OMNI NEWSLETTER: EVENTS, ACTIONS, COMMENT
BUILDING A CULTURE OF PEACE, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE JUNE 18 , 2005

OMNI’s Newsletters offer topics and materials for letters to the editor and op-eds.

JUNE 18, SATURDAY, 2005

Juneteenth Celebration, NOON TO 4PM
Juneteenth, a city-wide Commemoration of African American Emancipation sponsored by the UA Multicultural Center, will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 18, at the Agri Park, located off North Garland Street (across from Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center). Juneteenth, also known as African American Emancipation Day, originated in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 and is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. This year's celebration will feature activities geared toward the family. Activities will include an old-fashioned cookout, local vendors, musical entertainment, games for the kids, art displays, snowcones, face painting, faculty/staff cake walk, karaoke and more. All activities are free to the public. Come out and celebrate this 140 year-old holiday. Bring your lawn chairs and picnic blankets. For more information, contact the Multicultural Center at 479-575-2064.



JUNE 26, SUNDAYS, PROTEST AGAINST THE WAR

12:30, Corner North and Garland. Contact Chris Delacruz: elvis_4_peace@yahoo.com Sponsored by OMNI.



JUNE 27 PATRIOT ACT COMMITTEE, 7PM OMNI, please come and help with this important campaign



JUNE 28, TUESDAY, OMNI'S ECOLOGY COMMITTEE

At Dick's 5:30, potluck, selecting a philosophy for OMNI. Come join in, but read The Earth Charter first.



AUGUST NONVIOLENCE TRAINING IN PA

Training for Trainers With Janet Chisholm, FOR Nonviolence Training Coordinator.
August 17-21, 2005 at Kirkridge Retreat Center, Bangor, PA.
Space is limited to 24 participants. Training starts the evening of Wednesday, August 17 and runs through Sunday, August 31. Apply to Kirkridge at (610) 588-1793 or www.kirkridge.org For more information, contact FOR at 845-358-4601, or e-mail nonviolence@forusa.org (from Joanie)


NOVEMBER 3-6, 4TH QUAKER WOMEN’S CONFERENCE ON FAITH

Hinton, OK. Contact Gladys Tiffany (gladystiffany@yahoo.com; 479-973-9049).



NEW PEACE SCULPTURE IN ARKANSAS

Dear Members and Friends of Arkansas WAND
Some of you already know of The Beacon of Peace and Hope project that Arkansas WAND is sponsoring. This 36' steel and granite sculpture will be built on the North side of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock at the site of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum (AIMM). This will be a statement about making our children and grandchildren - and future generations - safer by waging PEACE. We are going to build it as a tangible focal point in our community where we can honor those who work for peace. We hope you will want to be a part of this important undertaking. WAND's mission is to empower women to act politically to reduce violence and militarism and to redirect excessive military resources to unmet human and environmental needs.



CONGRESS WATCH

The U.S. is preventing the completion of a legally binding international treaty to control the flow of light weapons to conflict zones. And the U.S. violates its own Foreign Assistance Act (Section 502B) by sending arms to Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Nepal. Ask Lincoln, Pryor, and Boozman to support a binding agreement to prvent irresponsible and illegal arms transferes to human rights abusers. (www.senate.gov, www.house.gov) (from Amnesty International Magazine Winter 2004 for full report)

BOOZMAN WATCH

The Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2005 (HR 2017) will help torture survivors in the U.S. overcome the effects and will help foreign torture treatment centers. Urge Rep. Boozman to support the full appropriation (202-225-4301).

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) with 24 co-sponsors on Jan. 26 introduced H. Con. Res. 35 calling on the president to, among other articles, to develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of U. S. troops from Iraq. Ask Rep. Boozman to sign on. See www.thomas.loc.gov under Bill Summary and Status for the resolution.

Republican legislation authored by Henry Hyde (R-IL) would drastically cut U. N. funds. See TMN 6-18 5B, study the issues, and contact Rep. Boozman.



WAR AND GRASSROOTS MILITARISM

Fundamentals of Going to War. Goering (Hitler’s Henchman) said “Of course the ordinary man and woman want nothing but to live in peace and get on with their lives. BUT it is the easiest thing in the world to instill fear of their neighbour into them and then have them back any move into war.”

Commentary by Harry Holloway: It is easier still, if the idea of war has been inculcated into them from an early age. Celebration of memories af war, films about war, war games, publicity of military functions and practices, museums about war, adulation of those picked out for courageous deeds, alive or dead, in spite of the mass extinction and mangling of human beings, which accompanies war, all foster this attitude. Hate of another group, instilled by family from childhood, plants seeds of aggression against that group, which blossom in later life.



