Occasional Ramblings by Tom (Yusha) Sager STACKING THE DECK Talk about stupidity. Last week UNESCO held a conference, The Media World after WikiLeaks and News of the World, on the impact of whistleblower websites like WikiLeaks. Guess who was banned from the conference? If you guessed WikiLeaks, give yourself a gold star. Here's a cartoon I photoshopped for Wikileaks last year, . But that's just garden variety stupidity. At a House Committee hearing on contraception, women were not permitted to testify. It's hard to believe the lengths some people will go to feed their own ignorance. No wonder this Congress has the lowest public approval rating ever, 13%. This gives new meaning to Mark Twain's famous saying, "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." AN HISTORIC AGREEMENT In a tripartite summit, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to support Iran in case of any possible aggression against it. Iran also announced that it would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt it were about to be attacked. Apparently, the United States and Israel are no longer the only countries that play the pre-emptive strike game. Clearly, this makes the world a much more dangerous place for its 7 billion inhabitants. GALLANT GREEKS GRAPPLE AGAINST GREEDY GRUNGY GEEKS Say it ten times fast: Gallant Greeks grapple against greedy grungy geeks. I can't even say it once without tying my tongue in a knot. The gallant Greeks are taking to the streets in opposition to austerity measures imposed by the greedy grungy geeks like Sarkozy and Merkel. Most of the world stands in solidarity with the Greeks. Why all this hullabaloo about such a small nation? According to Ellen Brown, it's the old domino theory. If Greece defaults, then others will follow, bringing the whole over-leveraged world-wide financial system crashing down like the Twin Towers. Brown writes: "What these banks have done is to leverage the system to such an extreme, that the entire house of cards is threatened by a small country of only 11 million people. Greece could bring the entire world economy down." Perhaps, this partially explains the immense greed of the wealthiest 1%. Nothing is ever enough. One always needs more, and the more one has the more one needs, because the whole system is so flimsy that all it takes to bring it down is for some kid to shout, THE EMPEROR'S NAKED! Greece is often called the Cradle of Western Civilization. Perhaps it would be apt for the Cradle of Western Civilization to become its graveyard too. Brown's article brings to mind these lines from Dr. Seuss's Yertle the Turtle: That plain little turtle below in the stack, That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack, Decided he'd taken enough. And he had. And that plain little lad got a little bit mad And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing. He burped! And his burp shook the throne of the king! Yertle the Turtle has a happy ending: And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be. Like Mack the Turtle, we should also work for such a happy ending. ================== February 14, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) FROM A READER: OPPOSE APPOINTMENT OF MONSANTO VP TO FDA A reader writes in: "So glad to see the issue of our seeds on the docket- very important. Just heard that Costa Rica and other countries are burning their GMO seeds, Cornell in 2002 did a study showing that monarch caterpillars who eat milkweed dusted with GMO pollen will die. Einstein said that after we loose our pollinators, we loose our own lives." She suggests signing this excellent petition opposing Obama's appointment of Michael Taylor, a former VP and lobbyist for Monsanto, the widely criticized genetically modified (GM) food multinational, as senior advisor to the commissioner at the FDA, . Monsanto has recently been convicted in a French Court of poisoning a farmer. WHAT'S WRONG WITH CAPITALISM? ASK BILL MCKIBBEN The standard argument for Capitalism is that if everybody pursues their own self-interest, society as a whole will gain and move forward. Bill McKibben pokes holes in this aphorism big enough to drive a freight train through. If we burned all our known oil reserves, we would be spewing 2,795 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere, at least five times more than enough to raise average surface temperatures above the 2C mark, widely considered the red line beyond which our climate would be disrupted beyond repair. But these oil reserves are worth around $20 trillion. Energy companies are unwilling to write off this bonanza even if it means the end of the world as we know it. That is why they continue to deny global warming; and that is how Capitalism is responsible for disasters of global proportions. I AM A CANDIDATE FOR ROLLA SCHOOL BOARD Please read my responses to a questionnaire from the Rolla School District. Also please read this excellent article by Diane Ravitch on No Child Left Behind. Also please vote on April 3. ================== February 7, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NATURALLY THE COMMON PEOPLE DON'T WANT WAR In spite of the constant drumbeats for making war against Iran only 17% of the population of the United States supports military action against Iran. Interestingly, only 46% of Israeli Jews support war against Iran, even though 90 percent think that Iran will eventually acquire nuclear weapons. Furthermore, 64% of Israeli Jews favor a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East which would mean giving up their status as the only nuclear weapons state in the Middle East. In both Israel and the United States, the people are far wiser than their elected leaders; which makes you wonder about representative democracy. Here's a very pertinent quote from Nazi leader, Hermann Goering: "Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." WORSE THAN CHERNOBYL? Those who have warned that the damaged reactors at Fukushima could flare up again any time were right. Fukushima #2 is heating up again. If TEPCO knows why, they are not telling. So far, temperatures appear to have remained below the boiling point, the point at which the reactor would begin to emit radioactive steam again. And those who have said that the Fukushima disaster is worse than Chernobyl may be right too. Bird species in the neighborhood of Fukushima appear to have plummeted worse than they did when Chernobyl blew. I still can't believe that some still look upon nuclear power as a viable option. "Greed and stupidity make a lethal cocktail." NIGHTMARE ON ARCTIC STREET V I thought I was done 3 weeks ago when I wrote Nightmare on Arctic Street IV. Now it turns out the unseasonably cold weather that Europe is experiencing may be the result of the warming of the Arctic. We're catching up fast, Freddy. PATENTING LIFE? I just have to add my two cents to Helen's excellent commentary on Vandana Shiva's article on patenting seeds: Patenting life? What absurd arrogance! God created the world and the life forms upon it - not Monsanto. Why isn't every Mosque, Church, Temple and Synagogue up in arms opposing this? ================== January 31, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SWARM OF THE KILLER HUMANS Remember all those killer bee scares and grade C movies like The Swarm? Now, thanks to a group of insecticides called neonicotinoids, humans appear to be winning the war against killer bees and other apian species. It is certain to be a Pyrrhic victory as bees pollinate 70% of the world's major food crops. OFF AGAIN, ON AGAIN, OBAMA CAVES IN AGAIN Two weeks ago, I wrote that by postponing planned military exercises with Israel, Obama appears to be asserting himself and stepping back from the brink of a war against Iran which would certainly be devastating to all participants and the entire region. Now, the military exercises are back again, planned for October 2012. I am reminded of the following cold-war ditty: There was a man in Washington; he was wise and more. He jumped into a bramble bush and kept us out of war. When he saw what he had done, will wonders never cease. He jumped into another bush and kept us out of peace. I am also mindful of Albert Einstein's maxim: "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." PENTAGON AUSTERITY? AN OXYMORON The Institute for Public Accuracy's analysis of Leon Panetta's so-called Pentagon "austerity" budget shows that it is austere only in comparison to what many politicians, the Pentagon and its military contractors would like. The $525 billion which Panetta is asking remains well above cold-war average, represents almost as much as the military spending of the rest of the world, and doesn't include the money for fighting the war against Afghanistan or possible expansion of war to Iran and elsewhere. ================== January 24, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) COURT RULES NUCLEAR POWER TRUMPS PEOPLE OF VERMONT Federal Court Judge John Murtha rules that the People of Vermont have no right to enforce a contract with nuclear power corporation, Entergy and shut down the unsafe aging Vermont Yankee reactor. Vermont Yankee houses the same model General Electric nuclear reactor that has made 3 percent of Japan uninhabitable and caused uncountable damage to people and property. A COLOSSAL FOLLY Ralph Nader, with his usual clarity, describes why the West cannot win its war against Afghanistan. And here is an article about Afghan "government" troops "fragging" their US and NATO "handlers". WAR IS COMING HOME A Pentagon report details a growing propensity among returning US troops toward violent and sexual crime. This should surprise no one. ================== January 17, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NIGHTMARE ON ARCTIC STREET IV I've saved the best for last. The arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, in some places as much as 5F over the past 50 or 60 years. The extent of arctic ice has shrunk by over 1 million square miles. Snow and ice reflect solar radiation back into space far more effectively than land or water. So the more the climate warms, the more the ice melts which causes the climate to warm even more in a positive feedback loop. And what happens in the arctic, effects the weather patterns of the entire Northern Hemisphere in unknown ways. To recapitulate: In Nightmare on Arctic Street I, II and III, we saw that due to global warming, the arctic is losing 3 important carbon sinks: boreal forests, fossil fuels and sequestered methane. In this installment, we saw that the arctic is losing its ability to reflect solar radiation. In all four cases, these phenomena feed on themselves in a destructive warming spiral. There is a fairly lengthy article on the arctic and climate change at Wikipedia. Mark Haim of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks interviewed Andrew Nikiforuk, author of "Empire of the Beetle: How Human Folly and a Tiny Bug Are Killing North America's Great Forests" (subject of last week's Nightmare on Arctic Street) on KOPN. To listen, click here. TWO STEPS BACK FROM THE BRINK Last week the US took a step back from the brink when Leon Panetta declared publicly that (contrary to the neo-con partyline) Iran is NOT building a nuclear bomb. This week the US postponed joint military exercises with Israel, a prelude to war against Iran, in an even greater step back from the brink. In my column of November 8, 2010, I wrote, "In the past we've backed off from all out war with Iran; but there are signs that this one is the real McCoy." Two short months later, it appears I may have been wrong. Thanks be to God, we are backing off. I suspect the only thing that will force Israel to make peace with its neighbors is the withdrawal of the unqualified support of the United States and parts of Europe. Perhaps this is a first step in that direction. A reader sends in this article about how the US has assisted Iranian ships in distress twice this month. There needs to be more of this. People who help each other, don't go to war against each other. The reader asks why there was so little publicity of these events in the main-stream corporate press. It should have made headlines everywhere. Maybe these two incidents have something to do with why we are now stepping back from the brink of war against Iran. PHIL DONAHUE ON SILENCING THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT This interview with Phil Donahue is somewhat long, but well worth reading. Donahue details from a personal point of view how the main-stream corporate media has tried to silence him and the anti-war perspective. It's interesting to note how miserably they failed. 