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OMNI NEWSLETTER: EVENTS, ACTIONS, COMMENT
FEBRUARY 22, 2006, CREATING A CULTURE OF PEACE
COMING EVENTS
FEBRUARY 22, WEDNESDAY, SIERRA CLUB
Ozark Headwaters Group of the Sierra Club Monthly Meeting at Jammin' Java, just next to the Fayetteville Town Center on the square. A variety of soups, sandwiches, salads, adult beverages, and non-alcoholic drinks are available for purchase. 5:30pm - 6:45pm OHG Executive Committee Meeting; 7:00pm - 8:00pm.OHG General Membership Meeting.
This month's program topic is Methamphetamines: pollution associated with the manufacturing and use. Doug Pope, of the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force program, will be our guest. More info on this program can be found at: http://www.accessfayetteville.org/public_safety/police_department/criminal_investigation_division/drug_task_force.html
FEBRUARY 22, OMNI’S 4TH FORUM at CAT, Community Access TV
Bill Williams (bill@iabv.com ) will interview Dr. Clea Bunch on the background to the Iraq war. Audience participants are welcome. The program will be shown during the week of February 27-March 3. OMNI’s March Forum will continue the subject, focusing on ending the occupation of Iraq.
FEBRUARY 24, FRIDAY, 6PM, OMNI’S CRITICAL THINKING AWARDS COMMITTEE At home of Nancy Maier, potluck. Planning the awards. OMNI is giving a prize of $500 to an outstanding Fayetteville High School teacher.
FEBRUARY 24, FRIDAY, 6 TO 8, FREETHINKERS LIVE TALK SHOW
Live call-in talk show will be teaching and challenging and taking calls sometime between 6-8pm. It should make for an interesting show and just like in the early days of TV, it's live, so no editing or fixing things after the fact. Hopefully, this will turn into a regular show and we can get more people involved.
FEBRUARY 25, Saturday, 11A.M. lunch to benefit St. James Methodist
Saint James United Methodist Church on Willow Street, the oldest church north of the Arkansas River, has completed the restoration of its bell tower and is ready to start phase two, restoring the rest of the building. In conjunction with Black History Month, we are having a SOUL FOOD LUNCH. The event will be held at Jefferson Elementary School Cafeteria from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. You can eat with us, get a "to go" box, or both! Tickets are only $5.00 each.
FEBRUARY 25, 1p.m. at OMNI (at United Campus Ministry), MARCH 11 BRING THE TROOPS HOME RALLY COMMITEE MEETING. It’s not too late to join and help. Consider your priorities.
FEBRUARY 25, SATURDAY, 2pm, FREETHINKERS
At the Fayetteville Public Library. This time we will be in the board room. Darrel bought a fancy new projector and will be giving some brief highlights of the James Randi conference in Las Vegas. Tamara has a presentation on "Brain Games"with some amazing examples of how we can be tricked by what we see and hear. She also has a short video presentation on conformity and herd mentality. Doug plans to give a little report of the Dan Barker debate. We will also be presenting the first part (of two) of a rare and hardhitting Richard Dawkins presentation which alone is worth the price of admission (still free). Go out to eat afterward.
FEBRUARY 26, SUNDAY, PROTEST THE WAR
CORNER DICKSON AND COLLEGE IN FAYETTEVILLE. You are against the war and occupation yet you have not protested with us? How do you explain that?
Feb 26, 2006 7p.m. – VIDEO UNDERGROUND, WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception
There were two wars going on in Iraq - one was fought with armies of soldiers,! bombs and a fearsome military force. The other was fought alongside it with cameras, satellites, armies of journalists and propaganda techniques. One war was rationalized as an effort to find and remove WMDs - Weapons of Mass Destruction; the other was carried out by even more powerful WMDs, Weapons of Mass Deception. Featuring Danny Schecter.
