| Progressive Calendar 10.01.05 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001 tc.umn.edu)
|
|
| Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 03:15:40 -0700 (PDT) | |
P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 10.01.05 1. God's politics 10.01 8:30am Crookston MN 2. Solar tour 10.01 10am 3. El Salvador/rights 10.01 10am 4. GP StPaul 10.01 12noon 5. Vote fraud/film 10.01 1pm 6. Orphans/AIDS/Africa 10.01 10.01 6pm 7. Fundamentalism 10.01 8pm 8. Pagan pride 10.02 10am 9. Sensible vigil 10.02 12noon 10. Paradise Now/film 10.02 3pm 11. Indian uprising 10.02 4pm 12. WAMM auction/eat 10.02 5pm 13. Soldier's heart/film 10.02 6:30pm 14. Hammil/poets v war 10.02 7pm 15. Northside vigil 10.02 7pm 16. MUI 10.02 7pm 17. Fundamentalism 10.02 8pm 18. James McMurtry - We can't make it here any more (song) 19. PC Roberts - Bush is cooking up two new wars 20. ed - Don't need y'all no more (poem) --------1 of 20-------- From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] HOTMAIL.COM> Subject: God's politics 10.01 8:30am Crookston MN Saturday, 10/1, 8:30 to 11:30 am, Jim Wallis (of Sojourners) will speak on "God's Politics" at MN Pax Christi assembly, Kiehle Auditorium, U of M Crookston, 2900 University Ave, Crookston. $25 general. laurianl [at] yahoo.com --------2 of 20------- From: Douglas Shoemaker <dougs [at] charter.net> Subject: Solar tour 10.01 10am Minnesota Renewable Energy Society's 10th Annual Solar Tour On October 1, 2005, thousands of solar-powered homes and businesses across the United States will open their doors and invite the public in for a look. It's all part of the American Solar Energy Society's (ASES) National Solar Tour. The use of solar power in homes, offices and schools is becoming increasingly common as owners look for ways to cut energy costs and increase energy independence. This year's tour will include buildings where renewable energy has been incorporated into the design and operation. You will see the latest energy efficient and solar powered designs and appliances, and learn about the ease of using solar energy. Over 20 solar powered buildings will be open for public tours on Saturday, October 1, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This free, self-guided tour will highlight solar technologies and techniques that reduce energy consumption. Additions include the Como Zoo's new building with solar roof tiles, the Audubon Center of the North Woods in Sandstone, and two schools - one featuring a large photovoltaic array and the other extensive day-lighting. The Science House, a zero-net energy building, at the Science Museum of Minnesota, will again be on the tour. Maps to the buildings and general descriptions will be available for download at www.solartour.net, or pick up a list from select Twin Cities area food co-ops. Additional information: info [at] mres-solar.org or call 612-308-4757 MRES mailing address is 2928 5th Ave So Minneapolis --------3 of 20-------- From: Mary Turck <mturck [at] americas.org> Subject: El Salvador/rights 10.01 10am Saturday, October 1: Health and Human Rights in El Salvador Carmen Gutierrez, a wartime combat medic and now a health provider in Salinas El Potrero, El Salvador, accompanied by Tanya Snyder of Voices on the Border, will speak on El Salvador today. (Coffeehour: A weekly talk and discussion with a featured speaker. Saturdays, 10-11:30 a.m. $4 ($3 for members). Resource Center of the Americas, 3019 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis.) --------4 of 20-------- From: Andy Hamerlinck <iamandy [at] riseup.net> Subject: GP StPaul 10.01 12noon Greens and green supporters, The monthly membership meeting of the Green Party of St. Paul/4th Congressional District is tomorrow (Saturday, October 1) from 12-2pm at Misissippi Market (Selby & Dale in St. Paul). For more information about what we're up to, see http://www.gpsp.org/ Andy Hamerlinck Co-chair, Green Party of St. Paul 651-340-1079 --------5 of 20-------- From: "Krueger, Rodney" <rodney.krueger [at] frontiercorp.com> Subject: Vote fraud/film 10.01 1pm Free screenings of the documentary Invisible Ballots at Minneapolis Public Libraries. View and discuss an in-depth expose of the all-electronic computerized voting system that raises questions about electronic voting machines, election rigging and accuracy. Program sponsored by Citizens for Election Integrity. * Saturday, October 1, 1-2:30 p.m. Hosmer Library, 347 East 36th Street * Thursday, October 6, 6:30-8 p.m. Franklin Library, 1314 East Franklin Avenue * Monday, October 17, 6:30-8 p.m. Southeast Library, 1222 Southeast 4th Street "Invisible Ballots: A Temptation for Electronic Vote Fraud" is a video documentary produced, directed and edited by William Gazecki, director of the Academy-Award nominated documentary "WACO: The Rules of Engagement." Gazecki's in-depth exposé begs the question "does the proverbial Black Box touch-screen voting machine jeopardize the sanctity of the voting process?" As governments install computer voting systems with no paper record to verify accuracy, is high-tech vote fraud flying underneath the radar of public scrutiny? Topics covered in the documentary include: the history of voting systems, the Help America Vote Act, problems with electronic voting and the need for honesty, oversight and transparency in elections. The documentary screenings and