The Walpole Peace and Justice Group continues its speakers series on January 9th, 2007, with a screening of Tom Jackson's new film "Out of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change" at the Walpole Public Library, at 7:30PM. The screening is open to the public.
This holiday season, as we approached the eighteenth anniversary (March 24th) of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, a decision was handed down from a federal appeals court in San Francisco: the Valdez settlement has been cut in half, from $5 billion to $2.5 billion. Last year, Exxon earned $36.1 billion (the highest amount ever by a US corporation), and has spent more than $3 billion to appeal this case; Exxon believes it owes no more than $25 million in damages to the people affected by the spill.
Mr. Jackson's new film highlights not only Exxon's part in this ecological and economic disaster, but ExxonMobil's deliberate efforts in fabricating a debate around the science of climate change – introducing "junk science" to cast doubt on the unnatural effects of our energy economy on global climate systems. Here is the filmmaker's statement:
"'Out of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change' shows the influence that the largest company in the world has on governments, the media and citizens and what can be done about global warming. While the Earth’s climate is pushed further out of balance by increasing use of fossil fuels, ExxonMobil continues to assert undue influence around the world—making record profits while ignoring climate science for which there has been overwhelming consensus for over ten years.
'Out of Balance' does not just critique ExxonMobil, it also offers challenging, large-scale ideas for the global social changes that must take place if there’s any chance of having a livable planet for future generations."
Mr. Jackson's production company, Joe Public Films (http://www.joepublicfilms.com/), is based in Portsmouth, NH. It is an independent video & filmmaking resource that is committed to exposing under-reported human rights-related news stories from around the world, at any and every available level of media, from grassroots screenings to broadcast television.
The film is about an hour, and we hope to have some time after the screening for discussion. It is the second film by Mr. Jackson that the Group has shown; the Group screened "Worlds Apart" in February 2006.
Winston Chou
East Walpole
Friday, December 29, 2006
Peace Vigil in Walpole Dec 30th
Please join us for a peace vigil on Saturday, December 30th at the Walpole Common from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM as we stand in protest of the Bush administration’s Iraqi war policy. Unbelievably the president is apparently considering a ‘troop surge’ despite all the evidence that the U.S. presence is making the situation worse. The U.S. service dead are approaching 3,000 while Iraqi civilian causalities are estimated as high as 600,000. With the increasing sectarian violence, the U.N. estimates that 1.8 million Iraqis have left the country while hundreds of thousands more have been internally displaced. A May 2006 study by the U.N. World Food Program, ‘Food Security and Vulnerability in Iraq,’ found 15% of Iraqis in ‘dire need of humanitarian assistance’ and 23% of Iraqi’s as being ‘food insecure.’ The U.S. invaded Iraq on blatantly false pretenses that the Bush administration continues to use to justify this tragic war. So please join us if you are able at the start of this New Year as we stand together for peace.
For the Walpole Peace and Justice Group
Philip Czachorowski
For the Walpole Peace and Justice Group
Philip Czachorowski
Friday, December 22, 2006
The Cost of War
To the Editor (of the Walpole Times),
After reading Jeffrey Symanski’s letter last week about the need for more money for our schools, I felt compelled to write about one area that is a major cause of the shortage of money in Walpole, namely, the military spending of the U.S. government. The Pentagon currently has a $460 billion budget. With a population of 300 million, that breaks down to $1,533 per person in taxes. For simplicity’s sake, that equals $6,132 for a family of 4 and using a rough figure of 25,000 for the population of Walpole this equals about $39 million that the people of Walpole pay towards our military budget. If you add in the cost of the Iraq war at about $100 billion a year that equals about $8 million more that the people of Walpole are paying towards the military budget. If you factor in the military’s portion of the budget that goes to pay the interest on our debt then there is another $5 million that all of us in Walpole are paying. If you add all of the above, the people of Walpole are paying about $52 million a year on our military.
According to Truemajority.org, there are many former Admirals, Generals and Pentagon officials who agree that we could safely cut the Pentagon’s budget by 13% or $60 billion. This would be a savings of $5 million a year for the people of Walpole and if we weren’t bogged down in Iraq, we would be saving another $8 million. If we had $13 million staying in Walpole, I don’t think we would have any trouble funding our schools or any of the other needs of our town.
To put this military spending in perspective, the United States represents less than 5% of the world’s population but the pentagon’s budget represents about 50% of all the military spending in the world!
The following quote by James Madison, our fourth president, best sums up what is at stake as far as our country’s future is concerned if we don’t get this military spending under control: “Of all the enemies of liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies: from these proceed debts and taxes ….. known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few …… No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”
There are very powerful interests who are making billions in profits off of our war-like military budget while people in communities like Walpole fight amongst themselves to meet their basic needs.