This event will begin at 7:00 pm. Admission is free, donations are welcomed. View the Video Underground's entire video schedule at: http://omni-vu-films.blogspot.com Pippin Lowe (piplo@sbcglobal.net) and Greg Moore.
FEBRUARY 27, MONDAY, OMNI UA FILM
“Baraka” in the Union Theater at 6 pm on Monday, February 27. The event is free and open to the public. "Baraka" is a stunning visual essay on the relationship between Man and the Earth, set to music from around the world. Despite no dialogue and merely relying on images, this film is eloquent. Contact Stephen Coger omniua@uark.edu
FEBRUARY 27, OMNI SPRINGFEST COMMITTEE MEETS
Contact Jamie Ulick jamesulick@aol.com Also: Casey Milford, Greg Moore, Stephen Coger.
MARCH 4, SATURDAY, 10:30-12:00, PROTEST THE WAR
Mall and Joyce next to McDonald’s, just east of Wal-Mart in Fayetteville. Help us arouse people and lead up to our March 11 rally. Contact Chris Delacruz chrisdelacruz2000@yahoo.com
MARCH 4, SATURDAY, RAPID RESPONSE WRITERS
Ozark Mountain Smokehouse, 11:30 . Larry Woodall ends his chairmanship; Larry Froelich takes over as moderator of the luncheons (contact LF by phone or USPS). We are looking for a web master.
MARCH 5, SUNDAY, 7p.m., OPEN MIC PEACE COFFEEHOUSE
OMNI at United Campus Ministry Contact Kelly Mulhollan still@stillonthehill.com
March 8, Wednesday, 7pm, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
At OMNI, United Campus Ministry, join us to tell about women heroes of peace, justice, and ecology. Contact Mendy Knott hillpoet@yahoo.com
MARCH 10, FRIDAY, DROP BOOKS NOT BOMBS
OMNI UA. Contact Stephen Coger omniua@uark.edu
MARCH 11, SATURDAY, 9:30a.m.
Please join us for the Economic Justice and Development Caucus meeting at the First Presbyterian Church at 8th and Scott Street in downtown Little Rock from 9:30 to 2pm to lay out the economic issues that our various groups are working on and talk about priorities and strategies for the coming Arkansas Legislature. Lunch is included. At 2pm we will have a special statewide strategy meeting on the minimum wage ballot initiative that will last until 4.
Kathryn Hazelett, Chair of Arkansas Citizens First Congress Economic Justice and Development Caucus.
MARCH 11, M11: BRING HOME THE TROOPS MARCH AND RALLY
Contact Greg Moore greg@blockstreetandbuilding.com
APRIL 6, ACLU CHAPTER OF NWA ANNUAL BANQUET
The Chapter's annual banquet and meeting will be April 6, 2006 at the Clarion Inn in Fayetteville
6 pm - cash bar; 7 pm - dinner and speaker; 8 pm - business meeting.
APRIL 22, EARTH DAY
APRIL 29, SPRINGFEST
MAY 12, Friday, May 12 is the date for WAND’S 3rd annual Mother's Day Peace Luncheon here in LR. We will be honoring Rep. Joyce Elliott. Please let your members know - and bring a big group down to celebrate with us.
JUNE 29, INTERNATIONAL PEACE MEETING IN CANADA
Hello to all volunteers, organizations and individuals interested in the upcoming International Peace Research Association’s 21st Biennial Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 29-July 3--IPRA2006. This international gathering of peace researchers, educators and communities marks but the second time in its 42 year history that IPRA has met in North America. http://www.ipra2006.com/.
FAYETTEVILLE, NWA, ARKANSAS
FAYETTEVILLE
OMNI NEEDS A PHONE TREE. Have you managed one in the past, or willing to learn? Contact Dick or Gladys Tiffany.