discussions are sponsored by Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota, a nonpartisan group tied to the national voting rights movement committed to restoring the integrity of our election system. The group aims to raise awareness of the need for election reform and to inspire citizen action. For more information see: http://www.electionintegritymn.org/ View more information about the nonpartisan "Count Every Vote" coalition that is becoming active in Minnesota. http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm Federal Election Commission: Help America Vote Act http://www.nvri.org/ The National Voting Rights Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that affirms our constitutional protection of the right to vote. http://www.verifiedvoting.org/ VerifiedVoting.org champions reliable and publicly verifiable elections in the United States. http://www.votetrustusa.org/ Vote Trust USA supports grassroots groups in their efforts to change laws and regulations governing voting systems and election administration. --------6 of 20--------- From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com> From: Brian Mangin [mailto:brian [at] startspark.com] Subject: Orphans/AIDS/Africa 10.01 10.01 6pm Illume International is delighted to announce their upcoming fundraiser on October 1, "Light Up The Night", an event supporting the organization's work for children of AIDS in Africa. "Recent events like the Live8 concerts have given a voice to the troubles facing Africa, and people know that there's a lot of work to be done in many different areas" said Jerolyn Oliver, Illume International's founder. "There are over 15 million orphans of AIDS that don't have a voice. It is our goal to give them the support and resources they need to grow up as strong, healthy individuals that can contribute to a vital Africa." "Light Up The Night" will be held on Saturday, October 1 from 6-8pm at Tangletown Gardens, 5353 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. The event will feature a selection of fine foods, wine and chocolates donated by local businesses. Entertainment will include Michael Jukko, a Ugandan musician visiting from Denver. A local group of Ugandan sisters will also be on hand, performing traditional African dances. Tickets for the event are $60 and are available the Tangletown Gardens, the Wilde Roast Café, Chocolat Celeste and Sam's Wine Shop (addresses below). About Illume International Illume International is an all-volunteer organization working to provide sustainable means to a safe, supportive, nurturing environment for the education and development of children orphaned by AIDS so as to ensure their survival and realize their full potential to be healthy, contributing members toward development of a just, fair and humane society. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.illumeinternational.org Contact Information: Jerolyn Oliver Illume International 150 2nd Street NE #504 Minneapolis, MN 55413 Phone: 612-331-4263 Fax: 612-331-9436 E-mail: info [at] illumeinternational.org Web Page: www.illumeinternational.org --------7 of 20--------- From: humanrts [at] umn.edu Subject: Fundamentalism 10.01 8pm October 1 - The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 8pm. Cost: Cost of the talk is from $20-30. Nationally known speaker Karen Armstrong, on The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. FFI saintpaulschurch [at] earthlink.net or 612-377-1273. Early reservations suggested. Location: St. Paul s Episcopal Church Speakers Series, 1917 Logan Ave S., Minneapolis -------8 of 20-------- From: David Strand <mncivil [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Pagan pride 10.02 10am Pagan Pride is a community celebration of religious diversity and welcomes the braoder community to come and learn about the diverse religions communities commonly refferred to as "pagan". Part a celebration of pagan community bringing together many disparate traditions that fall under the term "pagan" and part community education aimed at increasing understanding of pagan communities by nonpagans, this is an interesting and engaging event for all interested in opposing religious discrimination. For more on origins of Pagan Pride see Cecylna Dewr's essay entitled "Why Pagan Pride?" at http://www.paganpride.org/what/why.html The twin cities pride will be held this Sunday at Coffman Memorial Union on the University of MN campus and will feature some time Lavender Green Donald Engstrom as keynote speaker. See below for a more detailed desciption of Donald Engstrom and times and place of TC Pagan Pride. http://www.tcpaganpride.org/ The eighth annual 2005 Pagan Pride Event will be held Sunday, October 2nd, 2005 from 10:00am to 7:00pm at Coffman Memorial Union, University of Minnesota Minneapolis Campus. Keynote Speaker: Donald L. Engstrom Donald L. Engstrom describes himself as an artist, gardener and Witch. He has been involved with Mystery and the Spirit Peoples for over twenty years. Donald's roots spring from Queer Spirit, Hedge Witchery, deep dreaming, art making, and the exploration of the sacred realms of sex and pleasure. He is committed to the building and nurturance of the emerging Cultures of Beauty, Balance and Delight. He believes that we are all Co-creators of the Multiverse. Donald suspects that it is high time that we choose to take on the