m sorry you can’t be a good example
Perhaps I’m just not a good teacher
I’m worried about that this morning;
We all play our part
So if you can’t be a good example,
You’ll just have to serve as a horrible warning…

Let the violence cease,
Let every action you take
Be a prayer for Peace,
Peace in your neighborhood,
Peace in your city,
Peace in the country where you live -
Let every action you take
Be a prayer for Peace…

It’s okay to believe
In Peace in the World
And it starts
- right here and right now
In your heart,
In your heart,
And it starts
- right here and right now
In your heart,
In your heart…

- March 31, 2008

(I'd already written this one yesterday, not about anyone in particular, but it seems to fit my feelings again today, as I practice my First Amendment rights, thanking "Theodore Ashley" for doing the same: I wish you Peace, brother!)

More 1970

2008-03-31T08:08:00.004-04:00

You can listen to this as you read, if you like...

Trying to put names to faces,
On a big old picture,
Of my Junior High School classmates
Standing in front of our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C.

Some are on the tip of my tongue,
Looking as they did
When we were young, so young
When I was just a kid,
When we were all just a bunch of kids
When we were young, so young

I couldn’t find my face at first,
Until I remembered who I was standing next to,
The guy who I remember once said,
In Mr. Fava’s English class,
“Bored?
There are so many things to think about –
How could you ever be bored?”

I saw him last at his Mom’s funeral,
I was already dressed in black that day
To protest our nation’s
Current Wars,
Three nephews,
One fictive and two kin
In the military
Learning to kill
Learning to kill

There was fear in the air in those days
Some of us couldn’t go
Because there was, really, a protest demonstration
Going on just about a mile or so away
And parents were scared –
About those demonstrators
And Black People in that city
And crime in the streets
And I wish I could say
“How things change.”

I see all those Peace symbols
And wish I had one
I don’t think I ever got one
Or I’d have it still,
And I’d wear it still,
How I wish I could say
“How things change.”

I see some of those faces,
In the grocery stores in my hometown
and sometimes someone sees me
and almost remembers my name
As I do the same
As I do the same…

And there’s someone unforgettable
And I wonder how they’re doing now
And another
And another –
And there’s someone who I know is now gone

And there’s a guy in the back row
Who at the time didn’t know
He’d lose his brother
Half a world away in Viet Nam.

I just happened to be
Standing by the school’s office
When his dad came in to tell him and to bring him home
And I’ll never forget the tears in that big guy’s eyes
And how that moment stayed with me
And how that moment changed my life
How that moment lives again every morning
As I watch the TV news –or read how
Only about one in four Americans knows
Four thousand Americans have died
In our newest war based on lies,
Just like that one was,
Our newest war based on lies…

I look back at the picture,
Try to find Kim,
My wife’s best friend,
Whose son calls me “Uncle” and ,
Emails me from Iraq
To say “Everything is fine,”
Just like he’s told to,
“It’s not at all like the Media says.”

And there’s that center row of teachers
- I saw one of them just after 9/11 with her daughter
- At a car show of all places
- Her daughter wearing a big Peace symbol
- I said “Hello,” but I could tell she didn’t remember me
And that big tall guy with the funny name
He once came to our Peace Vigil, up on the Bethlehem Green,
and of course, there’s Ted, who I often see around:
I play guitar with him and we love a bunch of the same songs
And we even sing together, because together
We manage to remember all the words to the songs...

And there’s one of the best teachers I ever had
Who helped me remember things I’ll never forget
Because he knew that laughter opened up young minds
And old ones too, and you know he’s gone now too
And I probably don’t have to tell you,
Perhaps you already knew
And it’s how you remember him too…

Hey! - and there’s a guy with the same last name
Who made us boys laugh
When he called me “Mac,”
That year there was no shop class.
He’d probably get a good laugh
If I told him about all the famous people
Whose antiques I repaired and restored,
Even tho’ I never made my Mom a breadboard.

And there’s Jocko, who’d just gotten that new name
And Ed the Shred, the young kids call him,
His surfer, and now snow boarder, name;
And there’s someone else now gone,
And another probably in jail or about to be,
Wearing those Peace signs upside down,
I remember him pinning them on like that,
Saying he’s in favor of the War
- I saw him once when a band I was in
- Played at a place we called “The Bucket of Blood,”
- Where they bolted the tables and chairs to the floor
- So people wouldn’t use them to break the front window…

There’s Rita whose picture I saw in the paper,
Holding her pet snakes when she was stationed at Pendleton,
Days after I moved back home from San Clemente
Back in the days when that was the only thing you could see
Up in the hills on the other side of Route 5…

And I must’ve looked again about 20 times,
And there’s always someone else I find,
And the clock is watching me
And my coffee is cold
And there’s that big list called “To DO,”
That I’m trying to find…

Monday, March 31, 2008

1970

2008-03-28T23:20:00.003-04:00

My 8th Grade Class Trip to our nation's capitol, Washington, D.C.

About a mile or so away, right behind us, something else was happening...

Some News

2008-03-26T07:04:00.003-04:00

Army Holds Annual 'Bring Your Daughter To War' Day

In The Know: How Can We Make The War In Iraq More Eco-Friendly?

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

In The Know: Our Troops In Iraq

Delicious Snacks Distract Congressmen From Horrors Of War

Immigration: The Human Cost

See more at: http://www.theonion.com/content//
I'd post more but I'm headed to the local BMW dealership...

Keaton Simons - Masters of War - News Montage

2008-03-26T06:31:00.001-04:00

The anti-war song by Bob Dylan, performed by the soulful young music star, Keaton Simons. Edited by anti-war activist, Bronwyn Ingram. And featuring pre-war newspaper ads by anti-war veteran Lila Garrett, of KPFKs (90.7FM) Connect-The-Dots…

There are many versions of this song at YouTube...