FAYETTEVILLE FREETHINKERS’ NEW WEBSITE, FORUM, AND CHAT ROOM
We've been spending a lot of time getting information uploaded to our new website and building the forum and chat room. They are up and running now so won't you come and join us? To post comments in the forum go here:
http://fayfreethinkers.com/forums/ You can make comments as a guest or register and upload a picture if you like. You can also access the chat room from that site (though unless we arrange a meeting time, there probably won't be anyone there).
MOVIE
End of the Spear is a movie showing at Fiesta Square which demonstrates the power of non-violence in the most powerful way I have ever seen. Missionaries who focus on the non-violent, agape love of Christ attempt to connect with and help one of the most violent tribes in Equador who are threatened with being destroyed by the army if they do not change their habit o! f revenge killing. Based on a true story, I highly recommend this movie if you are willing to see a lot of violence with a wonderful ending which you would have never believed could happen in real life. For more information, see www.endofthespear.com Patricia Mikkelson
The Labyrinth Peace Walk, February 2006
I hope you saw and read the wonderful article about The Labyrinth Peace Walk that Laura Brown wrote for the Democrat Gazette last Saturday, Feb. 11. She did an outstanding job of describing Arkansas WAND, The Beacon of Peace and Hope, and The Labyrinth Peace Walk.
There are about 45 women - and one man--, that I know of, who have registered to walk one of the 15 labyrinths in Arkansas. If you don't know what a labyrinth is, got to www.arkwand.org and click on What Is a Labyrinth? To contribute, send to: Send it to AR/WAND 5125 Stonewall Road
Little Rock, AR 72207
NWA
OMNI’S MEMBERSHIP MEETING: ENVIRONMENTAL PANEL
The environmental discussion group proved to be a lively and productive session with all sorts of fresh ideas. We first discussed the possibility of hosting the environmentalist, John Seed for an appearance in Fayetteville and all were enthusiastic about this prospect. We discussed how publicity and coalition building with other groups could go hand in hand in getting the word out.
Next we brainstormed on a focus for our Earth Day event at Ozarks Natural Foods. topics such as the local watershed, alternative energy technologies, organic gardening were discussed. It was suggested that we host a dinner where the guest receive food proportions reflecting the percentage consumed by the worlds population. 70% would get next to nothing!
Last, we thought about what we can do to make the 'World Peace Wetland' ( which Omni is a part owner of) a place that folks will want to visit. Much enthusiasm was shown for this endeavor and it seems that we will have a good workforce to get this task underway. Kelly M
OMNI MEMBERSHIP MEETING: WAR/PEACE PANEL by Sara Milford
Our GOALS were to learn more about OMNI events regarding peace and
anti-war, to discuss volunteer opportunities, and to brainstorm ideas
for increasing community awareness and involvement in peace and anti-war
events.
We reviewed activities from last year that would be repeated again this
year to emphasize the opportunity to volunteer. Greg spoke in length
about the upcoming Iraq War Protest -- Bring Home the Troops. Karen
Idlet spoke for Chris about the weekend anti-war protests. Sara Milford
spoke about the DoP. Stephen Coger spoke about the Peace on Earth Music
Festival, which will be September 16th this year, a paying gig for
musicians and a community event/presentation that needs more volunteers!
Again, we emphasized volunteer opportunities in all areas.
During the brief brainstorm period, it was mentioned that it would be
nice if there were more available times to be involved (in the war
protests). The peace gardens/peace poles were mentioned, as was the
topic of separation of beliefs, meaning (for example) that someone who
was against the war might not also be pro-choice.
Springfest committee included Casey, Greg Moore and Stephen Coger.
MOVIE ON NONVIOLENCE
End of the Spear is a movie showing at Fiesta Square which demonstrates the power of non-violence in the most powerful way I have ever seen. Missionaries who focus on the non-violent, agape love of Christ attempt to connect with and help one of the most violent tribes in Equador who are threatened with being destroyed by the army if they do not change their habit of revenge killing. Based on a true story, I highly recommend this movie if you are willing to see a lot of violence with a wonderful ending which you would have never believed could happen in real life. For more information, see www.endofthespear.com Patricia Mikkelson
GRASSROOTS MILITARISM/GRASSROOTS PEACEMAKERS
TMN continues publishing stories of warriors. On Feb. 20, for example, it devoted an entire page + to two WWII Pacific Theater vets. OMNI offers an alternative: send Dick your stories of peace and justice heroes.