Paul Peckham
Dec. 18, 2006
After reading Jeffrey Symanski’s letter last week about the need for more money for our schools, I felt compelled to write about one area that is a major cause of the shortage of money in Walpole, namely, the military spending of the U.S. government. The Pentagon currently has a $460 billion budget. With a population of 300 million, that breaks down to $1,533 per person in taxes. For simplicity’s sake, that equals $6,132 for a family of 4 and using a rough figure of 25,000 for the population of Walpole this equals about $39 million that the people of Walpole pay towards our military budget. If you add in the cost of the Iraq war at about $100 billion a year that equals about $8 million more that the people of Walpole are paying towards the military budget. If you factor in the military’s portion of the budget that goes to pay the interest on our debt then there is another $5 million that all of us in Walpole are paying. If you add all of the above, the people of Walpole are paying about $52 million a year on our military.
According to Truemajority.org, there are many former Admirals, Generals and Pentagon officials who agree that we could safely cut the Pentagon’s budget by 13% or $60 billion. This would be a savings of $5 million a year for the people of Walpole and if we weren’t bogged down in Iraq, we would be saving another $8 million. If we had $13 million staying in Walpole, I don’t think we would have any trouble funding our schools or any of the other needs of our town.
To put this military spending in perspective, the United States represents less than 5% of the world’s population but the pentagon’s budget represents about 50% of all the military spending in the world!
The following quote by James Madison, our fourth president, best sums up what is at stake as far as our country’s future is concerned if we don’t get this military spending under control: “Of all the enemies of liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies: from these proceed debts and taxes ….. known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few …… No nation can preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”
There are very powerful interests who are making billions in profits off of our war-like military budget while people in communities like Walpole fight amongst themselves to meet their basic needs.
Paul Peckham
Dec. 18, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Peace Vigil in Walpole Dec 16th
Walpole Peace Group Peace Vigil
Walpole Common
Saturday, December 16th at 10:00 to 11:00 AM
Join us for a Peace Vigil on Saturday, December 16th on the Walpole Common from 10:00 to 11:00 AM as we stand in opposition to the U.S. policy in Iraq. The President continues to distort the truth and persist in following a failed policy while the situation is worst then ever. It is important that we stand in opposition to the war and call for our leaders to be held accountable for this tragic war.
Walpole Common
Saturday, December 16th at 10:00 to 11:00 AM
Join us for a Peace Vigil on Saturday, December 16th on the Walpole Common from 10:00 to 11:00 AM as we stand in opposition to the U.S. policy in Iraq. The President continues to distort the truth and persist in following a failed policy while the situation is worst then ever. It is important that we stand in opposition to the war and call for our leaders to be held accountable for this tragic war.
Monday, December 04, 2006
"Hidden in Plain Sight" Date Change
Please note that the film, "Hidden in Plain Sight", has been moved to Tuesday, 12/12, at 7:30 at the Library. Thanks, Paul
Monday, November 27, 2006
"Hidden In Plain Sight" Screening
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is continuing it's speakers series on Dec. 5th with the video, Hidden In Plain Sight. We have choosen this film due to the fact that it documents the history of the infamous School of the Americas at Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia which just had 16 people arrested for civil disobedience, out of a crowd of 22,000 that demonstrated on Nov. 17 - 19 to close the school. Since 1990, there have been annual demonstrations to close the school that has grown from a few 100 to around 20,000 in 2005 and 22,000 in 2006. There have been over 170 people arrested who have served more than 78 years in federal prison and local jails. These demonstators come from all over the U.S. and are made up of religous leaders, teachers, veterans, students, grandmothers and torture survivors.
Hidden In Plain Sight
The reason that so many people want to close this school is because it has been training many of the worst human rights violators in many of the countries of Latin America. These people object to the fact that our tax dollars are being used to promote a foreign policy that has supported many oppressive goverments. The film, Hidden In Plain Sight, gives a good overview of this foreign policy and how The School of the Americas has been used as a tool by various governments to control the poor. If you want to see why so many people in Latin America (especially the poor) don't like the U.S., then please come see this very revealing film.
The film will be shown at the Walpoe Public Library at 7:30 on Dec. 5th.
Hidden In Plain Sight
The reason that so many people want to close this school is because it has been training many of the worst human rights violators in many of the countries of Latin America. These people object to the fact that our tax dollars are being used to promote a foreign policy that has supported many oppressive goverments. The film, Hidden In Plain Sight, gives a good overview of this foreign policy and how The School of the Americas has been used as a tool by various governments to control the poor. If you want to see why so many people in Latin America (especially the poor) don't like the U.S., then please come see this very revealing film.