10 years ago, support for the invasion of Afghanistan was near 100%. By 2003, over a million people in the United States (10 to 15 million worldwide) took to the streets to say NO to the invasion of Iraq. Last month the United States declared "victory" in Iraq and went home with nothing to show for 9 years and over a trillion dollars of war. Today, atmost 2/3 of us do not support the War against Afghanistan (click here and here). If you were active in the peace movement, demonstrated against war, wrote a letter to the editor, or wrote the president or your senators and representatives requesting peace, congratulate yourself. You stood up against a multi-billion dollar media campaign, and won! I think public opinion against these failed wars is the main reason we are not at war with Iran now. So speak out. War is only inevitable when people acquiesce with silence. ================== January 10, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NIGHTMARE ON ARCTIC STREET III Last week, I described how the rush to exploit the oil under the Arctic Ocean is made possible by global warming and the melting of arctic ice and, if allowed to occur, will contribute to more global warming. Three weeks ago I described how the melting of arctic ice as a result of global warming is causing the release of methane trapped under the Arctic, which will, you guessed it, cause more global warming. This week's Nightmare on Arctic Street is the destruction of the northern pine and spruce forests by bark beetles. Andrew Nikiforuk has written a wonderful book, "Empire of the Beetle: How Human Folly and a Tiny Bug Are Killing North America's Great Forests", on these tiny critters, no larger than a grain of rice, that can demolish entire forests. Because of global warming, bark beetles have become more numerous, more active, more destructive and have increased their range into higher and colder climates. Industry and government's mismanagement of our forests, through practices like clearcutting, fire prevention and creating single-age monoculture forests have turned northern forests into a beetle banquet. In losing these forests, we lose the vast amounts of carbon sequestered in these forests. This release of carbon will lead to more global warming and create the conditions for more insect devastation in our forests in a positive feedback loop. Three weeks ago, I made the brash statement that "Our survival as a species is certainly not guaranteed." Andrew Nikiforuk gives one (of many) scenario as to how this might happen. The oxygen concentration of Earth's atmosphere has not always been the 21% it is today. Over the past 550 million years, it is thought to have ranged from 15% up to 35%. A lowering of atmospheric oxygen, a likely result of rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon, would be especially hard on the birthing process of large mammals with long gestation periods (such as humans). On the average, a species is thought to survive approximately 1 million years before extinction. The rate of extinction is many times higher during periods of rapid climate change such as the period 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs all went extinct. Homo Sapiens have probably been on Earth around 1/2 million years and we are clearly entering a period of mass extinction brought on by rapid human-induced climate change. As Nikiforuk points out: "[C]hange is not gradual. Big systems don't fail slowly or fall apart in straight lines; they unexpectedly crash and burn." It's no longer just save the whales, or save the polar bears, or save the wolves. It's time to save the humans, before it is too late. We better get serious if we want our species to survive. Next week: NIGHTMARE ON ARCTIC STREET IV. (Watch out, Freddy; we're catching up to you fast.) ================== January 3, 2012 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NIGHTMARE ON ARCTIC STREET II Two weeks ago, I wrote about massive methane releases from the Arctic Ocean as the Earth warms and arctic ice and permafrost melt. Methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Now that the arctic ice is melting, countries in the arctic region and the large oil companies rush to exploit the estimated 100 billion barrels of crude that lie under the Arctic Ocean. This means more global warming which means more ice melting which means more global warming in a positive feedback loop, an environmental nightmare. Watch for Nightmare on Arctic Street III, opening next week, when I discuss the destruction of North America's vast boreal forests. If you want to get a head start, read Andrew Nikiforuk's "Empire of the Beetle". AREN'T WE NICER II Lately both Helen and I have been commenting (negatively) on op-eds in the New York Times that can be summarized as: "Don't worry, everything's fine. We're nicer people than we used to be and the wars we fight are fewer and less destructive," (here, here and here). Something is wrong here: We have more people in prison (both in absolute numbers and relative to our population) than any country since the Soviet Union under Stalin, poverty and homelessness are growing by leaps and bounds, and the military budget has gone off the charts. A quick look at the War Resisters League pie chart shows 48% of our tax dollars gobbled up by the military and the SIPRI database shows ever increasing military expenditures approaching $700 billion in the United States alone and 1.6 trillion worldwide. This certainly doesn't square with the Times' contention that war is becoming obsolete, and we are becoming nicer. We are not spending all this money on our military because war is going obsolete. I think Helen gets to the meat of this conundrum when she points out that "The modes of attack may have changed somewhat" but "wherever the power and/or the money lies, there you will find ruthless people scheming how to get it all for themselves, and they don't care what they do to attain their ends." The last war which the world's major military powers fought on their home soils was World War II. An estimated 60 million died. Since then the major military powers have fought their wars on foreign soil, either as wars of aggression or proxy wars, except for the Korean War which briefly involved the US and China fighting each other on Korean soil, but not on their own. For the most part, these wars are asymmetrical wars, devastating to the people who live through the war, but leaving the major military powers relatively untouched. As Ron David pointed out in "Arabs & Israel for Beginners", "One of the dirty little ironies of war is that it matters less who wins the war than where it was fought." Sven Lindqvist explores this subject of asymmetrical war in "Exterminate All the Brutes." I touched on this subject too in Three Murderous Myths. Many recent wars have been environmental; and environmental war is not at all nice. The Agent Orange we carpeted Vietnam with still kills today. The depleted uranium we have used copiously in Iraq and Afghanistan will kill for generations to come. Unless, we, the people, take matters into our own hands, I suspect it is only a matter of time before the major powers get into a serious war which will make World War II look like a bar-room brawl. 67 years is such a short period of time. Why are we building all this destructive weaponry if not to use it? Albert Einstein said it best: "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." IRAN AND AREN'T WE NICER This short article by Dave Lindorff on euthanizing an injured deer makes the point that "being nice" is a relatively concept. The local police officer in this story shows compassion for the deer, but not for Iranians. Speaking of Iran, it appears that after handing Iran the upper-hand in Iraq, now the US wants to take Iran down militarily. This is another problem with all our weaponry. When your only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail. When your only tool is a bomb, the whole world looks like a target. ================== December 27, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) INTELLECTUAL COWARDICE Glenn Greenwald discusses the court-martial proceedings against Bradley Manning, and points out the intellectual cowardice of those who try to draw a distinction between Manning, who gave Wikileaks classified papers showing long-term systematic corruption and lying to the public about our involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East; and Daniel Ellsberg, who 40 years ago gave the New York Times the Pentagon Papers which showed long-term systematic corruption and lying to the public about our involvement in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. I remember 40 years ago discussing the Pentagon Papers with a friend and saying something like: "What's the big deal? We knew they lied to us. We know that the .....s from Nixon and Westmoreland on down are a bunch of corrupt lying ....s. My friend countered with, "Yeah, but now we have it straight from their own mouths. Now they can't deny it." So, it's okay for the government to lie to us, murder and torture people halfway around the world; until a Manning or an Ellsberg risks his life outing them? Sadly, we learned nothing from Dan Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers; so now we are going through this again. Bradley Manning and Daniel Ellsberg are one and the same, heroes with the moral courage to risk everything to tell the truth that must be told. CORPORATE COWARDICE Lowe's home improvement stores have come under fire for withdrawing their advertising from the television show, All-American Muslim, under pressure from right-wing organizations such as the Florida Family Association. Apparently the exhortations for "Moderate Muslims" to stand up and be counted, were just a ruse. Now, they want to kick the moderate Muslims off the air. While Lowes claims it simply wishes to avoid controversy, many, including myself, view this as an act of corporate cowardice. Although I hate television and do not watch it, I have written an open letter to Lowe's on this subject. Last month, I mentioned research by Dan Cassino showing that those who watch Fox News know less than those who watch no news at all. This is probably true, although perhaps to a lesser degree, for all corporate sponsored "news." Imagine. For many of us, our primary view of Muslims is influenced by what corporations such as Lowe's find acceptable. ECONOMIC COWARDICE While the 1% are enjoying their ill-gotten gains, homelessness among children is on the rise. Tom Brown gives us some statistics: 1.6 million children living on the streets of the United States or in shelters, motels and doubled-up with other families; up 38% from 2007. Brown also puts a face on a few of these homeless children. With such a large population of homeless children, the United States might well be considered a Third World country, a Banana Republic. I'm wondering: How many of the 1% would have the courage to walk into a homeless shelter and tell the people, "Your children will remain homeless, so I can tool around the world in my yacht." This is, of course, the beauty of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", that Scrooge was forced to look upon the faces of those who suffer on his account. Unfortunately, in our world of gated communities and sanitized television, barring supernatural events such as the appearance of three Christmas spirits, this is unlikely to happen. ================== December 20, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NIGHTMARE ON ARCTIC STREET One of the worst nightmares for climate scientists has been the possibility that as the arctic ice melts, millions of tons of methane (20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide) trapped beneath the arctic ice and permafrost will be released into the atmosphere. Russian scientist, Igor Semiletov has found that this is exactly what is happening now. This methane release may be a harbinger of runaway global warming, far worse and far faster than predicted by most climate change models. The New York Times lost no time in dragging out its own methane scientist, Igor Dmitrenko, who argues (according to the New York Times) that the increase in methane gas that Semiletov found is negligible. No need for concern, according to the New York Times. The Idiot Tracker has posted a comparison of the records of Dmitrenko and Semiletov and concludes, "Dmitrenko is a strange choice for a debunker of Semiletov's concerns." (As are most, if not all, of the scientists who claim to debunk climate change; but that is another story.) Far more important is why did the New York Times find it so important to debunk Semiletov's findings. Well, it certainly wouldn't do to cause panic — the Occupy Movement is already causing enough of that. But if you will indulge me, I will venture a guess. As I see it, we are already way past the point of no return, when it comes to climate change. The Earth is warming and will continue to do so, no matter what we puny humans choose to do. If it is not arctic methane, then something else will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Like Goethe's Sorcerer's Apprentice, we, in our arrogance and sloth have set forces in motion that we know not how to control; and I find it unlikely that the Sorcerer will bail us out this time — more likely, He will let us stew in our own juice and teach us a much-deserved lesson. (See Isaiah 24:1-6) You may call me conspiracy theorist (and what is wrong with that?), but I think lots of folks in positions of power know how far down the road toward climate disaster we've come; but there is a conspiracy of silence. One side says its a problem, but we can still dig our way out. The other says its nothing but a hoax. This is why a Semiletov who sounds the alarm must be debunked immediately, at all cost. I think we better stop denying global warming, hunker down and talk survival. We should be talking about how humanity might survive in a warmer world. Our survival as a species is certainly not guaranteed. If we had a good survival instinct as a species, we would immediately stop fighting wars, and reduce our ecological footprint upon the planet while planning for survival in a far less hospitable world. But that does not seem to be on the agenda at the New York Times or anywhere else in the Halls of Power. DECLARE VICTORY AND COME HOME Taking a cue from George Aiken, the US has declared victory in Iraq and (depending on who you believe) is coming home. Much is being written on this event, but one thing is certain, the Iraq War has been an unmitigated disaster for both Iraq and the United States. The Gary Younge article that Helen recommends is a MUST READ. Also appropriate to the occasion is the Bob Dylan verse: "All your seasick sailors They are rowing home. Your empty handed army Is all going home." CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES Here is a story of war and Christmas time I wrote for the Rolla Daily News four years ago. It bares repeating every year. ================== December 13, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NO CHILD'S LEFT BEHIND This excellent article by Diane Ravitch on No Child left Behind is a MUST READ. For years I've been getting letters from school superintendent, Aaron Zalis, stating that Rolla schools have flunked No Child Left