continual acts of creation needed to build these sustainable ways of life. He knows in his bones and blood, that we all have the power to bring these emerging cultures into out daily lives. He no longer is willing to wait for some nebulous future revolution to begin to live a life fully awake and rooted in the Earth embracing pleasure and wonder. Donald begins each day with this prayer; "I dare to dwell in beauty, balance and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart." It also brings him great pleasure to encourage folks to also dare to embrace their own authentic selves, remembering that they are their own authorities, and that they can always choose to experience the beauty that surround us. Donald suspects that when a community of authentic selves does come together with clear intent and purpose, that that community then truly enters the Realms of All Possibility and that their dreams become flesh and bone, earth and stone. Donald has taught for over fifteen years in the Reclaiming Witch Style; in his local communities, at Reclaiming Witch Camps, at Radical Faerie gatherings and at other events through out North America and Great Britain. He is an initiate of the Reclaiming Tradition and a senior Reclaiming Witch Camp teacher. He has been studying and working with the Ancestors intensively for over seven years. Donald has lived his whole life in his beloved Prairies. His current home gardens are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, nestled in arms of the Upper Mississippi Valley. --------9 of 20-------- From: skarx001 <skarx001 [at] umn.edu> Subject: Sensible vigil 10.02 12noon The sensible people for peace hold weekly peace vigils at the intersection of Snelling and Summit in St. Paul, Sunday between noon and 1pm. (This is across from the Mac campus.) We provide signs protesting current gov. foreign and domestic policy. We would appreciate others joining our vigil/protest. --------10 of 20-------- From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com> Subject: Paradise Now/film 10.02 3pm Tickets are $8 ($6 Walker members) and the film is in the Walker Cinema. Tickets are available at walkerart.org/tickets or by calling 612.375.7600. Sunday, October 2, 3 pm Paradise Now (Al-Jenna-An) Introduced by director Hany Abu-Assad This taut controversial drama tracks the last day of two childhood friends recruited for suicide bombings in Tel Aviv. While offering personal insight into the motivations behind such a heinous crime, the film¹s producers claim a neutral position on behalf of Israel or the Palestinians. "We tried simply to make a story which deflates the myth of both extremes and brings it down to a human factor," says co-producer Bero Beyer. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab, /Paradise Now/ won the 2005 Berlin Film Festival Blue Angel Award for best European film. Three separate topic-based discussions led by community members will follow the screening in addition to an online forum. Audience members will be invited to join one of the conversations according to their interests and to continue the discussion online after the event. 2005, France/Germany/Netherlands/Israel, color, 35mm, in Arabic with English subtitles, 91 minutes. --------11 of 20-------- From: Chris Spotted Eagle <chris [at] spottedeagle.org> Subject: Indian uprising 10.02 4pm KFAI's Indian Uprising for Oct. 2nd ALABAMA-COUSHATTA IN SHELTER AFTER HURRICANE RITA by Brenda Norrell for Indian Country Today, September 28, 2005. Hurricane Rita ripped along the border of Louisiana and Texas, whipping down trees and leaving about 1,000 Alabama-Coushatta tribal members in Texas in a shelter facing shortages of food and gasoline. http://www.Indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096411647 HOUMA NATION AERIAL SURVEY REVEALS TOTAL DEVASTATION by Brenda Norrell for Indian Country Today, September 15, 2005. United Houma Nation tribal officials and representatives of the National Congress of American Indians surveyed Houma tribal communities [3,400] on the Louisiana coast by helicopter and found communities blown away and under water. http://www.Indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411578. The Houma people will need support for a long time to come. Send donations to: The United Houma Nation Hurricane Relief, 20986 Highway 1, Golden Meadow, Louisiana 70357. From my observation and as said by others, indigenous (Indian) people living in the areas devastated and affected by hurricane Katrina have not been, to date, mentioned in the dominant (white) mass media. Its as if they did not exist. Chris Spotted Eagle ACLU SEEKS INFORMATION ON THE FATE OF 6,500 NEW ORLEANS PRISONERS (Press Release Sept. 28, 2005). Locked Prisoners Were Abandoned by Guards When Katrina Struck; More Than 500 Missing. Citing eyewitness reports of locked prisoners being abandoned to drown in their cells in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Civil Liberties Union today demanded access to the relocated prisoners it represents under a longstanding class-action lawsuit over prison conditions. Contact: Emily Whitfield, ACLU, (212) 549-2666 or media [at] aclu.org. Press Released attached. * * * * Indian Uprising is a one-half hour Public & Cultural Affairs radio program for, by, and about Indigenous people & all their relations, broadcast each Sunday at 4:00 p.m. over KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul. Current programs are archived online after broadcast at www.kfai.org, for two weeks. Click Program Archives and scroll to Indian Uprising. --------12 of 20-------- From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org> Subject: WAMM auction/eat 10.02 5pm WAMM's 21st annual silent auction Celebrate Gandhi's Birthday and Wrap Up the Twin Cities Peace Festival! Sunday, October 2, 5-8pm. St. Joan of Arc Church, 4537 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis. Parking is close, free, and easy. The WAMM Silent Auction is renowned for high-quality items, services, vacation getaways, and is a wonderful evening. Come enjoy refreshments, pick up desirable items and socialize with peace pals, while at the same time making an important contribution to WAMM, a dynamic organization that works for peace and illuminates root causes of war. The auction features over 200 items such as gift certificates to cabins, restaurants, and health and wellness services, theater tickets, artwork, gourmet dinners and much more. Be sure to stop by the Jane Evershed Cards and Hot Buys Tables where you will find small items to go. A complimentary buffet features tasty appetizers and desserts from your favorite local restaurants. October 2 is the birthday of Mohandas Gandhi and a short program at the Silent Auction will include a tribute to this great peacemaker who led the movement for Indian independence and defined the modern practice of nonviolence. October 2 is also the closing program of the Twin Cities Peace Festival, which began September 9. The WAMM Silent Auction is the perfect way to celebrate peace. Entrance fee: $5-$15 on a sliding scale. Bid early on great vacation home getaways (many on the water, from here to the east coast). See <www.worldwidewamm.org>. FFI: Call the WAMM office at 612-827-5364. --------13 of 20--------- From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] HOTMAIL.COM> Subject: Soldier's heart/film 10.02 6:30pm Sunday, 10/2, 6:30pm, free 60 min. Frontline documentary "The Soldier's Heart," about the depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress that follow war, Twin Cities Friends Meeting, 1725 Grand, St. Paul. --------14 of 20-------- From Rich Broderick at richb [at] lakecast.com. Subject: Hammil/poets v war 10.02 7pm October 2, 7pm, Sam Hamill, founder of Poets Against War, reads with Robert Bly, Wang Ping, Heid Erdrich, and Rich Broderick at Unity Unitarian Church, 732 Holly Av StPaul. Sponsored by Minnesota Poets Against War and the co-ministers of Unity Church, and co-sponsored by Merriam Park, Hamline-Midway, and Crocus Hill Neighbors for Peace, and Friends for a Non-Violent World, the reading is free. For more information, call 651/699-0890 or 651/228-1456. --------15 of 20-------- From: Todd Heintz <proud2liveinjordan [at] yahoo.com> Subject: Northside vigil 10.02 7pm Join with North Side Community Members 6th Candlelight Vigil for Violence-Free Families Sunday October 2 7-8pm At the Corner of Lowry and Penn Avenues North Minneapolis In 2004, there were 4 family violence deaths in North Minneapolis. This year there have been two family violence deaths: Mai Yia Lee, age 22 and Angelina Garley, age 27. Join with North Side residents to remember family violence victims, including Mai Yia Lee and Angelina Garley. Recommit to prevent further violence. This vigil has been organized each year by a North Side Family Violence Prevention Team. For more information call: Jeannette Raymond Initiative for Violence-Free Families Family and Children's Service 612.728.2093 Jennifer Anderson Communications Specialist Initiative for Violence-Free Families/ Family & Children's Service (612) 728-2091 --------16 of 20-------- From: mn_united_ireland [at] lycos.com Subject: MUI 10.02 7pm Minnesotans for a United Ireland 612-871-7110 MUI meeting on Sunday Oct 2, at 7pm Arise Bookstore 2441 Lyndale Av S Minneapolis,MN Agenda Samhain Reading group Pat Finucane Report/action Fundraising --------17 of 20-------- From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] HOTMAIL.COM> Subject: Fundamentalism 10.02 8pm Sunday, 10/2, 8pm, speaker Karen Armstrong on "The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam," St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1917 Logan, Minneapolis. ($20-30) saintpaulschurch [at] earthlink.net or 612-377-1273. --------18 of 20-------- We Can't Make It Here Any More By JAMES McMURTRY CounterPunch September 30, 2005 There's a Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign Sitting there by the left turn line One leg missing and both hands free No one's paying much mind to him The VA budget's just stretched too thin And now there's more coming back from the mideast war We can't make it here any more The big ol' building was the textile mill It fed our kids and it paid our bills But they turned us out and then closed the doors We can't make it here any more See those pallets piled up on the loading dock they're just gonna set there til they rot cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack just busted concrete and rusted tracks empty storefronts around the square there's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere you don't come down here unless you're looking to score we can't make it here anymore The bar's still open but man it's slow the tip