ARKANSAS
MILITARISM: TRAINING WAR MERCENARIES
At Marion, a British private contractor provides urban-combat training for armies and corporations—SWAT teams, military special-ops, etc. A similar company trains in North Little Rock. It’s a growth industry. In 2005 the GAO reported 22 US gov’t. contracts worth more than $766 million. The Internat. Peace Operations Assoc. in DC found 100 companies providing support to the US military in Iraq, at a cost of $20 billion a year. TMN 2-20-06.
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
“Activist’s Work Set to Debut” (TMN 2-20), new documentary by Last Chance for Animals on a north Arkansas dog kennel for HBO “America Undercover.” The kennel raised animals for veterinary schools and research laboratories. The film, “Dealing Dogs,” shows dogs “dying from malnutrition while others are beaten or shot.” The kennel has now been shut down.
LINCOLN/PRYOR WATCH
Both Ark. senators voted to extend the USA Patriot Act, clearing the way for a final vote March 1 (TMN 2-19). Let them know what you think. Dem. Sens. Robert Byrd, Russell Feingold, and Indep. Sen. James Jeffords voted against the extension. L & P also voted for the $70-billion tax cuts (TMN 2-5).
BOOZMAN WATCH
Rep. Boozman voted to condemn Iran for violating nuclear non-proliferation obligations. Reps. Kucinich, McDermott, Paul, and Stark opposed the condemnation. He also voted for Bush’s budget that cuts programs for the poor and elderly
USA, WORLD
USA
BUSH
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL DENUNCIATION
“The Trust Gap”
February 12, 2006 New York Times Editorial
We can't think of a president who has gone to the American people more often than George W. Bush has to ask them to forget about things like democracy, judicial process and the balance of powers – and just trust him. We also can't think of a president who has deserved that trust less.
This has been a central flaw of Mr. Bush's presidency for a long time. But last week produced a flood of evidence that vividly drove home the point.
DOMESTIC SPYING After 9/11, Mr. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on the conversations and e-mail of Americans and others in the United States without obtaining a warrant or allowing Congress or the courts to review the operation. Lawmakers from both parties have raised considerable doubt about the legality of this program, but Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made it clear last Monday at a Senate hearing that Mr. Bush hasn't the slightest intention of changing it.
According to Mr. Gonzales, the administration can be relied upon to police itself and hold the line between national security and civil liberties on its own. Set aside the rather huge problem that our democracy doesn't work that way. It's not clear that this administration knows where the line is, much less that it is capable of defending it. Mr. Gonzales's own dedication to the truth is in considerable doubt. In sworn testimony at his confirmation hearing last year, he dismissed as "hypothetical" a question about whether he believed the president had the authority to conduct warrantless surveillance. In fact, Mr. Gonzales knew Mr. Bush was doing just that, and had signed off on it as White House counsel.
THE PRISON CAMPS It has been nearly two years since the Abu Ghraib scandal illuminated the violence, illegal detentions and other abuses at United States military prison camps. There have been Congressional hearings, court rulings imposing normal judicial procedures on the camps, and a law requiring prisoners to be treated humanely. Yet nothing has changed. Mr. Bush also made it clear that he intends to follow the new law on the treatment of prisoners when his internal moral compass tells him it is the right thing to do.
On Thursday, Tim Golden of The Times reported that United States military authorities had taken to tying up and force-feeding the prisoners who had gone on hunger strikes by the dozens at Guantánamo Bay to protest being held without any semblance of justice. The article said administration officials were concerned that if a prisoner died, it could renew international criticism of Gitmo. They should be concerned. This is not some minor embarrassment. It is a lingering outrage that has undermined American credibility around the world.