Behind again. And Rolla is supposed to be one of the better school districts. If you want to find out how other school districts fare under NCLB, read Ravitch's article. During both the State and Federal congressional debates last year, I asked Drs. Brown and Frederick, Mrs. Emerson and all contenders for the legislatures about NCLB. All agreed it was broke. It hasn't been fixed. That leaves it up to us, the 99%, children, parents, teachers and citizens to fix it. Don't expect any help from Congress or Wall Street. And check out my NCLB cartoons, here and here. ONE STEP SIDEWAYS, TWO STEPS BACK World governments achieved nothing new at the Climate Change Conference in Durban, leaving the world on track for 4C temperature rise, a crime of global proportions. Now Canada takes two big steps backward, withdrawing from the Kyoto protocol, as inadequate as it may be. COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)'s latest post to their Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Blog, points out that as bad as the Fukushima disaster was, having made 3% of Japan's land mass uninhabitable, it could have been a lot worse, especially if during the critical weeks after the tsunami, winds had been blowing south toward Tokyo instead of out to sea. I am flabbergasted that after Chernobyl and Fukushima, some people still talk about nuclear power as if it were a viable option. ================== December 6, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) WHOS FOR PEACE For all you Dr. Seuss aficionados, here's an image that can be downloaded and used as a greeting card. MORE BRINKMANSHIP WITH IRAN Angered by further Western sanctions against Iran, Iranian students storm the British embassy. Retaliating against violations of its airspace, Iran shoots down US drone. Michael Hirsh surmises that war with Iran is already underway. Indeed! The West has been itching to pay Iran back since 1979 when the Iranians booted out Shah Pahlavi, the puppet which the United States installed in a CIA orchestrated coup in 1953. A GOVERNOR WITH A CONSCIENCE Oregon governor, John Kitzhaber, after allowing two prisoners to be killed, vows never again on his watch. That's almost as rare as hen's teeth, a politician with a conscience. ================== November 29, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) ON NON-VIOLENCE AND THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT This short address to the Wall Street occupiers by Arundhati Roy describes the link between the occupy movement and peace movement better than I've seen it described anywhere else - a MUST read. One has to wonder about the level of violence and brutality being used against non-violent dissenters, especially in this most militarily powerful nation on the globe. Violence can easily vanquish violence; but what defense can the violent muster against cries of "shame" and disapproving silence. It must require tremendous cowardice to nonchalantly pepper-spray people who simply sit silently; just as it takes tremendous cowardice to bomb a wedding party in Afghanistan from the safety of an air-conditioned bunker in Arizona. There is tremendous cowardice involved in any asymmetrical conflict; but it is only when the victims refuse violence as a remedy that the perpetrators are exposed in all their glorious nakedness. As Ron David put it: "[O]nce you see the emperor standing there with his little dingus hanging out, it's all you can do not to burst out laughing." (Arabs & Israel for Beginners - although almost 20 years out of date, still the BEST short book on Palestine ever!) Never underestimate the power of laughter. Mark Twain said it best: "Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand." If you don't believe that laughter is more powerful than pepper spray, look at all these cartoons of John Pike pepper spraying non-violent demonstrators. (My cartoon finished dead last in the field of 45.) I never used to consider myself a pacifist. I've always qualified my semi-pacifism as being against wars of aggression, racist wars, colonial wars, imperialist wars, etc. I'm almost 70 now, and every year that passes leaves me more and more a pacifist. Maybe, with the grace of God, I'll live long enough to become a pacifist. ON THE NON-OBJECTIVITY OF THE PRESS "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking A recent survey shows that those who watch Fox News are less informed than those who watch no news at all. This is actually a no-brainer. Researcher Dan Cassino might have better spent his time in other ways. Again, turning to Ron David: "It's the result of what professional bullslingers call 'Disinformation'.... So the more you learn, the less you know ... And the more certain you become that your falsehoods are true. And the more intolerant you become of the truth... and of the people who speak it." David could easily be describing today's teaparty movement and other Fox News afficionados. My blog is NOT objective. There are a million things I could write about, I usually limit myself to three each week. My objectivity index is therefore about .0003 percent. Also, I call 'em as I see 'em. I'm not interested in presenting everyone's point of view. It's hard enough just to present my own. I encourage everyone else to do the same. ARE WE GETTING NICER? A reader sends me this article by Nicolas Kristof of the New York Times arguing that humans have become nicer people over the past few centuries. I disagree. I think we are the same old people we've always been, just with the technology to do a lot more damage than our ancestors could. World War II, the granddaddy of all wars, killed about 60 million, half of whom were civilians; Vietnam around 5 million, 90% of whom were civilians; and Iraq, only one or two million, nearly all civilians. Any lull in the killing that might have occurred over the past 65 years, I would attribute to the unique bipolar world dominated by two superpowers each capable of destroying each other many times over. Today's multipolar world seems poised on the verge of multiple really vicious wars. I still remember my high school Latin teacher, bless her soul, describing how the victorious Romans soldiers salted the fields around Carthage so that no one could ever live there again. Today, we have much better means for waging environmental war - Agent Orange, Depleted Uranium and a host of other poisons that cause fetal abnormalities. As Bob Dylan put it 50 years ago in his song, Masters of War: "You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins." And so far we have talked only of war. Should the great powers continue to ignore impending climate change, as they appear to already have decided to do at the Durban conference, we could easily be facing a billion deaths in the subsequent environmental collapse. A nicer humanity? A nice thought, Mr. Kristof; but I don't think so. ================== November 22, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) THE OCCUPY SONG Those of you who heard Donna sing The Occupy Song at Rolla's first occupy event can find the words on my website. Let's learn the words so we can all sing them December 3 at our second occupy event. BUSH, BLAIR CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal has convicted former US President, George W. Bush, and former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, of war crimes after two years of investigation and a four day hearing. HOW WE TREAT OUR VETERANS Here is a video of Oakland Police beating Iraq/Afghanistan War veteran, Kayvan Sabehgi so hard, they ruptured his spleen. Another Iraq War veteran, Scott Olsen, was admitted to the hospital in critical condition after suffering head injuries from a projectile fired by the Oakland police last month. My Quote of the Month is dedicated to all our Scott Olsen's. ================== November 15, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) 17 ISRAELI PIRATE SHIPS ATTACK TWO UNARMED VESSELS Here is Kit Kittridge's report on the Freedom Waves attempt to non-violently break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Kittridge was one of two US citizens aboard the Tahrir when they were accosted by 17 Israeli warships in international waters. Unlike the attack on the Mavi Marmara two years ago, in which Israeli pirates killed nine non-violent humanitarian workers in cold blood, this time the pirates stopped short of murder. The Israeli pirates attacked the Freedom Waves vessels with water cannons, almost sinking the Irish ship, Saoirse, and causing it to collide with the Tahrir. One has to wonder about a rogue nation that uses such brutal force on unarmed non-violent humanitarian workers. My theory is that as military powers see their ability to control waning, they tend to become more and more brutal. One thing is for sure. We will see more and more attempts to break the illegal blockade of Gaza, until peace and freedom for the inhabitants of Gaza are secured. NANODIAMONDS ARE A LIAR'S BEST FRIEND It appears that the foreign expert who is allegedly helping Iran build nuclear detonation devices is none other than Vyacheslav Danilenko. Unfortunately for the credibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency and warmongers in the United States and Israel, Danilenko is NOT a nuclear weapons scientist. He is one of the world's foremost experts in nanodiamond technology. And the unnamed member state that fingered Danilenko appears to be none other than Israel, which was been itching to embroil the United States in a war with Iran for decades. But all this begs the question. Why is the United States entitled to thousands of nuclear weapons, Israel entitled to hundreds, but Iran not even entitled to do research that might someday lead to one or two nuclear weapons? We went to war with Afghanistan on the lie that Afghanistan was responsible for the 9/11/01 tragedy. We went to war with Iraq on the lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that could hit us in 45 minutes. Now let's find a real whopper, so we can go to war with Iran too. CHANGE YOU MIGHT COUNT ON Andrew Bacevich looks at change in the modern world, noting that what appears today to be a big change might in a decade appear to count for very little. He gives 9/11 as an example, and then goes on mention 4 big changes happening now: 1. Failure of the US "Freedom Agenda" to control the Middle East 2. The Great Recession which began in 2008 and continues 3. Arab Spring 4. Europe's financial self-destruction These would not be my choices. Nevertheless, I think this is a topic worthy of discussion. My first choice would be Global Warming. It's been going on at least since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution; but for sheer long-term destructive change it appears to dwarf war and economic downturn. Second, I would choose the electronic computer which has totally remade and continues to remake the manner in which we learn and relate to each other. Third, the self-destruction of the Soviet Union which signaled the end of the bipolar world and the birth of a multi-polar world which is still in flux. And fourth, the invasion of Iraq - not because of what happened; but because of what it prevented from happening. I saw, and still see, March 2003 as the last hope for the world to come together, face it's many problems, and work out some real solutions before it was too late. When Western soldiers marched into Iraq and the UN and other powerful countries rolled over and did nothing, I knew we were in for many years of war and denial. These are my four choices. How about yours? ================== November 8, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) ISRAELI PIRATES TERRORIZE MEDITERRANEAN Israeli pirates have captured an Irish and a Canadian ship bound for Gaza, beating and otherwise maltreating the crew and passengers. The two unarmed vessels were bound for Gaza in a non-violent attempt to break the blockade and bring relief to the 1.6 million Gazans which Israel holds in the world's largest open-air prison. About half of the 1.6 million Gazans are children. What kind of people would keep 800,000 children in prison? What kind of world would permit this mass maltreatment of children? There can be no real solution to our domestic problems as long as we remain complicit in the ill-treatment of Gaza. I'LL PICK UP MY MARBLES AND GO HOME Miffed by UNESCO's decision to admit Palestine as a full member, the US picks up its $60 million contribution and goes home pouting. It appears that much of the world is fed-up with the US-Israeli maltreatment of Palestine. PREPARED FOR ANOTHER WAR? And our next war will be ... You guessed it! ... Iran. In the past we've backed off from all out war with Iran; but there are signs that this one is the real McCoy. First and foremost, things have gotten so bad in the US, that we really need a good war to get peoples minds off their troubles and put them in the mood to sacrifice even more of their civil liberties and freedoms, and stoically endure more foreclosures, job loses, and pay cuts. Click here and here for two articles on the march toward war against Iran. And one final question: When US bombs begin to fall on Iran, where will the Occupy movement stand? ================== November 1, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) TO SLAY THE LERNAEAN HYDRA Sandy LeonVest's article, The Magnetic Force of the Moment, is a must read. LeonVest points out that our struggle against corporate dominance will be a long hard struggle and we must be prepared to stay the course. This will not be a simplistic Good vs. Evil battle. "If we are to succeed in creating the better world we envision, we’ll need to look, not only outward and backward at the role of corporate greed and corruption in today’s global crisis of greed and inequity, but forward at what kind of future we want, and -- perhaps most challenging -- inward at our own complicity in the problems we now face." In 1975, after over a decade of bitter struggle, our goal of ending the Vietnam