jar's light and the register's low the bartender don't have much to say the regular crowd gets thinner each day some have maxed out all their credit cards some are working two jobs and livin' in cars minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for drink if you gotta have proof just try it yourself mr CEO see how far $5.15 an hour will go take a part time job at one of your stores bet you can't make it here anymore There's a high school girl with bourgeois dream just like the pictuers in the magazine she found on the floor of the laundromat a woman with kids can forget all that if she comes up pregnant what'll she do? forget the career, forget about school can she live on faith? live on hope? high on jesus or hooked on dope when its way too late to just say no you can't make it here anymore Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart stores just like the ones we made before 'cept this one came from Singapore I guess we can't make it here anymore Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin or the shape of their eyes or the shape i'm in should i hate em for having our jobs today No I hate the men sent the jobs away I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams all lily white and squeaky clean they've never known want, they'll never know need Their shit don't stink and their kids don't bleed their kids don't bleed in their damn little war and we can't make it here anymore will work for food and die for oil will kill for power and to us the spoils the billionaires get to pay less tax the working poor get to fall through the cracks so let 'em eat jellybeans let 'em eat cake let em eat shit, whatever it takes they can join the Air Force or join the Corps if they can't make here anymore So that's how it is, that's what we got if the president wants to admit it or not you can read it in the papers, read it on the wall hear it on the wind if you're listening at all get out of that limo, look us in the eye call us on the cell phone tell us all why In Dayton Ohio or Portland Maine or on a cotton gin out on the great high plains that's done closed down along with the school and the hospital and the swimming pool dust devils dance in the noonday heat there's rats in the alley and trash in the street gang graffiti on a boxcar door we can't make it here anymore From James McMurtry's fantastic new CD Childish Things. [Download the song FREE from: http://www.compadrerecords.com/downloadpages/wecant.html] --------19 of 20-------- Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble Bush is Cooking Up Two New Wars By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS CounterPunch September 30, 2005 Mired in interminable conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration is moving toward initiating two more wars, one with Iran and one with North Korea. With no US troops available, the Bush administration is revamping US war doctrine to allow for "preventative nuclear attack." In short, the Bush administration is planning to make the US the first country in history to initiate war with nuclear weapons. The Pentagon document, "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations," calls for the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear adversaries in order "to ensure success of US and multinational operations." In the case of Iran and North Korea, the Bush administration is using diplomacy not for diplomatic purposes of reaching agreements, but in order to set the two countries up for nuclear attack. In the case of Iran, the Bush administration's plan is now obvious. The Bush administration is leveling false charges against Iran, just as it did against Iraq, of conspiring to make nuclear weapons. These charges are known to be false by the Bush administration and by the entire world. For the past two years the International Atomic Energy Agency has had unfettered access to inspect Iran for any sign of a nuclear weapons program. The head of the IAEA has announced that there is no sign of a weapons program. The Bush administration nevertheless insists that Iran is making weapons, but can produce no evidence. As in the case of Iraq, the Bush administration substitutes allegations for facts. Gordon Prather, an expert on the subject, has reported the straight facts in fine detail. Readers can become familiar with them by consulting his archive at Antiwar.com. By bullying the 35 members of the IAEA, the Bush administration last week managed to get 22 votes that could lead to the referral of Iran to the UN Security Council. The Bush administration will now lobby for the referral. Once it has the referral, even if the Security Council does not act on it, the Bush administration can use it as an excuse to attack Iran. The Bush administration knows that few Americans have any knowledge of international law and procedures and will simply believe whatever President Bush says. The highly concentrated US media is a proven walkover for the war-mongering Bush administration. As Dr. Prather has shown, Iran has gone beyond compliance to propose that new additional safeguards be established to monitor its nuclear energy program. The bad intentions are on the part of the Bush administration. The Bush administration's plan is to create Iranian intransigence in place of cooperation by forcing the Iranian government to stand up to the bullying by reducing its