According to numerous news reports, the majority of the Gitmo detainees are neither members of Al Qaeda nor fighters captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. The National Journal reported last week that many were handed over to the American forces for bounties by Pakistani and Afghan warlords. Others were just swept up. The military has charged only 10 prisoners with terrorism. Hearings for the rest were not held for three years and then were mostly sham proceedings.
And yet the administration continues to claim that it can be trusted to run these prisons fairly, to decide in secret and on the president's whim who is to be jailed without charges, and to insist that Gitmo is filled with dangerous terrorists.
THE WAR IN IRAQ One of Mr. Bush's biggest "trust me" moments was when he told Americans that the United States had to invade Iraq because it possessed dangerous weapons and posed an immediate threat to America. The White House has blocked a Congressional investigation into whether it exaggerated the intelligence on Iraq, and continues to insist that the decision to invade was based on the consensus of American intelligence agencies.
But the next edition of the journal Foreign Affairs includes an article by the man in charge of intelligence on Iraq until last year, Paul Pillar, who said the administration cherry-picked intelligence to support a decision to invade that had already been made. He said Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney made it clear what results they wanted and heeded only the analysts who produced them. Incredibly, Mr. Pillar said, the president never asked for an assessment on the consequences of invading Iraq until a year after the invasion. He said the intelligence community did that analysis on its own and forecast a deeply divided society ripe for civil war.
When the administration did finally ask for an intelligence assessment, Mr. Pillar led the effort, which concluded in August 2004 that Iraq was on the brink of disaster. Officials then leaked his authorship to the columnist Robert Novak and to The Washington Times. The idea was that Mr. Pillar was not to be trusted because he dissented from the party line. Somehow, this sounds like a story we have heard before.
Like many other administrations before it, this one sometimes dissembles clumsily to avoid embarrassment. (We now know, for example, that the White House did not tell the truth about when it learned the levees in New Orleans had failed.) Spin-as-usual is one thing.
Striking at the civil liberties, due process and balance of powers that are the heart of American democracy is another.
EMPIRE
“We’re the Cops of the World, Kids,” by Phil Ochs with visuals. FSTV.
IRAQ
--“Bush Family Fortunes” by Greg Palast for BBC (2004): oil the purpose of Iraq invasion. FSTV.
-- Vietnam Veterans Against the War at http://www.vvaw.org/ or Veterans for Peace at www.veteransforpeace.org/ . For the other side of how today's veterans feel, try Iraq Veterans Against the War at http://www.ivaw.net/. Check out the website of Karen Otter for Congress. Karen Otter is an Iraq War veteran running for Congress in Califonia. http://otterforcongress.com/index.php?page=display&id=4
SPYING
Demand the truth on domestic spying: http://action.aclu.org/demandthetruth
PATRIOT ACT
Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on the Patriot Act Deal
NEW YORK TIMES February 17, 2006
“Doing the President's Dirty Work”
Is there any aspect of President Bush's miserable record on intelligence that Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is not willing to excuse and help to cover up?
For more than a year, Mr. Roberts has been dragging out an investigation into why Mr. Bush presented old, dubious and just plain wrong intelligence on Iraq as solid new proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was in league with Al Qaeda. It was supposed to start after the 2004 election, but Mr. Roberts was letting it die of neglect until the Democrats protested by forcing the Senate into an unusual closed session last November.
Now Mr. Roberts is trying to stop an investigation into Mr. Bush's decision to allow the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without getting the warrants required by a 27-year-old federal law enacted to stop that sort of abuse.
Mr. Roberts had promised to hold a committee vote yesterday on whether to investigate. But he canceled the vote, and then made two astonishing announcements. He said he was working with the White House on amending the 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to permit warrantless spying. And then he suggested that such a change would eliminate the need for an inquiry.