War was realized. Unfortunately, we all went home and bought into the corporate dream of a world based on corporate dominance and consumerism. Meanwhile, the forces of war, repression, injustice, and inequality regrouped and grew stronger. Now we must face down these forces again, as we did half a century ago. Corporate capitalism is the Lernaean Hydra, the mythical poisonous serpent with nine heads that terrorized the swamps of Lernae. Each time we succeed in cutting off one head, two more grow in it's place. To defeat this beast we must, like Hercules, use our wits as well as our strength. Hercules' nephew, Iolaus, wielded a torch and cauterized the stump each time Hercules bashed in one of the hydra's heads; so that the head could not grow back. Similarly, as we win minor victories, we must learn to cauterize the stumps so that our assailants will not regain their power. Indeed, it will be a long hard struggle; and to succeed, we must be willing to face our own complicity in creating the world of war, repression, injustice, and inequality in which we live. ================== October 25, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) FIVE COMPELLING TRANSFORMATIONS Members and supporters of the Occupy Movement are often asked: What are the goals of the Movement? That's a difficult question for a movement with no leaders that prides itself on Democratic Decentralism. Here are my suggestions of five goals for the Occupy Movement: Peace not War Harmony not Dominion Sustainability not Growth Need not Greed Democracy not Plutocracy Keep in mind that these are Tom Sager's goals. I don't necessarily speak for anyone but myself. In formulating these goals, I have tried to keep things clear, simple, general and inclusive. I would like to think that perhaps all worthy goals can be viewed as special cases of one or more of the above. I'd also like to think that these five goals can be viewed as an interlocking network - that progress toward one, will necessarily lead to progress toward the others. Below, I've added a sentence or three on each goal: Peace not War: The issues that confront human society are many and complex. It is certain that we cannot even begin to confront these issues unless we lay down our weapons, declare peace, and all work together. Harmony not Dominion: Western Society, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, has been marked by domination: domination of man over nature and natural processes; domination of Western societies over other human societies; and domination of the rich and powerful over the poor and oppressed. This has led to a world out of balance. If human society is to flourish, we must bring it into harmony with itself and nature. Sustainability not Growth: Uncontrolled growth has led to humans, particularly the wealthiest one percent, using up our environmental capital faster than it can replenish itself. This cannot go on. If human society, as we know it, is to continue; it must bring itself into balance with the natural processes that sustain it. Need not Greed: The output of society must satisfy the needs of all its members; not just the insatiable greed of a small group. Societal collapses tend to be marked by extreme inequalities. Democracy not Plutocracy: If we are to successfully confront the issues facing human society, it will take all of us contributing and working together. As the current financial crisis clearly shows, wealth alone is a very poor criterion on which to chose society's leaders. ================== October 18, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) YET ANOTHER DUMB WAR Some people NEVER learn. As if Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen etc. wasn't enough, U.S. troops now go marching into Uganda. But don't worry. Our troops will only serve in non-combatant roles. BEWARE OF USED CAR SALESMEN A reader sends me the following article from the New York Times on an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Retired CIA analyst, Ray McGovern, finds the alleged plot, featuring an Iranian-American used car salesman in the United States as the alleged kingpin, "implausible". McGovern seems to think the US is trying to find an excuse for starting a war with Iran. So what else is new? MEANWHILE... While the US government lacks any solutions other than war, war, and more war; the Occupy Together movement is growing by leaps and bounds, all over the world. Even little Rolla has its Occupy Together movement. Hey, Obama, Petraeus, Clinton: people are fed up. Do you get it? And if you want to know what the one percent are thinking of our movement, read Sandy Leon Vest's short article. ================== October 11, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) THE HIGH COST OF EDUCATION One of the topics discussed at today's Occupy Rolla Together meeting was the high cost of higher education. I and another attendee remarked that we were able to put ourselves through school 40 or 50 years ago without incurring a penny of debt. The mathematics is straight forward. At the excellent State-run University I attended, tuition and fees were around $50 per quarter, $150/year. Minimum wage was $1.60/hr. Working 3 weeks at minimum wage paid my tuition and fees with money to spare; and, unlike today, minimum wage then was a living wage. Why can't society give this generation the same educational benefits that my generation received? Becuase the money all goes to pay for war and the yachts of the wealthiest 1%. Up until our first war against Iraq in 1991 and the ensuing 13 years of virtually complete sanctions, Iraq had free higher education. Today, girls in Chile are occupying their school demanding free education. Here in the United States, we could learn a lot from our neighbors in Iraq and Chile. ================== October 4, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER All over the world, ordinary people are standing up and speaking truth to power. As Bob Dylan put it almost 50 years ago, The Times They are a-Changin'. There are so many excellent examples. Here are three of my favorites: Concerned Citizens for Crystal City, MO Concerned Citizens for Crystal City, Missouri won the Riverfront Times' (RFT) Best Gadfly of 2011 award for standing up to the local power structure and saying NO to a coal-fired iron smelter, thereby winning a victory for the Environment, for Democracy, and for the First Amendment. Not mentioned in the RFT article is that they are defended by Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, the public interest law center which saved our own Buehler Park from Rolla's local power structure. Our victory in Buehler Park was an inspiration to the Concerned Citizens for Crystal City to keep fighting when the going got tough. Victories like this have a way of proliferating. Also not mentioned in the RFT article is that the fight to keep the smelter out of Crystal City is not over; anymore than our fight to save Buehler Park is over. Power hates to lose. Power is the Lernaean Hydra with hundreds of heads that grow back as fast as you can mow them down. The price of Democracy is eternal vigilance. Jewish Voice for Peace Young Jews are standing up to the Jewish Power Structure in the United States and defining for themselves what it means to be Jewish; and speaking out against the unqualified support for Israeli atrocities that would be totally unacceptable anywhere else in the world besides the United States and Israel. Watch the video and read the commentary by Rabbi Brant Rosen here. And don't forget the wonderful cartoon! I love cartoons. They can say so much with so little. Check out a few of mine. I'll Expose More Crimes Anti-nuclear activist, Bonnie Urfer, convicted of trespassing at the Oak Ridge nuclear weapons facility, tells the judge defiantly: "It doesn’t matter what my sentence is. If I am returned to jail, I’ll expose more crimes. If I am set free, I’ll expose more crimes." Read her story here. Meanwhile more truth comes out about Fukushima. It appears that in March, Tokyo Electric considered abandoning Fukushima, and then Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, considered evacuating millions of people from Tokyo. Meanwhile, here at Missouri S&T, nuclear proponents were telling people that their fears were unwarranted and that it was safe to visit Tokyo. (Check out my Nuclear Forum cartoon.) I'm flabbergasted that after all this, some people still consider nuclear power a viable option. ================== September 27, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) MORE ON THAT LAWLESS CROWD Last week Iran released Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the two US hikers who had "strayed" across the border into Iran and received eight year prison sentences for espionage and illegal entry, . The hikers were each released (read ransomed) on $500,000 bail - a tiny price considering the billions of dollars that frozen assets, economic sanctions, military threats, sabotage, and the coup that toppled the Mossadegh government have cost Iran. (Iran should have accepted my offer to negotiate a prisoner exchange. What I could have gotten for them would be far more valuable than a paltry million dollars.) Meanwhile, the State of Georgia has executed a probably innocent Troy Davis. Georgia is a piker State compared to Texas when it comes to administering lethal "justice" to the innocent. Read about some of the more controversial Texas executions here. Texas is probably the only State to ever execute two people for firing the same bullet! Let no one in the United States complain about Human Rights violations in Iran, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. MORE ON CHILDREN'S ART Children's Art and Children's Rights by Claudia Lefko is a MUST READ. Speaking of the Gazan Children's Art Exhibition that was censored by the Oakland Children's Museum, Lefko points out: "If we cannot look at it, if it is too painful, it is because the world we have created, full of violence and conflict, is not one that is good for children." (Recall that half of the 1.6 million Gazans are children.) Although you can't see the Gazan Children's Art exhibit, you can watch this eight minute video. Don't forget to create your own Art for Peace and enter it in the Arts Rolla contest (Click here for details.) Submission date is Friday October 21, so there is still plenty of time. Maybe Arts Rolla can display some Palestinian Children's Art too. ARAB SPRING ARRIVES IN THE UNITED STATES Arab Spring has finally arrived in the United States - from downtown Manhattan, where protesters, defying pepper spray and billy clubs, continue to occupy downtown Manhattan, the belly of the financial beast responsible for creating so much misery for so many people; to Nebraska where folks refuse to stand by and let the oil industry pollute their underground aquifer; to California, where 11 courageous students are convicted for non-violently protesting the US/Israeli genocidal policy toward Palestine. And lets not forget our good neighbor to the North where Canadians converge on Ottawa to protest the exploitation of the Alberta Tar Sands which would spread pollution and greenhouse gases in unprecedented quantities; nor our good neighbors to the South like Bolivia where protesters attempt to prevent the construction of a highway through the Amazon rainforest. Yes, there are lots of positive things happening. You can do something positive too, even if you can't go to New York, Nebraska, Irvine, Ottawa or La Paz. Join the vigils for peace every Thursday, Noon to 1PM at the Rolla Post Office and come to Columbia on October 9 and say, ENOUGH! ================== September 20, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) FOOD Frances Moore Lappé (Diet for a Small Planet, 1971) discusses both the positive and negative developments in the struggle between people and corporations for control of our food supply. This is a very balanced article. I CAN'T RUN NO MORE WITH THAT LAWLESS CROWD Glenn Greenwald discusses the sorry state of so-called "Justice" in the United States, as the State of Georgia gets ready to execute a probably innocent Troy Davis and a federal appeals court rules that 5 years of extreme torture plus 17 years in prison is too light a sentence for Jose Padilla (the so-called Dirty Bomber for which there was absolutely no evidence). Please consider signing Troy Davis's petition for clemency. This may be Troy Davis's last hope. The title is from Leonard Cohen's song, Anthem. "I can't run no more with that lawless crowd, While killers in high places say their prayers out loud." ART FOR PEACE Don't forget the Art for Peace contest. Click here for details. Submission date is Friday October 21, so there is plenty of time to create your own Art for Peace. I never thought I had any artistic talent - until I discovered photoshop cartooning two years ago. It all started at a Rolla City Council meeting, back when Donna Hawley was on the Council. Listening to the Council, I thought I was watching a performance of Alice in Wonderland. Over the next few months I composed 13 Donna in Blunderland cartoons. The first few I put together with Word; but for the last ones, I had to learn to compose with photoshop. For my latest two compositions, Obama v. Gaddafi, click here and here. Photoshopping is, to my knowledge, not recognized as an art form by the "art elite." However, the website, Freaking News, is devoted exclusively to photshopping. Check it out. I suspect, soon, photoshopping will be recognized as a serious art form. ================== September 13, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) THE WAR ON CHILDREN This eight minute video of art by Gazan children is a MUST SEE. As you watch, remember that approximately 50 percent of the 1.6 million inhabitants of Gaza are children. Not only do they grow up under war, occupation, blockade and deprivation; but even their art is censored. Abby Zimet states the obvious: "Kids shouldn't have to pay for the appalling cruelty and stupidity