INVADING IRAQ: TAKE ACTION

Two websites re the Downing Street Memo: The first contains a petition based on the May 5
letter to Bush signed by 88 Congresspeople, which asked for an explanation of the DSM. (It was ignored.)
The petition asks the White House for an answer to the Congresspeople's letter, and had reached about
half a million signatures when I signed it. www.downingstreetmemo.com The second website gives full context, describes media censorship, updates, etc., www.AfterDowningStreet.org (from Coralie)



INFORMATION ABOUT AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ

WILPF www.wilpf.org; EPIC: Education for Peace in Iraq Center www.epic-usa.org; MADRE www.madre.org; Military Families Speak Out www.mfso.org; RAWA: Revolutionary Assoc. of the Women of Afghanistan www.rawa.org; Voices in the Wilderness http://vitw.org


FLAG PATRIOTISM AND GRASSROOTS MILITARISM IN BELLA VISTA

The new, expensive monument in BV celebrates all US wars and veterans. The latest evidence of how BVmight be the War Capital of Arkansas appeared in the ADG 6-11 in a brief report on the fusion of the Presbyterian Church there and military organizations. The Presbyterian Veterans Council hosted a flag dedication in honor of Flag Day. Rev. Still presented the Invocation followed by flag presentation by VFW Post 9063. Medalled Sgt. Watts displayed the flag. Then Marine Cpl. Schindler just back from Iraq lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and poet Swalve (yes even poets have succumbed) read “Od Glory.” Chief Warrant Officer Sterrett, member of the Governor’s Commission on Vets Affairs, gave the address. And Rev. Andrew, chaplain of VFW 906 offered the benediction. Jesus seems thoroughly nationalized and militarized in the Presbyterian Church on Forest Hills Blvd.! However, that is not the policy of the Presbyterian Church, which has a Presbyterian Peacemaking office of nonviolence and international amity. Direct short and long range responses in order from a peace movement, or just hope our (and Presb. Peacemaking’s) steady, long- range Culture of Peace program will eventually clear their heads?



MILITARISM: MILITARY RECRUITING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

TMN 6-18 has an informative article about military recruiting in general and Pres. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, which requires schools to provide military recruiters with student phone numbers and addresses, but parents or students can opt out by written request to keep the information private.



PEACE AND JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS

Participate: Nevada Desert Experience National Conf. And Public Witness, Aug. 4-7, Las Vegas, UNLV and Nevada Test Site. Nonviolence training the 4th. For brochure: www.paxchristiusa.org; 814-453-4955. Go and represent OMNI. (Pax Christi is the largest Catholic peace organization.)

Needs money: Center for Victims of Torture in Minneapolis, www.cvt.org; 612-436-4800.

I have been acquainted with these 2 for a long time. Here’s a new org. that sounds fine in their letter, and their Board of Advisors seems excellent:

Commercial Alert: Protecting Communities from Commercialism. www.commercialalert.org



PEACE CONFERENCE OCT. 6-9

Peace and Justice Studies Association is sponsoring a Peace and Justice Conference at Goshen College, Goshen, IN, October 6-9, 2005. (www.peacejusticestudies.org). It’s not too late to propose a paper. [Or just attend as OMNI’s rep.]



FSTV ON CAT 3am to 9am

A few recent programs: George Lakoff in “Win with Language” explaining the rhetoric of “framing” for Democrats and progressives (www.winwithlanguage.com); “Kicking the Coal Habit”: more people die from coal power plant emissions(asthma, etc.) than from homicide and drunk driving together [what about the emissions for our coal-power generating plant?]; “We’re the Cops of the World” visuals illustrating Phil Ochs’s song; saving wetland in Los Angeles; Muslim women in Montreal discuss the veil; Amy Goodman.



DIVERSITY FAIR June 11, 2005

The Fair by NOW, OMNI, and Greens at UA’s Greek Amphitheater was well-organized and presented, from Livia Phillips’ Welcome and Rev. Marc Fredette’s Invocation to Livia’s Conclusion. The two speakers were excellent: Dr. Barbara Taylor on the UA’s Diversity program and Olga Vives, national NOW VP (who flew down just for this) on Equality and the Promise Keepers. Music by Whurm, Raja, Hess and Hutchins, and Jori Costello entertained us wonderfully. Tables by Freethinkers, OMNI, Unity, Greens, NOW, and others. Emphatically an outstanding event. Thank Livia when you see her next. Oh yes, the values etched into the Amphitheater (culture, knowledge, intelligence, integrity, courage) reminded us of the purpose of a university.



"There is such an enormous gap between our words and deeds! Everyone talks about freedom, democracy, justice, human rights, and peace; but at the same time, most of us, more or less, consciously or unconsciously, serve those values and ideals only to the extent necessary to defend and serve our own interests, and those of our group or our state. Who should break this vicious circle? Responsibility cannot be preached: it can only be borne, and the only possible place to begin is with oneself." - Vaclav Havel




OMNI SEEKS A WORLD FREE OF WAR AND THE THREAT OF WAR, A SOCIETY WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, A COMMUNITY WHERE EVERY PERSON’S POTENTIAL MAY BE FULFILLED, AN EARTH RESTORED. WORLD PEACE, HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE, ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP. Thanks to FCNL and AFSC.