Naugatuck Valley Community College Students for a Culture of Peace

2008-03-25T11:03:00.006-04:00

The Naugatuck Valley Community College Students for a Culture of Peace will have a meeting on Friday March 28, 2008 at 10:15 am in CAFE WEST. They are going to discuss the Seville Statement (see below).

SCOP also presents movies at the school:

The film "Uprooted" is scheduled for 7 PM, Sat., 3/29, 2008.
It will be shown in Room E440 in Ekstrom Hall.
There will be a panel discussion and Q&A after the film.

Bring friends.

Map & Directions:
http://www.nvctc.commnet.edu/welcome/maps.shtml

Ekstrom Hall:
Take elevator or stairs to the 5th floor walkway. Take a right. Follow thewalkway to the end. Stairs straight ahead, elevator on the right to rooms on levels 3, 4 and 6

Info on the movie here:
http://www.nnirr.org/get/get_video.html

They also ask:
“Please see how many people you can bring with you. It should be very informative! We will provide snacks and water for your convenience.”

Seville Statement on Violence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Seville Statement on Violence is a statement on violence that was adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain, on 16 May 1986. It was subsequently adopted by UNESCO at the twenty-fifth session of the General Conference on 16 November 1989. The statement, then known as a 'Statement on Violence', was designed to refute "the notion that organized human violence is biologically determined".

The statement contains five core ideas. These ideas are:
"It is scientifically incorrect to say that we have inherited a tendency to make war from our animal ancestors."

"It is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behaviour is genetically programmed into our human nature."

"It is scientifically incorrect to say that in the course of human evolution there has been a selection for aggressive behaviour more than for other kinds of behaviour."

"It is scientifically incorrect to say that humans have a 'violent brain'."

"It is scientifically incorrect to say that war is caused by 'instinct' or any single motivation."

The statement concludes: "Just as 'wars begin in the minds of men', peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us."

External link: Full text of the Seville Statement on Violence

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3247&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html "

taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville_Statement_on_Violence

Candlelight Vigil

2008-03-25T08:59:00.006-04:00

Who really knows the true numbers
When you add it all up?

But, as Buddy Miller sings:
(You never ask questions)
With God On Our Side

4,000 and 82,349 – 89,867

2008-03-24T13:49:00.001-04:00

Monday, March 24, 2008

4,000 US casualties
&
Anywhere from
82,349 – 89,867 documented civilian deaths from violence according to Iraq Body Count.

Roberta and I will be at the Bethlehem CT Green around 7pm
for a candlelight vigil. You may join us if you wish.

My address book just doesn't have all my contacts anymore and I need to straighten them out.
Please forward this very short notice posting...

"When This War Is Over"

2008-03-24T06:01:00.002-04:00

Une impro en slide sur un titre de J.J. CALE et ERIC CLAPTON
From: patator45

"When This War Is Over"
ERIC CLAPTON / J.J. CALE
(with patator45)

When this war is over it will be a better day
When this war is over it will be a better day
But it won't bring back all those poor boys in the grave

Ain't no sense in the action, killing people all the time
Ain't no sense no the action, killing people all the time
When it happens on the street, we call that a crime

These old boys are leading us somewhere - that is plain to see
I don't know much of nothing, still it troubles me
Got to find another way, this one ain't the way to go
Got to get a plan, change our ways or no...

When this war is over it will be a better day
When this war is over it will be a better day
But it won't bring back those poor boys in the grave

When this war is over, it will be a better day
When this war is over, it will be a better day
But it won't bring back all those poor boys in the grave

Black 47

2008-03-23T00:24:00.002-04:00

" Downtown Baghdad Blues"

Hey, that’s not the whole song! Hear the whole song (more clearly too) at their website:
http://www.black47.com/music/index.html

Downtown Baghdad Blues
Got a buddy in Najaf, he’s playing it straight
Prays to the Lord Jesus Christ every night
Got a homey in Samarra goin’ up the walls
Every time he hears an Islamic prayer call
Me, I don’t care much for Jesus or Mohammed
They don’t stop bullets to the best of my knowledge
Later for the both of you, catch you in eternity
Hopefully, toward the end of this century

I didn’t want to come here, I didn’t get to choose
I got the hup, two, three, four Downtown Baghdad Blues.

I wish I was back home rootin’ for the Padres’
Stead of dodgin’ bullets from Mookie El Sadr
I wish I was back in the land of Guiliani
Instead of takin’ heat from Ayatollah Sistani
Don’t know what I’m doin’, but one thing is clear
Twenty years old, I can kill but I can’t buy a beer
Keep your head down, don’t get your brain cells fried
You’ll be home by Christmas, dead or alive.

I wish I was back in the US of A
Instead of dodgin’ rockets in Fallujiay
There’s a lady with my tattoo on her so special
Dream of her and me out in the desert
She ridin’ round in her Daddy’s Ford Explorer
I’m kickin’ in doors, hey, I thought this war was over
Got sand in my nose, sand in my eyes
But the sand can’t cover up the sights of a
Sniper with my number, got his finger on the trigger
Hope my baby’s okay, I’m still waitin’ for a letter
All I get are emails, so much left unsaid
It’s hot here, baby, but it’s so cold inside my head.

Mission accomplished, yeah, up on deck
Got no armor for my Humvee, I’m left facin’ this train wreck
Shia don’t like me, want Islamic Revolution
Sunni say civil war is part of the solution
Maybe someday there’ll be peace in Fallujah
McDonald’s on the boulevard, Cadillac cruisin’
I’m tryin’ hard to keep this whole thing straight
But will someone tell me what am I doin’ here in the first place?