of adults." Also check out this article from the Electronic Intifada. ART THROUGH PEACE Although Palestinian children are not allowed to have their art work shown in the United States, you can enter your very own creation in Arts Rolla's Art for Peace contest. Click here for details. MORE CIVIL WAR LOOMS IN LIBYA Soumaya Ghannoushi discusses the civil war looming in Libya between local military leaders like Abdul Hakim Belhaj and NATO's favored National Transitional Council which includes many of the rats that deserted Ghaddafi's sinking ship. After having seen Iraq and Afghanistan engulfed in civil war following the Western invasion, could we expect anything different in Libya? ================== August 30, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) TWO THINGS POSITIVE I received a note from an old friend, pointing out that there was much positive going on in the world and asking that I write something positive. My friend is right; so here are two positive events: In Chile, students are demonstrating and demanding quality education at a price affordable to all. Chilean students will be far ahead of their counterparts in Texas who will no longer learn about our subversive forefathers like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Meanwhile, here in the US, environmental celebrity, Bill McKibben, along with many others are arrested while demonstrating to prevent the Keystone XL pipeline which will accelerate global warming and planetary destruction. Check out Ralph Nader's comments also. Here are a few interesting articles on the devastating effects of climate change (whether or not you believe in it): 1. Expanding deserts 2. Climate cycles and civil war 3. Hurricane Irene floods Vermont 4. The insurance industry understands climate change The positive thread is that some people are standing up at great risk and saying, "Enough!" How about you? PIGS AT THE TROUGH "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." — George Orwell (Animal Farm) Finally, the truth, which we knew all along, comes out: The invasion of Libya, like the invasion of Iraq before it, had nothing to do with democracy, protecting civilians, women's rights, deposing dictators, terrorism, etc.; but had everything to do with oil and lucrative business contracts. With the war seeming to wind down, the pigs are lining up at the trough demanding their unfair share. ================== August 23, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) ISRAELI PROTESTS CALLED OFF AFTER ATTACK FROM GAZA In the wake of recent rocket attacks from Gaza, Israeli dissidents called off a series of protests against the high cost of living. Israel, acting with its usual reckless lack of restraint, mounted another vicious assault on the civilian population of Gaza, including bombing a sewage treatment plant. It is apparently uncertain who is responsible for the recent attacks on Israel. It couldn't have worked out better for the Netanyahu government if it has been planned by MOSSAD itself. Maybe it was planned by MOSSAD. SUGGESTING ANOTHER PRISONER EXCHANGE Two weeks ago I compared the case of Alan Gross, sentenced by the Cuban courts to 15 years in prison to the case of the Cuba 5 serving life sentences in Miami and the 170 prisoners being held in Guantanamo, some without charge or prospect for release. I suggested an exchange of prisoners. Last week Iran sentenced US citizens Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal to five years in prison for espionage and 3 years for entering the country illegally. Previously Iran released Bauer and Fattal's female companion, Sarah Shourd, for humanitarian reasons. (If you want to read an account of US espionage in Iran and the overthrow of Iran's democratically elected government in 1953, read Stephen Kinzer's All the Shah's Men.) Again, I suggest an exchange of prisoners. Surely among the 2.3 million people the US holds behind bars are some that could be traded for Bauer and Fattal. I am even offering to negotiate the exchange. MORE COLONIALISM IN LIBYA A century ago, Libya became the world's first victim of aerial bombing, and was soon reduced to an Italian colony. One hundred years later, this time under the leadership of the United States, Europe is again bombing Libya. It appears highly likely that soon Libya will again be placed under the Western yoke. ================== August 16, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SANDCASTLES CRUMBLING 235 years after Adam Smith published Wealth of Nations Capitalism is crumbling, writes Ameen Izzadeen. Izzadeen is right! Some 20 years ago the Soviet Union dissolved leaving Capitalism by far the world's predominant ideology. 20 years later the world is in a permanent state of war and a seemingly permanent economic depression; droughts, floods, tornadoes and man-made environmental disasters such as Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima have become commonplace; and revolution and riot are breaking out throughout the world. As if greed (or any vice for that matter) could be the basis for a prosperous human society. As if Capitalism (or any human philosophy) that spans less than 0.1 percent of human existence on the Earth could be pronounced "good" or "successful." If you disagree with this, ask yourself: Are people happier? more secure? living more productive, harmonious lives than they did 20 years ago? Is our environment healthier? more supportive of life than it was 20 years ago? If the current situation continues, can one reasonably foresee that human society will improve? I cannot say what will replace Capitalism as it continues to crumble. I don't believe anyone can. But perhaps, if we work together, we can build a better, sustainable world. ================== August 9, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) CUBA AND JUSTICE Every now and then one of my right-wing friends suggests that I watch Fox News instead of the "liberal" media. My response: I can't watch Fox, because I don't have television; but I visit Fox News every now and again on the web. My latest visit turned up this AP article on Alan Gross, whose 15 year sentence was recently upheld by Cuba's Supreme Court. Gross was convicted of bringing satellite and other communication equipment into Cuba illegally as part of a USAID-funded "democracy" program (quotation marks mine). I can't help contrasting the Gross case with the Cuba Five, who have been languishing in prison for over a decade after being convicted of espionage in a Miami court and sentenced to 4 lifetimes + 75 years in prison. (The "espionage" was keeping track of anti-Cuban terrorist organizations operating freely in Miami that have caused the death of thousands of Cubans.) I also can't help contrasting this case to the Guantánamo detention camp which the USA keeps on Cuban soil. Guantánamo is notorious for torture and degrading treatment. Some 170 prisoners are being held there, many without trial or chances for release. In the service of justice, I suggest the following exchange of prisoners: Alan Gross for the Cuban Five and the 170 or so inmates at Guantánamo. I believe this exchange would be fair and just to everyone concerned. The United States holds 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any other country, both in absolute numbers and relative to the population. I visited Cuba in 1998 with IFCO Pastors for Peace in an effort to break the illegal US blockade of Cuba. I would choose incarceration in a Cuban prison over incarceration at Guantánamo. ================== August 2, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) ARAB SPRING COMES TO ISRAEL Arab Spring and European protests have finally reached Israel. 150,000 demonstrated in Tel Aviv for affordable housing and against the high cost of living. While most seem to claim no linkage between the protests and Palestinian Statehood and an end to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza; clearly, there is at least one link: Militarism breeds domestic inequality and funds spent on the military can not be spent on domestic social programs. Here are some interesting statistics:
** Military spending per capita (from SIPRI database) *** Gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality with 0 most equitable and 100 most inequitable. The country with the highest Gini Coefficient is Namibia (70.7) The lowest is Sweden (23). My suggested solution to the impasse in Palestine and Israel is posted on my website as a downloadable T-shirt image. (Some call it a one state solution, although, in fact, it has nothing to do with "States".) ================== July 26, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) YET ANOTHER SENSELESS MASSACRE Commondreams has posted a number of thoughtful commentaries on this week's Norwegian massacre. If you only read one, I recommend Juan Cole's When Extremism Learns to Blow Things Up; although these articles by Chris Hedges and by John Feffer are definitely worth the read too. I find it helpful to contrast Norway's response to this massacre, in which 100,000 demonstrated in Oslo against violence, to our response to 9-11 of bombing the crap out of Afghanistan thereby starting a war which continues today and has spread to Iraq, Libya and elsewhere. It's also interesting to note that many news outlets initially blamed the massacre on Muslims (talk about knee-jerk responses). I haven't heard any apologies from Fox News for this error yet. I'm not holding my breath. Incidentally, alleged perpetrator, Anders Breivik, is apparently an islamophobic right-wing Christian fundamentalist. A final thought: Many characterize Norway as a peaceful country. Norway has 400 troops in Afghanistan and has played a major role in the bombing of Libya. I find it difficult to characterize a country which takes part in these massacres on foreign soil a peaceful country. Violence abroad has a way of morphing into violence at home. Malcolm X famously characterized this as chickens coming home to roost. Here in the USA, we should understand this basic law of the Universe at least as well as anyone else. ================== July 19, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) FORGIVENESS AND REVENGE According to an account in the July 12 Rolla Daily News, a truck driver who killed three young children in a fatal collision was sentenced to probation by Judge Tracy Storie on the strength of a plea from the children's mother, Christina Miess: "I feel our family has suffered enough for several families. I do not want the defendant to spend his life in prison because of his selfish act." In sentencing the defendant to probation, Judge Storie noted the unusual nature of Mrs. Miess's request: "Most of the victims in these manslaughter cases are nothing short of venomous." In reading this account, I couldn't help thinking how much better the world would be if there were more Christina Miesses and Tracy Stories and fewer people shrieking for revenge. Below I've compiled ten quotes on forgiveness and revenge: 1. "Forgiveness is better than revenge." — Pittacus 2. "When an injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive." — Alan Paton 3. "Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." — Matthew 5:24 4. "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." — Mahatma Gandhi 5. "Moses son of Imran said, 'My Lord, who is the greatest of Thy servants in Thy estimation" and received the reply, "The one who forgives when he is in a position of power.'" — Hadith of Baihaqi 6. "Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude." — Martin Luther King Jr. 7. "You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself." — Leviticus 19:18 8. "[The righteous are] those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity or in adversity, who restrain (their) anger and pardon (all) men - for God loves those who do good." — Holy Quran 3:134 9. "Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget." — Maria Edgeworth 10. "He who seeks vengeance digs two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself." — Chinese proverb This last is my favorite, because it says so much in so few words. In fact, it could be considered a 15 word account of the United States of America since September 11, 2001. ================== July 12, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) TOO SERIOUS A MATTER TO ENTRUST TO THE MILITARY Almost a century ago, Georges Clemenceau opined that war is too serious a matter to entrust to military men. "La guerre! C’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires." Barbara Ehrenreich, who 15 years ago wrote "Blood Rites", in my opinion one of the most important books on war ever written, argues that war is fast becoming too serious a matter to entrust to the humans. She points out that standing armies are too unwieldy for modern warfare. It takes robots and drones to fight wars now, and soon computers may indeed make the decisions on when and whether to go to war. John Gray also explores this subject in "Straw Dogs". When I was in my 20s, I used to love reading Fred Saberhagen's Berserker stories, about self-replicating war machines, survivors of a long-ago galactic war with one objective: Destroy all life. Considered science fiction in my youth, today these stories might be considered prophecy. RALPH NADER ON CORPORATE TAX DODGERS Four-time independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader points out that American Electric Power, Boeing, Dupont, Exxon Mobil, FedEx, General Electric, Honeywell, International, IBM, United Technologies, Verizon Communications, Wells Fargo, and Yahoo together paid NEGATIVE $2.5 billion in taxes over the past 3 years. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. This excellent article doesn't mention the trillions that we spend on a military whose purpose is to ensure the continued profitability of these and other giant corporations. Ralph Nader for President, 2012! VE VANT SOME OF YOUR BLOOOOOOOD Next time someone offers you or your family flu shots or other vaccinations, consider that you may be taking part in a CIA murder plot. The use of a CIA sponsored bogus vaccination drive in an attempt to track down bin Laden gives credence to the allegation that the HIV virus might have been the product of a clandestine US biological weapons laboratory. (While the case for man-made HIV is far from proved, it is certainly plausible. Clearly, the CIA and other US agencies have no qualms about experimenting with such dangerous viral diseases as weapons of war. See, for example, this article by Eric Taylor.) MAKING A BAD SITUATION EVEN WORSE: THE CLINTON FOUNDATION IN HAITI The Clinton Foundation's vaunted humanitarian aid to Haiti turns out to be unhealthy, formaldehyde-laced trailers, made by Clayton Homes, the same company that supplied FEMA with formaldehyde-laced trailers for Hurricane Katrina victims. Click here. ================== July 5, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) FREEDOM FLOTILLA II AND THE AUDACITY OF HOPE As a result of thousands of phone calls and emails, Captain John Kluzmire of the US ship The Audacity of Hope has been released from prison. However, Greece has still not permitted The Audacity of Hope to leave port and sail for Gaza with its cargo of humanitarian aid, so more calls and emails are in order thanking Greece for releasing Captain Kluzmire and demanding that Greek authorities allow The Audacity of Hope to sail. Quoting the USTOGAZA website: "Given the tremendous obstacles placed in the way of the flotilla we should not for a moment think this work has been in vain. Just the opposite. We have called greater attention to the urgent need to end the Israeli blockade and siege of Gaza, as well as the overall occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The lengths to which the Israeli government has gone to stop the boats only expose the real story: they are determined to hold on to their repressive, inhuman and illegal policies at any cost. Israel has outsourced its naval blockade of Gaza to Greece. "We cannot for one moment forget that the flotilla project is about our solidarity with the people of Gaza. Changing the Israeli policies and stopping the support they get from the U.S. government requires the strongest movement we can possibly build!" I have posted a cartoon for the Freedom Flotilla at http://tomsager.org/Pirates.html. ================== June 28, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SISYPHUS REVISITED: RACE TO THE TOP In ancient Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the first King of Corinth. As a punishment for tricking the gods, (intelligence was not a quality generally attributed to the ancient Greek gods) he was made to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a mountain, only to have it roll back to the bottom each time he reached the top (justice was not one of their attributes either). Here in the United States, we are outdoing the ancient Greek gods. We have set our children to the Sisyphean task of taking standardized test after standardized test in their "race to the top." These tests of useless and pointless knowledge leave even those who do well back at the bottom preparing for the next Sisyphean test. Here is an article by Lisa Guisbond of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing on Race To The Top. During last year's candidate debates, I was permitted by the moderators to ask candidates for State and Federal legislatures their opinion of No Child Left Behind (Race to the Top's forerunner). Every single candidate said it was flawed to one degree or another. Yet, now we have even more of the same. During my almost 30 years as a teacher, I don't think I ever once administered a standardized test. Standardized education is an oxymoron. Last year I photoshopped two cartoons on No Child Left Behind. Check them out: here and here. ================== June 20, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) BENEATH THE FIG LEAF Last year when I photoshopped a cartoon of the Rolla City Council wearing nothing but fig leaves, little did I know that a year later I'd discover America, the Fig Leaf Nation in Linh Dinh's haunting description of the squalor and desperation that lies beneath the spin and hype. ================== June 14, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) THEFT According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a whopping $6.6 billion of Iraqi money has been lost or stolen (probably stolen). This dwarfs the $3.4 billion settlement awarded last December to US Indians in compensation for mismanagement and theft of the Indian Trust Fund. Over 200 years ago Thomas Jefferson opined that “The purpose of government is to protect the people from the moneyed interests.” Today the purpose of government appears to be to enable the moneyed interests to more and greater theft from the people.. ================== June 7, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) RALPH NADER ON E.COLI OUTBREAK Ralph Nader points out that while we spend trillions on the so-called "war on terror" and other wars against humanity, microbes are getting the upper hand in their war against disease-prone humanity. Just think! We've had four opportunities to elect Ralph Nader president. Maybe we'll get a fifth chance: Ralph Nader for President, 2012! ================== May 31, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE PRISON WERE SHAKEN On Saturday, Egypt's new leaders opened permanently the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, thus shaking the foundations of the world's largest prison, (click here). Gaza has a population of around 1.5 million of which around half are children 15 and under. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for years, preventing the inhabitants of Gaza from traveling abroad, even in cases of medical emergencies, (click here). A year ago, the Freedom Flotilla, carrying much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza was attacked in international waters by Israel in an act of piracy. In June, Freedom Flotilla II will set sail for Gaza, again with much needed humanitarian aid. We pray for the success of Freedom Flotilla II. In an act of supreme chutzpah, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, declared the flotilla "unhelpful," and asked all governments to "use their influence to discourage such flotillas." This, from an organization which, although charged with establishing, maintaining and perpetuating world peace, has for 63 long years been unable to bring peace or justice to 1.5 million people in Gaza, (click here). The title of this section is from Acts 26:16 (KJV) "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." Clearly, in this analogy Gaza is the prison and Egypt's revolution is the earthquake. MAKING A BAD SITUATION WORSE: THE UN IN HAITI 16 months ago, Haiti experienced a tremendous 7.0 earthquake which devastated Port-au-Prince. (Aren't the Haitians so lucky to be too poor to afford nuclear reactors?) Promises of help from the international community never materialized, and over one million Haitians still live in makeshift tents in refugee camps. If that isn't bad enough, Haitians are now being evicted from refugee camps and what little property they own confiscated, (click here). And if that still isn't bad enough, UN workers have introduced cholera to Haiti, (click here). Thousands have already died, and the epidemic is likely to worsen during the rainy season which is just getting under way. While the introduction of cholera to Haiti was probably inadvertent, doesn't the UN (and all member nations) have the RESPONSIBILITY to quickly eradicate the cholera it introduced to Haiti and care for its victims? Cholera can be easily eradicated. All that is required is clean water and sanitary sewage disposal. Cholera victims can usually be treated successfully simply through rehydration therapy. If you wish to read a truly fascinating detective story, read Steven Johnson's "The Ghost Map" about the 1854 London cholera epidemic and how John Snow unraveled the mystery of the transmission of cholera. ================== May 24, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) MORE SAVAGERY AND SILENCE IN THE FIRST WORLD Every now and then I run across a report of an incident which seems to frame an attitude that is far more universal than the incident itself. In November 2009 I recommended Sandy Leon Vest's Savagery and Silence in the First World, about the gang rape of a 15 year old in Richmond, California while others looked on and watched. To me it exemplified all the sex, violence, and voyeurism so rampant in our culture. I wrote a short commentary under the title, Did the Taliban ever do this to a 15 year old girl?. The question was of course rhetorical. In the Afghan culture from which the Taliban springs, public sex of any kind is taboo. Here is an article describing a similar practice which I believe to be truly universal. Tiffany Williams discusses the alleged rape of a hotel domestic worker by IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In most accounts of the incident, the woman gets totally lost - its almost like she is a non-person. If it had been a dog that Strauss-Kahn had allegedly brutalized instead of a female domestic; I suspect that there would be a lot more sympathy for the victim. It appears that the abuse of female domestics by powerful males transcends all bounds and all cultures. ================== May 17, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) PIRATES OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Every school child in the United States learns that 200 years ago Thomas Jefferson, tired of paying tribute to the Barbary States (now Morocco, Algeria and Libya), built the U.S. Navy and attacked the Barbary Pirates on their home turf, winning diplomatic treaties protecting US sailors and shipping in the Mediterranean. We've come a long way since then! In 1967 Israeli pirates attacked the reconnaissance vessel USS Liberty in international waters, killing 34 and injuring 172, while attempting to murder everyone on board. (There is a wonderful video of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty and the subsequent coverup by Tito Howard.) Ever since then, the US has been paying tribute to the tune of $3 billion annually to the Israeli pirates of the Mediterranean. Huwaida Arraf, Noam Chomsky and Gabriel Schivone have compiled a partial list of acts of Israeli piracy. This article is definitely worth reading and hopefully will become a movie, possibly starring Johnny Depp. ================== May 10, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SUPPORT THE TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME! We are making a difference! Last Thursday a young man drove by and stopped at our vigil to say thank you. Then he added, "You brought me home. You mean a lot to my whole unit." Incidents like this make our effort worthwhile. We are well into our fifth year of vigils now. When we started, positive and negative responses ran about equal. Now almost every response we get is positive, many coming from military people and their families. While you may not see immediate results in the news media or in pronouncements coming from the White House or the Pentagon, we are turning this around. Public opinion in the United States is strongly opposed to military adventurism. CHOMSKY ON BIN LADEN For me, the reported assassination of Osama bin Laden is a non-event, although I did devote a brief mention to it in last week's column. Noam Chomsky, with his usual clarity, gives us his thoughts on bin Laden's reported demise. They are well worth reading. The report that bin Laden was unarmed, summarily executed and his body dumped at sea, suggests that there is far more to the story then we are being told. In fact, it puts the whole affair in doubt. The militarists must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they have to resort to a stunt like this to garner support for their wars. ================== May 3, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN (Libya) If there was ever any doubt in your mind that the West's war against Libya is all about oil (like Iraq), read how oil deals with anti-Gaddafi rebels have been cleared by the US Dept. of Treasury. Saturday, NATO murdered Gaddafi's son, Saif, and three grandchildren in a repeat performance of the 1986 airstrike that murdered Gaddafi's 18-month-old adopted daughter, Hannah. Two years after Hannah's murder, Pan Am 103 went down over Lockerbie, Scotland, presumably at the hands of Libyan terrorists, killing 270. Some people never learn. Also, lets remember that a century ago in 1911, Libya became the first victim of the world's first campaign of bombing from the air. In Italy the bombing of Libya was vaunted as "hygienic" and a "moral education." (See Sven Lindqvist's History of Bombing.) The killing of Osama bin Laden doesn't make war by assassination and extra-judicial murder right. Nazi war criminals like Hermann Goering and Adolf Eichmann were put on trial and given the opportunity to defend themselves in court. Hitler would likely have been put on trial too, had he not suicided. It seems that Arabs are nor entitled to the same Rights as Europeans. Incidently, this is the kind of "war on the cheap" espoused by unsuccessful 8th District Democratic candidate, Tommy Sowers. Some people never learn. As Ron David so aptly put it: "Terrorists aren't born, they're made. There's even a formula for making them." NEVER AGAIN (to some of us) 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, Hedy Epstein, relates how she was strip-searched and suffered other indignities at the hands of Israeli gerophiles. "Never again," which quickly morphed into "Never again to us," has now further morphed into "Never again to some of us." Hedy spoke in the Rolla Public Schools about a decade ago. I would like to see her speak in Rolla again. Hedy will be demonstrating against AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and the US