Stifling his own committee without even bothering to get the facts is outrageous. As the vice chairman of the panel, Senator John Rockefeller IV, pointed out, supervising intelligence gathering is in fact the purpose of the intelligence committee.
Mr. Rockefeller said the White House had not offered enough information to make an informed judgment on the program possible. It is withholding, for instance, such minor details as how the program works, how it is reviewed, how much and what kind of information is collected, and how the information is stored and used.
Mr. Roberts said the White House had agreed to provide more briefings to the Senate Intelligence Committee — hardly an enormous concession since it is already required to do so. And he said he and the White House were working out "a fix" for the law. That is the worst news. FISA was written to prevent the president from violating Americans' constitutional rights. It was amended after 9/11 to make it even easier for the administration to do legally what it is now doing.
FISA does not in any way prevent Mr. Bush from spying on Qaeda members or other terrorists. The last thing the nation needs is to amend the law to institutionalize the imperial powers Mr. Bush seized after 9/11.Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
SILENT CIVIL LIBERTIES BOARD (Send this link to your representatives in Washington, DC)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-liberties20feb20,0,5039697.story?coll=la-home-headlines
A year after its creation, the White House civil liberties board as yet to do a single day of work.
By Richard B. Schmitt, L A Times February 20, 2006
WASHINGTON — For Americans troubled by the prospect of federal agents eavesdropping on their phone conversations or combing through their Internet records, there is good news: A little-known board exists in the White House whose purpose is to ensure that privacy and civil liberties are protected in the fight against terrorism.
Someday, it might actually meet. (see link above for full article).
SELLING PUBLIC LANDS (from The Wilderness Society)
Bush Budget Puts Our Public Lands on Blue-Light Special
Peddling Americans' birthright aims to raise $1 billion for U.S. Treasury
As much as 800,000 acres of Americans' public land would be sold into private hands under one egregious provision of President Bush's proposed budget. Astonishingly, less than two months ago, bipartisan opposition in the Congress defeated a similar scheme. This absurd proposal deserves the same reaction from all of us. Please send that message to your Members of Congress! You can take action immediately by clicking here.
INFORMATION CONTROL
--“The State of Alternative Media,” speech by Jeff Cohen of FAIR (www.jeffcohen.org; www.fair.org). FSTV. I. Mainstream media controlled by a few corporations seeking profit by tabloidizing and entertainment. II. Free, independent media available: support and expand them. (Ignorance of U.S. public is widespread, and their ability to forget is profound, both conditions Pres. Bush exploits. Orwell, 1984: Who controls the past (memory) controls the future. www.reclaimthemedia.org; www.takebackthemedia.org ).
--Defending free speech: www.action.freespeech.org
DEMOCRACY IF YOU WILL HAVE IT
http://www.bushflash.com/faith.html
"A people may prefer a free government, but if, from indolence, or carelessness, or cowardice, or want of public spirit, they are unequal to the exertions necessary for preserving it; if they will not fight for it when it is directly attacked; if they can be deluded by the artifices used to cheat them out of it; if by momentary discouragement, or temporary panic, or a fit of enthusiasm for an individual, they can be induced to lay their liberties at the feet even of a great man, or trust him with powers which enable him to subvert their institutions; in all these cases they are more or less unfit for liberty: and though it may be for their good to have had it even for a short time, they are unlikely long to enjoy it." -- John Stuart Mill, Representative Government, 1861. From Louise M.
VIOLENCE USA:MASCULINITY
“Boys Will Be Men” (doc. from FSTV). Part I: Growing up male in USA generally means learning a homophobic, bullying model of maleness. 80% of US boys harass and threaten other boys. The emotional miseducation of boys in the US culture of cruelty leads to cold and uncaring men. Part II: Alternative models of masculinity.