The film will be shown at the Walpoe Public Library at 7:30 on Dec. 5th.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Climate Resources from Tuesday Talk
Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv was kind enough to send along some of the information she presented at Tuesday talk so we could all do our own research and follow-up:
Union of Concerned Scientists www.ucsusa.org
Just released a major new sudy on the effects of climate change on the Northeast - available on their website.
MASSPIRG www.masspirg.org
Massachsetts Climate Action Network: www.massclimateaction.org
Grassroots climate action conference, Sunday November 19th - open to all
Ross Gelbspan's website The Heat Is Online: http://www.heatisonline.org/
Books:
The Heat is On - Ross Gelbspan
The Boiling Point - Ross Gelbspan
An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore (even better than the film)
The Weather Makers - Tim Flannery
Field Notes From a Catastrophe - Elizabeth Kolbert
The Discovery of Global Warming - Spencer Weart
[Note: The full UCS report is available from the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment -- the report in PDF form:
Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast, a report of the NECIA]
Union of Concerned Scientists www.ucsusa.org
Just released a major new sudy on the effects of climate change on the Northeast - available on their website.
MASSPIRG www.masspirg.org
Massachsetts Climate Action Network: www.massclimateaction.org
Grassroots climate action conference, Sunday November 19th - open to all
Ross Gelbspan's website The Heat Is Online: http://www.heatisonline.org/
Books:
The Heat is On - Ross Gelbspan
The Boiling Point - Ross Gelbspan
An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore (even better than the film)
The Weather Makers - Tim Flannery
Field Notes From a Catastrophe - Elizabeth Kolbert
The Discovery of Global Warming - Spencer Weart
[Note: The full UCS report is available from the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment -- the report in PDF form:
Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast, a report of the NECIA]
Monday, September 25, 2006
WPnJ Global Warming Talk Oct 3rd
Getting All Hot and Bothered: The Truth About Global Warming and What We Can Do About
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring a talk on global warming by oceanographer Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv on October 3, 2006 at 7:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library. An international consensus of scientists, religious leaders, politicians, activists and citizens are calling for a coordinated global effort to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse global warming. However, while most people are concerned about global warming, many struggle to understand how it works or what its effects might be. Others worry that we don't have the means to address the problem or don't realize that they can make a difference. In this presentation, Getting All Hot and Bothered: The Truth About Global Warming and What We Can Do About, Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv will “translate” the science behind global warming into understandable language and talk about some of the most promising solutions to this global challenge. Special emphasis will be placed on the environmental and political climate of New England, including ways that Massachusetts is taking the lead on this issue and what you can do to make a difference. Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv is an oceanographer, advocate and environmental educator. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University at Buffalo and her M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. Her research focused on the study of climate and ecology in the distant past. She has worked as an oceanographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C., led Environmental Defense’s efforts to protect New England’s ocean environment, has coordinated the JGEN project, an international network committed to protecting Israel's environment, and taught in many educational settings.
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring a talk on global warming by oceanographer Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv on October 3, 2006 at 7:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library. An international consensus of scientists, religious leaders, politicians, activists and citizens are calling for a coordinated global effort to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse global warming. However, while most people are concerned about global warming, many struggle to understand how it works or what its effects might be. Others worry that we don't have the means to address the problem or don't realize that they can make a difference. In this presentation, Getting All Hot and Bothered: The Truth About Global Warming and What We Can Do About, Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv will “translate” the science behind global warming into understandable language and talk about some of the most promising solutions to this global challenge. Special emphasis will be placed on the environmental and political climate of New England, including ways that Massachusetts is taking the lead on this issue and what you can do to make a difference. Danielle Luttenberg Meitiv is an oceanographer, advocate and environmental educator. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University at Buffalo and her M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. Her research focused on the study of climate and ecology in the distant past. She has worked as an oceanographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C., led Environmental Defense’s efforts to protect New England’s ocean environment, has coordinated the JGEN project, an international network committed to protecting Israel's environment, and taught in many educational settings.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Walpole Peace Vigil Sept 21st
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is holding a candlelight vigil on Thursday, September 21, 2006 at the Walpole Common at the corner of Main Street and West Street from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in support of the Declaration of Peace’s call on Congress to create and initiate a comprehensive plan for peace in Iraq:
- a prompt timetable for withdrawal of troops and closure of bases
- a peace process for security, reconstruction, and reconciliation
- a shift of funding from war to meeting human needs
Please join us for the vigil, either for the full hour or just for a few minutes. We will have candles. September 21st is the International Day of Peace and is a fitting day for calling for peace in Iraq. Information on the Declaration of Peace can be found at their web site, http://www.declarationofpeace.org. Over 400 religious and peace groups have endorsed the declaration. They are also asking people to contact their senators and representatives on September 26.
