LAWRENCE S. WITTNER: The Golden Rule is in danger. No, not the famed ethical code — though proponents of selfishness certainly have ignored it — but a thirty-foot sailing ship of the same name that rose to prominence about half a century ago.
Category: March 2010
Breif-ings
BRIEF INSIGHTS ON: 1) Yucca Mountain eyed for nuclear reprocessing; 2) PBS to cancel “NOW” and retire Bill Moyers’ “Journal”, 3) Be more persuasive; and 4) 2 out of 3 Americans ready to drop “don’t ask, don’t tell.
Howard Zinn and Other Heroes Transformed History
WILLIAM LOREN KATZ: In less than a year the battle for truth has lost three of its most innovative and stalwart voices, historians John Hope Franklin, Ivan Van Sertima and Howard Zinn. Each challenged aspects of the cheerfully bigoted narrative that has passed for history in schools, colleges, texts and the media. Each created works that made history by awakening millions of fellow citizens to a new host of heroic men and women whose daring contributions had been shamefully ignored.
Glimpsing the Depth of U.S. Polarization
DAILY KOS: From January 20 through January 31, 2010, the Daily Kos website commissioned a poll of self-identified Republicans which was conducted by Research 2000. A total of 2003 self-identified Republicans were interviewed nationally by telephone. The results will be, to say the least, startling to progressives.
Group Proposes Free Speech for People Amendment
FREE SPEECH FOR PEOPLE AMENDMENT: The group has written a resolution in support of the “Free Speech for People Amendment†and is collecting signatures on it at its website.
Haiti Disaster Highlights Need for International Law on “Lootingâ€
BECKEY SUKOVATY: When desperate Haitian earthquake victims tried to save themselves or rescue others by looking for resources needed to survive in the collapsed buildings of Port-au-Prince, they were often branded “looters.†New Orleans residents in dire need after Hurricane Katrina were similarly condemned.
Beltway Bulletin
BRIEFING REPORTS ON: 1) Federal Debt vs. the Current Deficit; 2) Social Security; 3) The Federal Debt; 4) Obama’s Energy and Global Warming Plans; and 5) Tethered Wind – Emerging but Ignored by the Feds.
Give Peace a Dance Slated for April 1
PETER BERGEL: Oregon’s best peace party and Oregon PeaceWorks’ largest fund raiser is the annual Give Peace a Dance extravaganza, now scheduled for April 17 at the First Congregational Church of Salem, 700 Marion St. NE. from 6-11 p.m.
Army to Strip Jailed Hip-Hop Soldier of Due Process with Iraq Transfer
COURAGE TO RESIST: Fort Stewart, Georgia officials confirmed in early February that the Army will attempt to separate Spc. Marc A. Hall from both his civilian legal team and his established military defender, Capt. Anthony Schiavetti, by immediately sending him to Iraq to face court martial.
Households Enter Voluntary Carbon Market
LIZ GALST: Last month, Tami and Randy Wilson of Harrisburg, Pa., may well have become the first homeowners to ever sell a carbon credit they’d generated at home. The family saved one metric ton of carbon by reducing their energy use and installing solar panels on their roof.
Don’t Call It a “Defense†Budget
NORMAN SOLOMON: The new budget from the White House will push U.S. military spending well above $2 billion a day. This isn’t “defense.†Foreclosing the future of our country should not be confused with defending it.
Army Vet Speaks Out on Resisting Killer Drones
ROLLEAN: The April 19th witness at the Boeing/Insitu military drone factory near Hood River will seek to remind us all that we were raised on the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
U.S. Policy Violates Golden Rule
First Robotic War Conference to Feature Sheehan & Roos
UPCOMING CONFERENCE: The first conference ever organized to challenge robotic warfare will be held here in Oregon, April 16 through April 19, near Boeing’s Insitu military drone factory in Hood River.
National Priorities Project Releases FY2011 Budget Analysis
NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT: President Obama issued his Fiscal Year 2011 budget on February 1, 2010 – a 2,585-page proposed blueprint for addressing the social agonies caused by record-high job loss, a continued sluggish economy and state deficits.
Resources for Peace Visioning
PETER BERGEL: Here, in no particular order, are websites (both articles and organizations) and books that I and others have found helpful in researching peace visioning.
Pressing the Peace Reset Button
WINSLOW MYERS: The hopeful energy that resulted in the election of President Obama has run smack into the depressing reality of the largest military budget ever submitted in the history of the planet. But effective strategizing for peace can only emerge from an accurate perception of where we are.
Peace, Peacebuilding and Peacelearning
NATIONAL PEACE ACADEMY: The National Peace Academy’s understanding of peace is shaped by the definition contained in the Earth Charter: “…peace is the wholeness created by right relationships with oneself, other persons, other cultures, other life, Earth, and the larger whole of which all are a part.â€
Creating a Comprehensive Peace Vision and Strategy is Crucial
PETER BERGEL: Progressives and peace people are probably missing a bet. We could almost certainly be more effective, wield more influence and play a more powerful role in public policy. What we lack is a unified understanding of what we mean by “peace†and a new peace strategy based on that unified understanding.
MyPeace Project Kicks Off on March 13
PETER BERGEL: The progressive movement needs a comprehensive shared vision and Salem’s MyPeace Project is a step in the direction of generating that vision.
Have Americans Given Up?
PETER BERGEL: In an enormously provocative article entitled “Are Americans a Broken People? Why We’ve Stopped Fighting Back Against the Forces of Oppression†psychologist Bruce E. Levine divines what ails the American body politic.
Finances Force OPW Board to End Printed PeaceWorker
OPW BOARD OF DIRECTORS: It is with a heavy heart that we tell you today that financial pressures have forced upon us the decision to end printed production of The PeaceWorker, although our award-winning news magazine continues to be available online at www.peaceworker.org.
Howard Zinn and the State of the Union
TOM H. HASTINGS: Howard Zinn has crossed over. He was a mensch, a historian and a peace and justice activist. He was not convinced that nonviolence was always the answer, but he often provided expert testimony for nonviolent resisters seeking help in conducting a robust defense of their actions in opposition to militarism and injustice.
Calendar
CALENDAR: Late February through June. To offer calendar items, post them at www.oregonprogressivenetwork.org or email them to: updates@oregonpeaceworks.org before the 12th of the month for following month’s issue.
PeaceWorker Now Offers Daily Releases Online
PETER BERGEL: OPW’s award-winning publication The PeaceWorker is now available by subscription on the Internet. By entering a free subscription, you will receive a teaser and a link to a PeaceWorker article every day in your email.
Farewell April Wynkoop, Hello Donna Gerry
PETER BERGEL: The friendly voice you’re most likely to hear when you telephone OPW is that of our Office Manager, April Wynkoop. After almost two years with OPW, during which she made the office hum and handled all the details that make the difference between a smooth functioning organization and one that staggers along, April is leaving us.
Tom Hayden to Speak in Eugene March 5
TOM HAYDEN: The Lane Peace Center invites readers to this year’s peace symposium entitled “Confronting Militarism: Democracy vs. Empire.†The event will take place March 5 from 6-9 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) in the Center for Meeting & Learning at Lane Community College.