WAL-MART
Wal-Mart has been denying millions of American women the opportunity to prevent unintended pregnancy. The store refuses to stock the "morning-after" pill, a back-up birth control option that prevents pregnancy after sex.
http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/walmart_ec_0206?rk=ed_14Q91AzCmW
FSTV on CAT (3am to 9am weekdays, brought to you by OMNI)
For a distinctive alternative to corporate tv, watch FSTV. It presents ALTERNATIVE VOICES those 6 hours each day. For example, back to back: “Voices of GLBT Youth” on impact of homophobia on young lgbt, and an excellent doc. on Hispanics in Texas. A basic assumption of FSTV comes from the Declaration of Independence, guaranteeing “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” to all.
WASTE OF RESOURCES: BOTTLED WATER
Why do Americans spend more than $10,000 per minute for water in a bottle when it is readily available to us for free? Our Tip of the Week explains why drinking bottled water is no healthier, or better for the planet, than plain old tap.
www.nationalwatercenter.org; www.planetaryhealer.net; www.ipa.net/~peace
RIGHT WING : HERITAGE FOUNDATION
FSTV doc. on the Heritage Foundation, founded by Paul Weyrich in 1971 with Coors’ money. It now has a $40 million endowment. The peace movement will have to make up in individual effort what we lack in money.
PEACE REVIEW: A JOURNAL OF SOCIAL JUSTICE is an international journal distributed in more than 50 nations. We seek essays on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament for a special issue. Please send essays on this theme by April 15, 2006. Essays should run between 2500 and 3500 words, and should be jargon- and footnote-free. See Submission Guidelines at
http://www.usfca.edu/peacereview/PRHome.html Send essays to: Robert Elias (Editor) or Kerry Donoghue (Managing Editor)
Peace Review, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117-1080
or by email: peacereview@usfca.edu
WORLD
CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKING
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks to enlist the whole church in organized, nonviolent alternatives to war and places teams of trained, peacemakers in regions of lethal conflict. Originally a violence-reduction initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonite, Church of the Brethren and Quaker), CPT now enjoys support and membership from a wide range of Christian denominations.To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on our WEB page at http://www.cpt.org/subscribe.php
MUSLIM, ARAB PEACEMAKING HUMOR
“Comedy Middle Eastern Style.” NYC stand-up comics puncture stereotypes. FSTV.
CAUSES OF WARS
CONFLICTS OVER ENERGY
OIL
“The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror.” www.theoilfactor.com US efforts to control oil resources in central Asia and the Middle East. (FSTV)
WASTE OF RESOURCES (see above)
IRAN:SOME HOPEFUL NEWS
Iran might move its uranium enrichment to Russia to prove its plans are for peaceful energy not nuclear weapons. TMN (2-20, 2B).
VENEZUELA: CHAVEZ WARNS
Pres. Hugo Chavez is broadening petroleum and natural gas development with other Latin American countries rather than the US, “’breaking the imperialist chains that bound us,’” and warned the US not to intervene.
GLOBAL YOUTH
Youth Report Depicts Harsh Reality, and Hope
by Rebecca Zerzan
Nearly half of all the people in the world are under age 25. Unfortunately, these huge numbers come with huge tragedies: 200 million young people (between ages 15 and 24) live in poverty; 130 million cannot read; 88 million do not have jobs; and 10 million are afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Younger children often suffer from situations that are as bad or worse. These are only a few of the harsh statistics in the recent World Youth Report, put out by the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Read More... From UNA/USA.
ECOLOGY: EXTINCTION RISKS
Some 794 species are about to disappear (whooping crane, Torrey pine) in 595 “centers of imminent extinction” areas.“ “Of the 595 sites…only 203…are legally protected.” World-Watch (March/April 2006). www.worldwatch.org/ww/
ECOLOGY: NATURAL FOODS
On FSTV: “Alternative Agriculture: Food for Life,” produced by David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things: opposes factory farming and promotes family farming.
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