“The Declaration of Peace is a nationally coordinated grassroots effort to call on Congress to create and initiate a comprehensive plan for peace in Iraq. The Declaration of Peace began in March 2006, through discussions with organizations and individuals around the United States who shared the common goal of ending the war and occupation in Iraq. Consultations with peace and justice coalitions, faith-based groups, veterans and military families, elected officials and staff, and community leaders from around the country led to the development of The Declaration of Peace’s eight points, to be included in Congressional plans for peace.” http://www.declarationofpeace.org/about-us.
For the Walpole Peace and Justice Group,
Philip Czachorowski
- a prompt timetable for withdrawal of troops and closure of bases
- a peace process for security, reconstruction, and reconciliation
- a shift of funding from war to meeting human needs
Please join us for the vigil, either for the full hour or just for a few minutes. We will have candles. September 21st is the International Day of Peace and is a fitting day for calling for peace in Iraq. Information on the Declaration of Peace can be found at their web site, http://www.declarationofpeace.org. Over 400 religious and peace groups have endorsed the declaration. They are also asking people to contact their senators and representatives on September 26.
“The Declaration of Peace is a nationally coordinated grassroots effort to call on Congress to create and initiate a comprehensive plan for peace in Iraq. The Declaration of Peace began in March 2006, through discussions with organizations and individuals around the United States who shared the common goal of ending the war and occupation in Iraq. Consultations with peace and justice coalitions, faith-based groups, veterans and military families, elected officials and staff, and community leaders from around the country led to the development of The Declaration of Peace’s eight points, to be included in Congressional plans for peace.” http://www.declarationofpeace.org/about-us.
For the Walpole Peace and Justice Group,
Philip Czachorowski
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
One World Peace Walk on Sep 9th
We invite people to join in The One World Peace Walk on September 9th to bring attention to the devastating toll of war on civilians in the Middle East, Darfur, and around the world. Cities and towns have been destroyed, missiles have been rained down on population centers, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. The numbers are appalling: over 1,000 civilians killed and 970,000 people displaced in Lebanon, over 3.8 million people affected in Darfur. The situation in Iraq continues to be dismal with between 41,000 and 100,000 civilian causalities in addition to the tragic toll on our military forces. Join us as we walk to speak out for peace and to tell all world leaders that targeting of civilians is unacceptable and must be stopped.
The walk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group and is supported by the Peace Abby in Sherborn as well as local church outreach groups. Walkers will carry a small replica of the Peace Abbey’s 2 ton memorial stone that has traveled to Arlington National Cemetery, Belfast, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. The Peace Walk will start at the Norwood Common at 1:45 PM with an opening ceremony and end at the Walpole Common at 4:30 PM with a closing ceremony. We recommend that people park their cars in Walpole and take the MBTA bus from Walpole to Norwood. The walk will proceed down Route 1A and is 4.6 miles long. Water will supplied along the route and refreshments will be served at the closing ceremony.
We are honored to have Joseph Gerson, Program Director for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in New England speak at the closing ceremonies. He has been an influential voice on issues of peace and justice since 1976 and has spoken at over 70 colleges and at international conferences. He has given the keynote addresses at the World Conference Against A&H Bombs in Hiroshima, the Japan Peace conference in Sasebo, and the Swedish Peace Council. Dr. Gerson is the author of several books and numerous articles on peace and justice. We will also have a group sing led by local musicians. The public is invited to join the walk or, if you are unable to walk, join us at the closing ceremony to hear Dr. Gerson speak.
Philip Czachorowski
The walk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group and is supported by the Peace Abby in Sherborn as well as local church outreach groups. Walkers will carry a small replica of the Peace Abbey’s 2 ton memorial stone that has traveled to Arlington National Cemetery, Belfast, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. The Peace Walk will start at the Norwood Common at 1:45 PM with an opening ceremony and end at the Walpole Common at 4:30 PM with a closing ceremony. We recommend that people park their cars in Walpole and take the MBTA bus from Walpole to Norwood. The walk will proceed down Route 1A and is 4.6 miles long. Water will supplied along the route and refreshments will be served at the closing ceremony.
We are honored to have Joseph Gerson, Program Director for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in New England speak at the closing ceremonies. He has been an influential voice on issues of peace and justice since 1976 and has spoken at over 70 colleges and at international conferences. He has given the keynote addresses at the World Conference Against A&H Bombs in Hiroshima, the Japan Peace conference in Sasebo, and the Swedish Peace Council. Dr. Gerson is the author of several books and numerous articles on peace and justice. We will also have a group sing led by local musicians. The public is invited to join the walk or, if you are unable to walk, join us at the closing ceremony to hear Dr. Gerson speak.