cooperation. The goal of the Bush administration is to attack Iran, not to create cooperative relationships. Needless to say, Iranians are angry at the Bush administration's manipulation of the IAEA members. Last Wednesday protesters in Tehran attacked the British embassy, which serves as a proxy for the non-existent US embassy, and legislation was introduced that, if it passes, will scale back Iran's cooperation with the IAEA. Iran has also threatened to cut off oil deliveries to some of the countries that caved in to US pressure, thereby permitting the US to increase tensions and escalate the conflict. The Bush administration is betting that it can demonize Iran the way it did Iraq. As both Congress and the American public have failed to hold Bush accountable for deceiving them about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the administration assumes that its tactics will work a second time. However, a nuclear attack on Iran would leave the Bush administration isolated. The US would instantly become a pariah nation, loathed and hated everywhere else. Moreover, it would leave our battered troops in Iraq in a perilous situation. The only reason our army in Iraq has not been destroyed is that the Shi'ites, who comprise the vast majority of the population, have not taken up arms against us, expecting the US to turn over Iraq to them. As the Iraqi Shi'ites are allied with the Iranians, who also are Shi'ite, the US cannot attack Iran without destroying its position in Iraq. The Bush administration, filled with hubris and delusion, is too stupid to know this. The American people need to ask themselves why of all the countries in the world, only the US and Israel believe that it is imperative to attack Iran. If Iran is such a threat to the world, why isn't Russia, for example, concerned and ready to invade? Americans need to ask themselves the same question about North Korea. Why is the US, half a world away, so concerned about North Korea? If North Korea is such a threat, would not China, sitting on its border, know it? Wouldn't Japan know it? South Korea? Wouldn't some other country besides the US see the problem and take action? According to the Voice of America (August 11, 2005), "Senior South Korean officials on Thursday defended what they say is North Korea's 'natural right' to pursue civilian nuclear power. The move may cause friction with the United States, which has expressed firm opposition to the North having any nuclear facilities whatsoever." If the US doesn't want other countries to develop nuclear weapons, the US must stop bombing, invading and threatening invasions and nuclear attacks. How does President Bush serve the cause of peace by making countries paranoid by declaring them to be our enemies? For there to be peace, the US must drop its belligerent role. The proper function of diplomacy is to build trust by drawing countries into economic and cultural relationships, not to isolate them for attack. It is past time for the US to give up its quarter century feud with Iran. US interference in Iranian internal affairs was the source of the feud. We need to acknowledge it and get over it. The Korean war ended a half century ago. Isn't it time the US acknowledged the war's end and signed a treaty with North Korea? The Korean war was essentially a war between the US and China. It was Chinese troops that prevented American victory. Yet we are getting on with China, a much greater potential threat to the US than North Korea or Iran could ever be. By creating instability in the Middle East, the US undermines Israel's security. As a few thousand Iraqi insurgents have proven, American armies are not going to be able to sit over the oil in the Middle East. If we can't produce enough valuable goods or maintain a strong currency, we won't have access to the oil. There is no possibility whatsoever of the US pushing around powers like China, India, or Russia. Bush's hubris makes him unrealistic. He greatly overestimates America's power. Congress and the American people must find a way to supply the judgment that is missing in the executive branch. There would be no terrorism if the US would stop interfering in the internal affairs of Middle Eastern countries and if Israel stopped stealing the West Bank from the Palestinians. The Bush administration knows this, and that is why the administration spreads the propagandistic lie that "they" (Muslims) hate us and our way of life. This lie is the excuse for American aggression. Paul Craig Roberts has held a number of academic appointments and has contributed to numerous scholarly publications. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. His graduate economics education was at the University of Virginia, the University of California at Berkeley, and Oxford University. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions. He can be reached at: paulcraigroberts [at] yahoo.com --------20 of 20-------- Don't need y'all no more that's why y'all gotta die cries Bush crock tears in eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - David Shove shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu rhymes with clove Progressive Calendar over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02 please send all messages in plain text no attachments
- (no other messages in thread)
Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.