Middle East policy in Washington on May 21-24. Join her if you can. Meanwhile the post-Mubarak government in Egypt has vowed to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza permanently. SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN ... Japan has increased allowable radiation doses for children in order to avoid closing schools and evacuating families near the Fukushima catastrophe. This policy will undoubtedly cause many preventable childhood cancers and other diseases. Watch this interesting video by nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen on the likelihood that a "prompt criticality" (the event that causes a nuclear bomb to explode) occurred in the fuel pool of Fukushima Daiichi unit 3. I have posted some more stuff on nuclear energy, including a new cartoon, on my website. ================== April 26, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) IMPERIAL COLLAPSE Tom Englehardt's Sleepwalking into the Imperial Dark makes a good companion piece to the Washington on the Rocks article that Helen recommends in (2) above. Both articles discuss a failed empire in decline - but I keep coming back to a point that Noam Chomsky brought out in his global warming hoax video: "If the United States collapsed, the world goes with it." Recall that Rome's collapse sent Europe into centuries of stagnation and anti-intellectualism. Two recent catastrophic manifestations of imperial collapse are Fukushima and Deepwater Horizon. Both are direct results of the Empire's inability to control corporate greed which is so totally out of control that we would be foolish not to expect more of the same. Both catastrophes have rendered large tracts of real estate either uninhabitable or severely degraded for decades to come. I think we are seeing more than imperial collapse. We may, in fact, be witnessing collapse of a species - our own. Nature, when angered, can be a very unforgiving mistress. Here's an exercise: Try to envision what the world will look like after the Great American Empire has gone the way of Rome, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. What you envisage may not be very pretty. I will write more about this at a later date, inshaAllah. ================== April 19, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) NUCLEAR OR FOSSIL: CHOOSE NEITHER I have been asked by an advocate of nuclear power, why people like me attack nuclear power, while we are silent about the fossil fuel industry that is destroying the world. The answer is: We are not silent about the scourge of fossil fuels. Here is an article from Al Jazeera about the Gulf of Mexico a year after being devastated by the oil industry. You won't find articles like this in the mainstream press in the United States. This person presents a false dilemma, asking for a choice between two terrible alternatives, when there are many good alternatives: solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, conservation, fuel efficiency, less intensive-energy life-styles and more. If we ended foreign wars, closed foreign military bases and stopped development of new weapon systems, we would slash our energy budget by as much as 20% almost overnight (no one knows exactly how much, because no one knows how much energy goes into these destructive activities.) So this is a false question. Both fossil and nuclear fuels continue to degrade the Earth's capacity to support complex societies like ours. Just as nuclear energy has degraded the land around Fukushima for (at least) decades into the future; so has fossil energy degraded the Gulf of Mexico for (at least) decades into the future. Choose neither. ================== April 12, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) WHY I AM MUSLIM (Part 3) A reader writes in: "Some weeks ago you said how proud you were to be a Muslim because of the demonstrations for freedom in Tunisia, Egypt, etc. Are you equally proud of the demonstrations and killings in Afghanistan because some asshole in Florida burned the Koran? You seem rather silent on that subject. My take is that what went on in Egypt and Tunisia had everything to do with freedom and nothing to do with Islam. Many Muslims appear to take their religion much too seriously in all the wrong ways. See also rioting in Denmark over a cartoon, and Khomeini's fatwa exhorting the faithful to murder Salmon Rushdie." My response: Since I am aware that you are proud of your own religion, Atheism, I could similarly ask you whether you are proud of the atheist Josef Stalin, who probably is responsible for the death of more people than any other single human being who ever lived. The question would be rhetorical, since I know you are not; just as you know that I am not proud of killers of any religion, including my own. I prefer to judge religion (any religion) by its best, not its worst. And that is why I speak so proudly of my Egyptian brothers and sisters, what they have done, and what they continue to do. That is why I prefer to judge my former religion, Catholicism, by Kathy Kelly and her friends; not by Pope Benedict and the Cardinals who selected him. I assume by "demonstrations and killings in Afghanistan", you refer to the killing of a dozen UN workers two weeks ago in Mazar-i-Sharif. How many Afghans has the UN killed? The UN is not neutral. The UN authorized and therefore bears responsibility for the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the almost 10-year-old Afghan War which has devastated the country. You seem rather silent on this subject. You speak of "some a--h--- in Florida who burned the Koran". This, as you know, is the tip of the iceberg. Watch this hate video. The Muslim haters in this video purport to be Christians, Jews, and Americans. The Muslims who they hate are raising money for women's shelters. You may choose as you wish. For my part, I prefer to be counted among those who raise money for women's shelters, not those who are so full of hate, hubris and hypocrisy toward those who do. ================== April 5, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) CLIMATE CHANGE In the past I have discussed climate change and how climate change along with other human activities, most notably making war, is leading to the creation of an Earth, that is far less hospitable to human life than during most of humanity's existence on Earth. This article by Bill McKibben contains a lot of personal accounts that may clarify what we are doing to the Earth, in a way that the Chomsky video I discussed a few weeks ago does not. Perhaps we should define "civilization" as the ability of a species to organize its activities so as not to interfere negatively with its planetary life support system. Under this definition, human civilization is clearly a myth. Jared Diamond discusses this theme in his book, Collapse. ================== March 29, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) MINIMALIZATION As my friend Margaret said at last Wednesday's Fukushima Catastrophe Forum on the S&T campus, and I'm paraphrasing: "I don't like this minimalization. This, oh well, we're all radioactive." And she's right not to like it. When it comes to radiation dangers there should be no minimalization, because a single gamma ray can cause mutation, birth defect, cancer or death. As Harvey Wasserman points out in "Safe" Radiation is a Lethal Three Mile Island Lie, this fact has been known to the medical community for decades. One term that is bandied about is "background radiation," radiation that cannot be attributed to human activity. You hear statements like the radiation you receive from Fukushima is only x times normal background radiation. Background radiation is dangerous too. It causes mutations, birth defects, cancers and, yes, death. The unspoken premise is that it is ok to add radiation from human activity to background radiation provided it is no more than a few times background. The problem with this premise is that the danger from radiation exposure is cumulative. If you are exposed to radiation from human activity equivalent to background radiation, your chance of contracting a radiation-induced cancer has roughly doubled. Expose the entire population and you've roughly doubled the number of radiation induced cancers. Wasserman's article is chilling. It should be read carefully before evaluating statements from the nuclear industry and their proponents concerning risk. At the S&T Forum, MC, Savannah Avgerinos of Women in Nuclear, answered Margaret, and again I'm paraphrasing, that she is trying to calm unwarranted fears. But Margaret's fears are warranted. As Wasserman points out: Soon after the 1979 Three Mile Island disaster, infant death rates soared in nearby Harrisburg. Clouds of radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster traveled around the world causing mutation, birth defects, cancer and death. Alexey V. Yablokov and his colleagues at the Center for Russian Environmental Policy estimate close to a million deaths from the Chernobyl disaster - not all at once, but over 24 years, with the death toll still increasing daily. (Read Chernobyl Catastrophe Made Visible by Ace Hoffman.) Fukushima has already surpassed Three Mile Island as the world's second worst nuclear disaster. The disaster is still unfolding. It may surpass Chernobyl. Some feel this is a near certainty. The danger of radiation should not be minimalized. The world must ban nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons immediately. Tomorrow may be too late. We must do it now. ================== March 22, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) LIBYA US supported dictators take notice: When you have outlived your usefulness, better to take your ill-gotten gains and quietly disappear to the Riviera or some such place. Try to hold on to power, and you will be called all sort of nasty names, your country will be invaded, and you and your country will probably be a lot worse off for it. While comparisons of Libya to Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan abound, it is better to think Panama, where two decades ago the US, under Bush 1, using our former friend Manuel Noriega as an excuse, invaded Panama, killing thousands and destroying the country. If you never watched The Panama Deception (or have forgotten it), now is a good time. But, the 21st Century is not the 20th. The US, along with its European allies looking to regain their colonial empires, are fighting three Middle Eastern Wars now, and not doing particularly well in any of them. If you want to understand Qaddafi's relation to the West, best not to forget how the US under Reagan bombed Tripoli murdering his 18-month-old adopted daughter, Hannah. I'm sure he has not forgotten. Egypt is an excellent comparison - mainly to show the importance of non-violent revolution, and its vast superiority to the violent type unfolding in Libya. FUKUSHIMA I am flabbergasted that, with the terrible tragedy unfolding in Japan, the pro-nuke types haven't gone into hiding. But, they are out in force, telling us how we need more nukes. There hasn't been much new from the media on Fukushima this last week; so likely things are even worse than they seem. Here are some important writings on Fukushima and nuclear power: Follow the Nuclear Information and Research Service's blog on Fukushima, (click here). Robert Alvarez points out how vulnerable we are in the United States to nuclear disasters, (click here. And Amory Lovins answers the very important question, "Why have nukes at all?" with a resounding NO, (click here). ================== March 15, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) FUKUSHIMA First there was Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Later, the Marshall Islands, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Hanford, Rocky Flats, Savannah, over a 100 accidents involving nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants, depleted uranium scattered over much of Iraq, Afghanistan, Vieques and elsewhere, nine nuclear weapon states and likely more on the way. You would think that with the disaster now unfolding at Fukushima, humanity would bring the nuclear age to a quick end, now. Sure, there are some legitimate uses of radiation in the medical field; but clearly nuclear weapons and nuclear power generation ought be banned. Nuclear research ought to be dealing with disposal of radioactive materials, the dismantling of the world's nuclear arsenals, and safely securing all nuclear sites so the contamination will not spread. Fukushima ought to show us once and for all what we should have learned long ago. One cannot foresee all eventualities and when you are dealing with nuclear radiation, a single oversight can be devastating. Fukushima is fast approaching Chernobyl as the world's most devastating nuclear accident, and could end up being many times worse. Nuclear Information and Research Service maintains an ongoing blog on new developments at Fukushima. Visit is often. ================== March 8, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) COLLAPSE In a chilling 22 minute video, How Climate Change Became a 'Liberal Hoax' Noam Chomsky discusses the phenomenon of climate change denial, pointing out that it is an institutional problem. If we were to address this danger, it would interfere with short term profits, so we are subjected to the myth that climate change is a hoax, even though climate change poses a tremendous danger to the entire human species. Chomsky is not very hopeful: On the one hand he points to the near impossibility of systemic change in this country, "We are marching over the cliff and doing it for institutional reasons that are pretty hard to dismantle." And then, "The latest election, [Nov. 2010], you can almost interpret it as a death knell for the species." [because it placed the climate change deniers in control of Congress], and finally, "If the United States collapsed, the world goes with it." I can't say I'm hopeful either. In March 2003 when the US invaded