Philip Czachorowski
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Talk by Carlos and Melida Arredondo
Talk by Carlos and Melida Arredondo on their son killed in Iraq at Walpole Library on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 7:30
The Walpole Peace & Justice Group is resuming its speaker’s series on September 5 with a talk by Carlos and Melida Arredondo from Roslindale, MA. Carlos gained national recognition when he set himself on fire after learning that his 20 year old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in action in Najaf, Iraq on August 25, 2004. Carlos attended Alexander’s wake and funeral on a stretcher despite his injuries. He has since recuperated from second degree burns on 26% of his body. Carlos and Melida are currently focusing on public speaking and a media campaign to inform Spanish speaking parents of the unethical recruitment methods used to target troops who come from divorced and low income backgrounds. The talk will focus on their son’s experiences in Iraq and their present views on the war in Iraq. This talk is particularly significant for Walpole as Alexander is buried in the Rural Cemetery in North Walpole. Carlos and Melida are members of Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, Pax Christi, American Friends Services Committee and Roslindale Neighbors for Peace and Justice. The talk is at the Walpole Public Library at 7:30 PM.
The Walpole Peace & Justice Group is resuming its speaker’s series on September 5 with a talk by Carlos and Melida Arredondo from Roslindale, MA. Carlos gained national recognition when he set himself on fire after learning that his 20 year old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in action in Najaf, Iraq on August 25, 2004. Carlos attended Alexander’s wake and funeral on a stretcher despite his injuries. He has since recuperated from second degree burns on 26% of his body. Carlos and Melida are currently focusing on public speaking and a media campaign to inform Spanish speaking parents of the unethical recruitment methods used to target troops who come from divorced and low income backgrounds. The talk will focus on their son’s experiences in Iraq and their present views on the war in Iraq. This talk is particularly significant for Walpole as Alexander is buried in the Rural Cemetery in North Walpole. Carlos and Melida are members of Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, Pax Christi, American Friends Services Committee and Roslindale Neighbors for Peace and Justice. The talk is at the Walpole Public Library at 7:30 PM.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
World Out of Balance Film
Joe Public Films is about ready to launch a new movie describing Exxon-Mobil's role in accelerating global warming -- not just by selling and burning fossil fuels, but also by creating a haze of confusion around the science of global warming:
http://www.worldoutofbalance.org
http://www.worldoutofbalance.org
Monday, July 31, 2006
David's Letter to the Walpole Times
To the Editor,
Recent letters have commented on the Walpole Peace and Justice Group – pro and con. Reciting again the litany of opposition to the war in Iraq, the suffering and deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, the human rights abuses, and the results that are the present reality in Iraq and the wider Middle East -- well, that is fine and good; however Mr. Lynch’s criticisms of the Group’s members and activities demand a response that is more basic.
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is certainly an “anti-war group”, however it is not simply that. It promotes peace and justice. I believe it is aptly named, for peace will never exist without justice. In the interest of enlightenment, we have sponsored a speaker and film series, where the public is invited to attend and hear alternative views on current events, ask questions and discuss. We have recently had presentations on the states of affairs in Cambodia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Taiwan – as well as Iraq and Islam. If we wish to learn and consider the views of those who might know best, would we not listen to those with first-hand experience? There is plenty of “party-line” information in our news outlets and mass media. So, if we hear from “America haters”, is there a chance we may understand just why it is that so much of the world does indeed hate America? This is a fact, and it is not going away; and it is at the root of much that threatens the world today. And might not that understanding be helpful? Will our present policies be successful? Have we seen the result? What are the roots of the longstanding unrest in the Middle East, which has spread throughout the expanding Muslim world? It has been said that those that do not understand history are doomed to repeat it. Injustice breeds resentment and contempt, and we are certain to reap what we sow.
Ask yourself this: if the U.S. is munificent and just, and it was these motives that led to our toppling of the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein, as the writer implied, then why have we not been acting with all our force to check the ongoing genocide in Darfur? It continues to kill many, many more helpless people than Saddam Hussein could ever dream of. Could it have something to do with so-called geo-politics (insert your favorite resource here)? There may be a variety of other explanations. Let’s hear them – we are not afraid of ideas. This is what democracy is about.
Yes, the leveling of charges of war crimes is a serious thing. It is not inconceivable that war crimes may be committed in the name of our United States. It has happened before, at My Lai during the war in Vietnam. And -- make no mistake about it -- if the secret and illegal bombing of innocent civilians in Cambodia and Laos during that same war -- on orders directly from the White House -- was NOT a war crime, then surely there is no such thing. I refer to this to draw an obvious parallel to the political instability that resulted from that bombing and the genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, a generation of civil wars and crushing poverty that Cambodia has suffered; and an understanding that our actions have consequences. At this time, a consequence of our actions in Iraq are thousands of dead each month: -- a handful of American servicemen, perhaps scores of insurgents, and the rest innocent people trying to live and make the best of difficult circumstances. And no progress in reducing terrorism. Should we look the other way?
Back to the matter at hand: democracy is a matter of tolerance, open-mindedness and debate. We are blessed to live in a country where our Constitution guarantees our rights to speak and hear, and make up our own minds (that includes the right of an elected local Representative to refer to us as “unpatriotic” -- at Town Meeting, of all places). We write letters to the local newspaper, and if any “waste of ink” is more problematic than a horrendous waste of human life, then I guess you can call our demonstrations and vigils “pathetic”, and I‘ll just have to agree with you – the attendance and participation IS pathetic. I hope that more people will choose to question the status quo, and make up their own minds. Democracy is best served by facts and reason. Increasingly, ours seems to be running on myth and passion. Students of history know the result of thoughtlessness in the name of patriotism, and there is no justice for anyone in that.
David Wildnauer
Recent letters have commented on the Walpole Peace and Justice Group – pro and con. Reciting again the litany of opposition to the war in Iraq, the suffering and deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, the human rights abuses, and the results that are the present reality in Iraq and the wider Middle East -- well, that is fine and good; however Mr. Lynch’s criticisms of the Group’s members and activities demand a response that is more basic.
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is certainly an “anti-war group”, however it is not simply that. It promotes peace and justice. I believe it is aptly named, for peace will never exist without justice. In the interest of enlightenment, we have sponsored a speaker and film series, where the public is invited to attend and hear alternative views on current events, ask questions and discuss. We have recently had presentations on the states of affairs in Cambodia, Cuba, Venezuela, and Taiwan – as well as Iraq and Islam. If we wish to learn and consider the views of those who might know best, would we not listen to those with first-hand experience? There is plenty of “party-line” information in our news outlets and mass media. So, if we hear from “America haters”, is there a chance we may understand just why it is that so much of the world does indeed hate America? This is a fact, and it is not going away; and it is at the root of much that threatens the world today. And might not that understanding be helpful? Will our present policies be successful? Have we seen the result? What are the roots of the longstanding unrest in the Middle East, which has spread throughout the expanding Muslim world? It has been said that those that do not understand history are doomed to repeat it. Injustice breeds resentment and contempt, and we are certain to reap what we sow.
Ask yourself this: if the U.S. is munificent and just, and it was these motives that led to our toppling of the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein, as the writer implied, then why have we not been acting with all our force to check the ongoing genocide in Darfur? It continues to kill many, many more helpless people than Saddam Hussein could ever dream of. Could it have something to do with so-called geo-politics (insert your favorite resource here)? There may be a variety of other explanations. Let’s hear them – we are not afraid of ideas. This is what democracy is about.
Yes, the leveling of charges of war crimes is a serious thing. It is not inconceivable that war crimes may be committed in the name of our United States. It has happened before, at My Lai during the war in Vietnam. And -- make no mistake about it -- if the secret and illegal bombing of innocent civilians in Cambodia and Laos during that same war -- on orders directly from the White House -- was NOT a war crime, then surely there is no such thing. I refer to this to draw an obvious parallel to the political instability that resulted from that bombing and the genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, a generation of civil wars and crushing poverty that Cambodia has suffered; and an understanding that our actions have consequences. At this time, a consequence of our actions in Iraq are thousands of dead each month: -- a handful of American servicemen, perhaps scores of insurgents, and the rest innocent people trying to live and make the best of difficult circumstances. And no progress in reducing terrorism. Should we look the other way?
Back to the matter at hand: democracy is a matter of tolerance, open-mindedness and debate. We are blessed to live in a country where our Constitution guarantees our rights to speak and hear, and make up our own minds (that includes the right of an elected local Representative to refer to us as “unpatriotic” -- at Town Meeting, of all places). We write letters to the local newspaper, and if any “waste of ink” is more problematic than a horrendous waste of human life, then I guess you can call our demonstrations and vigils “pathetic”, and I‘ll just have to agree with you – the attendance and participation IS pathetic. I hope that more people will choose to question the status quo, and make up their own minds. Democracy is best served by facts and reason. Increasingly, ours seems to be running on myth and passion. Students of history know the result of thoughtlessness in the name of patriotism, and there is no justice for anyone in that.
David Wildnauer
Monday, July 24, 2006
Response to Ted Lynch in Walpole Times
To the Editor,
This letter is in response to Ted Lynch’s July 13th letter. Mr. Lynch throws up the usual right wing smoke screen spin about Saddam being a bad man and the need to support our troops. To start off, I want to be clear about my point that before the war started the vast majority of Iraqi’s were living a relatively comfortable and secure lifestyle and that the war has turned the vast majority of Iraqi’s lives into a living hell every minute of every day for more than three years now and going on for who knows how many more! If anyone disagrees with this statement then you should have attended Dr. Khudairi’s talk and seen for yourself what his slides depicted.