Iraq and the world sat on its thumbs and did nothing to stop it, I felt we had passed the tipping point. We were headed for collapse with virtually no possibility of cushioning the fall. And yes, Chomsky is, at least partially, correct. As we collapse, we will take much of humanity down with us, including most of what we like to think of as civilization. It isn't that it's technically impossible to turn the tide against climate change. Our whole culture and institutions precludes us from taking effective action. Still, I do not consider climate change necessarily the death knell of the species. Empires rot from the inside out - and once the rot becomes visible, there is nothing left but a hollow shell. Perhaps the winds of impending climate change will wash away the rot, and out of collapse will come a better world. Consider the following scriptural reference: "I will bring down a flooding rain; hailstones shall fall, and a stormwind shall break out. And when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked: Where is the whitewash you spread on?" --Ezekiel 13:11,12(NAB) Note that the above quote refers to those who deny impending danger and exhort the people against taking proper precautions (those who have "led my people astray, saying 'Peace!' when there was no peace"). To put this passage in a 21st century context, we might replace whitewash with greenwash. The Qur'an is even more explicit above mankind's relation to the creation, asking rhetorically: “What! Are you more difficult to create or is the heaven (above)? (Allah) has constructed it.” --Qur'an 79:27 (translation of meaning by Abdullah Yusuf Ali) And responding “Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is of greater (matter) than the creation of men, yet most men understand not.” --Qur'an 40:57 (translation of meaning by Abdullah Yusuf Ali) Indeed, the creation may surely outlast humanity, as any cosmologist will tell you. What a foolish arrogant species that would foul its nest and its place in the creation that a handful of people can amass more wealth than they can possibly enjoy! Should not such a species be laid low? In a very real sense, those of us who are led astray by the climate change deniers, and those who do nothing to oppose them, are every much as guilty as those who proclaim climate change to be a liberal hoax, knowing it to be a tremendous danger to the entire human species. ================== March 1, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) SOLIDARITY In my last two columns (and indeed for decades) I have pointed out that the people in the United States need to stand up to tyranny as the peoples of the Middle East are doing now. Happily this is finally happening. In Wisconsin, workers have drawn the line. Last Saturday 100,000 gathered at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin to say NO to anti-union legislation and budget cuts (click here). An estimated 400 rallied at the Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri in solidarity with Wisconsin workers and in opposition to similar legislation in Missouri (click here). Citizens in the USA are finally waking up and standing up. Not since February 2003, when millions took to the streets to oppose the imminent invasion of Iraq, has anything like this happened! The cardinal mistake of the Union movement in the United States during the second half of the 20th century was its lack of international solidarity with peoples under the thumb of US supported tyrannies abroad, people who were far worse off than US workers. This lack of international solidarity allowed international corporations to export production and jobs overseas and break the back of domestic unions. While Afghanistan and Egypt were mentioned briefly at the Jefferson City rally, solidarity with the unfolding Middle Eastern revolutions against Western-backed autocrats did NOT receive the attention it deserved. We live in a global society. Without a global perspective, gains will be limited and temporary. Martin Luther King Jr. best expressed the need to view the struggle for domestic justice and the struggle for international justice as one and the same in his Beyond Vietnam - a Time to Break Silence speech. This speech bears rereading now. INSANITY It has been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. By this definition, our society is indeed insane. 20 years ago, when the Soviet Union self-destructed leaving the USA the world's sole superpower, we were in a position to lead the world forward into an era of peace and prosperity and turn back the tide of global warming and environmental destruction. Instead, we have lead the world into an era of perpetual war, a decreasing standard of living for most, and ever increasing environmental disasters. Yet, all our leadership has to offer is more of the same. In a sane society, such failed leaders would not be permitted to hold positions of power, and such failed policies would not be repeated; but in our world of insanity, the same failed leadership continues the same failed policies; as the rest of the world turns its back on us (click here). ================== February 22, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) ROBERT FISK ON MIDDLE EASTERN REVOLUTIONS Last week I wrote about the Non-violent revolution unfolding in Egypt and how Egyptians make me proud to be Muslim, the religion of 90% of Egyptians. I am happy to note that Robert Fisk, arguably one of the foremost Western experts on the Middle East, also notes the importance of Islam in the Egyptian revolution. Fisk writes: "And Muslims – unlike the 'Christian' West – have not lost their faith. Under the stones and coshes of Mubarak's police killers, they counter-attacked, shouting 'Allah akbar' for this was indeed for them a 'jihad' – not a religious war but a struggle for justice. 'God is Great' and a demand for justice are entirely consistent. FOR THE STRUGGLE AGAINST INJUSTICE IS THE VERY SPIRIT OF THE KORAN [emphasis mine]." Fisk also notes the total disenchantment of Middle Easterners with the hypocrisy of the West, particularly the United States, even to the point of requesting that the United States refrain from intervening on their side. He quotes an Egyptian student, "The Americans interfered in our country for 30 years under Mubarak, supporting his regime, arming his soldiers. Now we would be grateful if they stopped interfering on our side." And a Bahraini medical orderly: "We are getting shot by American weapons fired by American-trained Bahraini soldiers with American-made tanks. And now Obama wants to be on our side?" Fisk ends with some excellent advise for Westerners: "Better perhaps to ignore all the analysts and the 'think tanks' whose silly 'experts' dominate the satellite channels." Meanwhile: Iraqis demonstrate against the so-called democracy that the US promised them in return for 20 years of devastating their country; Western supported Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, using Western weapons, brutally attacks non-violent protesters; Pakistanis demand that CIA agent and Blackwater/XE employee, Raymond Davis, be tried under Pakistani law for murder; and the ultimate hypocrisy, US vetos UN Security Council resolution condemning illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. This is the end result of injustice, empire, militarism, brutality and hypocrisy. Eventually the chickens come home to roost. Never before has the United States, particularly its leaders, been held in such low esteem around the world. Isn't it time we followed the lead of our brothers and sisters in Latin America, the Middle East and elsewhere, and did something to correct this situation? ==================
February 15, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) WHY I AM MUSLIM (Part II) Two weeks ago, I wrote, "Once again the Islamic World has put the Western World to shame. First Tunisia, now Egypt is throwing off the yoke of decades of Western supported dictatorship and oppression." Today, I give you one more way in which the Islamic World has put the Western World to shame. The Eqyptian revolution has been almost entirely NON-VIOLENT - masses of humanity turning out to say, ENOUGH! The old order, the hated police state, the corruption, the torture, the grinding poverty must go. To all appearances, the Egyptian revolution has been a revolution without leaders. Where are the charismatic Kings, Gandhis, Mandelas? Where are the mass movements and political parties? Nowhere to be found. This is a revolution of people, acting as people should act, but seldom do, in the face of decades of violence and injustice. This is a spirit that I felt a decade ago when I first visited the Middle East - a spirit of peace, justice and understanding. This is the true spirit of Islam - not the lies and half-truths about Islam so pervasive in the Western press. I have tried many times to explain this; but failed every time. Now, perhaps, I can succeed; but only because the Egyptians have provided us with such a clear example. Non-violent movements tend to be spiritually oriented - the US civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century certainly was. I find it difficult to imagine the successes of the US Civil Rights movement without the inspiration provided by hundreds of Christian Churches. Even more so, I find it difficult to imagine the successes of the Egyptian revolution without the guiding inspiration of Islam, the religion of 90% of the Egyptian population. Indeed, I would argue that a people are inseparable from their belief system. The best judge of any religion is the behavior and accomplishments of its adherents.** On the departure of president Mubarak, president Obama said: "It was the moral force of nonviolence, not terrorism, not mindless killing but nonviolence, a moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more." Fine words, but hypocritical in the mouth of the president of a nation that has spent billions propping up a repressive corrupt Egyptian dictatorship for three decades. It would have been far more appropriate had Obama said: "The Egyptian people have demonstrated to us the moral force of nonviolence, not terrorism, not mindless killing but nonviolence, a moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more. We will endeavor to learn from our Egyptian brothers and sisters. Not only will we immediately cease our support of oppressive governments like the Mubarak regime which the Egyptian people have toppled, but we will begin the dismantling of our own oppressive state apparatus. We will close our military bases around the globe, our prisons, our torture chambers. We will take the trillions of dollars that we have been spending on war and oppression and build a sytem of healthcare that satisfies the needs of all our people; we will create a green society and allow the Earth to heal from centuries of abuse. And above all, we will work in partnership with peoples and governments the world over to achieve these goals." Don't expect to hear president Obama utter these words; not unless YOU ARE READY TO MAKE HIM do it; not unless you are willing to gather in our courthouses, squares and malls by the millions, day after day, week after week, and chant: War, violence and oppression must go; not unless you are willing to bring business as usual to a grinding halt for as long as necessary. Consider this a challenge. Are you as strong as an Egyptian? Is your system of belief as powerful as Islam? ==================
February 1, 2011 (written for Rolla Peace Newsletter) TURNING UP THE HEAT The winner has been announced - 2010 has been declared the hottest year on record; but here in the USA, where hype, spin and nonsense reign supreme, one would hardly know it. So as we listen to Glenn Beck and the like rant about attacks on our way of life, we charge 90 miles an hour down a dead-end street toward our own destruction. To paraphrase Hank Snow: Warning signs are flying by us but we pay no heed, Instead of slowing down the pace we keep pickin' up the speed. Disaster's getting closer while we're turning up the heat. Doin' 90 miles an hour down a dead end street. I have no doubt that it is still technologically feasible to reverse the worst effects of global warming; but we are totally unable to muster the political will to do it. Record wars and record profits trump collective security. Here's an interesting article on global warming by Sandy LeonVest, editor of Solar Times. WE HAVE NOT ONCE GOT IT WRONG From the Observer, (UK, where there is still some semblance of a free press), here is an interesting interview with WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. Assange relates that the threat of exposure imposes a "secrecy tax" on governments and organizations that try to hide from the public eye. If the tax is high enough, then these organizations are forced into openness. This is why whistle-blowers such as Assange are so strongly attacked and vilified. If you like WikiLeaks, and you like Michael Moore, and you like bathroom humor; then you'll love my latest cartoon. WHY I AM MUSLIM (one of many reasons) I am often asked this question by both Muslims and non-Muslims. Here is a partial answer: Once again the Islamic World has put the Western World to shame. First Tunisia, now Egypt is throwing off the yoke of decades of Western supported dictatorship and oppression. Meanwhile, here in the United States, the super-rich continue to make war in every corner of the globe and against the planet itself, as a docile population is pushed deeper and deeper into poverty and marginalization. The concept of environmental war seems to be peculiarly Western. While the West revels in environmentally destructive weapons such as agent orange and depleted uranium; and weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear bombs and cluster bombs; the use of such weapons by Islamic countries and organizations has been, indeed, rare. ==================
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