The gassing of the Kurds was a horrific act. I’d like to ask Mr. Lynch if those that sanctioned this massacre should be held accountable as well as Saddam? Did you know that the Reagan administration provided satellite photos to Iraq which it knew was to be used in “calibrating” Iraqi chemical weapons attacks against Iran and that the U.S. provided dual use helicopters which were used to gas the Kurds? It is a well known fact that the U.S. knew that Saddam was using chemical weapons and continued to support him through the 80’s. You can find this info at www.wikipedia.org and type halabja_poison”. Do you know why the U.S.was at odds with Iran? Because the CIA toppled the democratically elected president of Iran in the early 50’s and installed the brutal Shah who oppressed his people but sold Iran’s oil to us at very good price. When Iranian fundamentalists overthrew the Shah, we lost that secure oil connection. To quote Robert Scheer in an article in The Nation, “Ironically, the U.S. supported Iraq when it possessed and used weapons of mass destruction and invaded it when it didn’t.”
Mr. Lynch’s comment about “The joyous pulling down of Saddam’s statues around Baghdad … was real and spontaneous.”, needs to be addressed. If you Google “saddam statue”, you will find ample evidence that the large statue that most Americans saw toppled was actually staged with no more than 150 to 200 people. What’s particularly interesting about this is the media’s roll in helping the government send misleading impressions back to the American people. This point only helps me to underscore my case for getting info from alternative sources.
Mr. Lynch states that I alleged our soldiers have committed war crimes. Even though there are now a number of instances that indicate a small number of our troops may have committed war crimes, I wasn’t blaming them in my first letter. The examples that I gave were focusing on those higher up the chain of command. This is a perfect example of how the right wing zealots try to distract Americans from the truth! In the case of Iraq, throw in the red herring that Saddam is a bad man and we need to support our troops and everything else becomes irrelevant – even war crimes by top U.S. officials.
In order to state my case as clearly as possible, I want to provide the following info on two of the war crimes I mentioned in my first letter. First, is the war of aggression against Iraq. I’d like to support my view by quoting Benjamin Ferenccz. Mr. Ferenccz should know a war criminal when he sees one. He is a former chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials who successfully convicted 22 Nazi officers after WW II. He has stated that a “prima facie case can be made that the U.S. is guilty of the supreme crime against humanity, that being an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign nation.” This info is available at Truthout.org.
On the question of illegal weapons, I want to quote Prof. Doug Rokke on the use of depleted uranium. Prof. Rokke is the ex-director of the Pentagon’s depleted uranium project who was tasked by the U.S. department of defense with the post – first Gulf war depleted uranium clean up. Prof. Rokke has stated that “There is a moral point to be made here. This war was about Iraq possessing illegal weapons of mass destruction – yet we are using weapons of mass destruction ourselves. Such double standards are repellent.”
In closing, I just want to say to Mr. Lynch, that if you choose to continue this debate, that in addition to addressing the above specific statements that you justify your view of supporting our troops by staying the course as George Bush wants us to do, versus the fact that 72% of the troops in Iraq feel we should leave Iraq by the end of the year.
Paul Peckham
This letter is in response to Ted Lynch’s July 13th letter. Mr. Lynch throws up the usual right wing smoke screen spin about Saddam being a bad man and the need to support our troops. To start off, I want to be clear about my point that before the war started the vast majority of Iraqi’s were living a relatively comfortable and secure lifestyle and that the war has turned the vast majority of Iraqi’s lives into a living hell every minute of every day for more than three years now and going on for who knows how many more! If anyone disagrees with this statement then you should have attended Dr. Khudairi’s talk and seen for yourself what his slides depicted.
The gassing of the Kurds was a horrific act. I’d like to ask Mr. Lynch if those that sanctioned this massacre should be held accountable as well as Saddam? Did you know that the Reagan administration provided satellite photos to Iraq which it knew was to be used in “calibrating” Iraqi chemical weapons attacks against Iran and that the U.S. provided dual use helicopters which were used to gas the Kurds? It is a well known fact that the U.S. knew that Saddam was using chemical weapons and continued to support him through the 80’s. You can find this info at www.wikipedia.org and type halabja_poison”. Do you know why the U.S.was at odds with Iran? Because the CIA toppled the democratically elected president of Iran in the early 50’s and installed the brutal Shah who oppressed his people but sold Iran’s oil to us at very good price. When Iranian fundamentalists overthrew the Shah, we lost that secure oil connection. To quote Robert Scheer in an article in The Nation, “Ironically, the U.S. supported Iraq when it possessed and used weapons of mass destruction and invaded it when it didn’t.”
Mr. Lynch’s comment about “The joyous pulling down of Saddam’s statues around Baghdad … was real and spontaneous.”, needs to be addressed. If you Google “saddam statue”, you will find ample evidence that the large statue that most Americans saw toppled was actually staged with no more than 150 to 200 people. What’s particularly interesting about this is the media’s roll in helping the government send misleading impressions back to the American people. This point only helps me to underscore my case for getting info from alternative sources.
Mr. Lynch states that I alleged our soldiers have committed war crimes. Even though there are now a number of instances that indicate a small number of our troops may have committed war crimes, I wasn’t blaming them in my first letter. The examples that I gave were focusing on those higher up the chain of command. This is a perfect example of how the right wing zealots try to distract Americans from the truth! In the case of Iraq, throw in the red herring that Saddam is a bad man and we need to support our troops and everything else becomes irrelevant – even war crimes by top U.S. officials.
In order to state my case as clearly as possible, I want to provide the following info on two of the war crimes I mentioned in my first letter. First, is the war of aggression against Iraq. I’d like to support my view by quoting Benjamin Ferenccz. Mr. Ferenccz should know a war criminal when he sees one. He is a former chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials who successfully convicted 22 Nazi officers after WW II. He has stated that a “prima facie case can be made that the U.S. is guilty of the supreme crime against humanity, that being an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign nation.” This info is available at Truthout.org.
On the question of illegal weapons, I want to quote Prof. Doug Rokke on the use of depleted uranium. Prof. Rokke is the ex-director of the Pentagon’s depleted uranium project who was tasked by the U.S. department of defense with the post – first Gulf war depleted uranium clean up. Prof. Rokke has stated that “There is a moral point to be made here. This war was about Iraq possessing illegal weapons of mass destruction – yet we are using weapons of mass destruction ourselves. Such double standards are repellent.”
In closing, I just want to say to Mr. Lynch, that if you choose to continue this debate, that in addition to addressing the above specific statements that you justify your view of supporting our troops by staying the course as George Bush wants us to do, versus the fact that 72% of the troops in Iraq feel we should leave Iraq by the end of the year.
Paul Peckham
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Phil Replies to Criticism
July 17, 2006
Dear editor of the Walpole Times,
Recent letter writers to the Walpole Times have sharply criticized the Walpole Peace and Justice Group for protesting the Iraq war and for holding vigils against war and torture. The appalling war policies of the Bush administration and its treatment of detainees compel the Group to protest and hold vigils.
The Bush administration started the war with Iraq under the blatantly false pretenses that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that he was linked to al-Qaeda. Now as a tragic consequence, over 2,500 of our service men and women have been killed as well as 30,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians, and thousands more wounded. The war has resulted in the widespread destruction of the country’s infrastructure and has unleashed terrible sectarian violence. It has intensified anti-American feelings and has made Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorists. While Saddam Hussein was an evil ruler, this war was not the way to change Iraq. It has done more harm than good. Major religions leaders, including Pope Paul II, opposed it on the grounds that it did not meet the just war theory criteria.
The Bush administration continues to deny their accountability. They attribute not finding weapons of mass destruction to “intelligence failures”, while the reality is that they purposely manipulated the facts. Now they claim that the war was necessary to fight the “war on terror.” This claim is nonsense as Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Ironically it has now become a hot bed of terrorism.
In regard to torture, ALL TORTURE is morally wrong. The Bush administration continues to use legal technicalities and manipulations to justify policies that most of the world would consider torture. Documents released show that the abusive and degrading interrogation methods used at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers were wide spread. Although the Bush administration would like to blame the abuse problems on a few ‘bad apples,’ they are a result of high level policies from the top levels of government. Those policies include rendition, sending detainees to other countries where we know they will be tortured, and denying that detainees are covered by the Geneva Conventions.
Most of the world has condemned the Guantanamo Detention Center, where we have held detainees for years without charging them of crimes and giving them due process of law. Tragically three detainees have committed suicide out of desperation. The Supreme Court, in the recent Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld ruling, rebuked the Bush administration for its military tribunals and for violating international treaties like Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions that bans cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners. Late last year the U.S. Congress passed the McCain Amendment outlawing the torture of detainees. Appallingly, the Bush administration’s response was to issue a ‘signing statement’ which asserted Bush’s right, as President, to ignore the law if he deemed it necessary to fight the war on terrorism. This assertion undermines the power of the Congress and condones the use of torture which should always be unacceptable.
The purpose of the Walpole Peace and Justice Group’s peace vigils is to bring attention to the Bush Administration policies and their impact. Sadly, our press often abdicates its duty to examine and question these policies. The shameful actions of the Bush administration in regard to the treatment of detainees contradict our country’s most basic values and undermine our moral authority. The Walpole Peace and Justice Group supports our troops in Iraq and their families. The best way to help our troops is to get them out of Iraq as soon as reasonably practical.
Philip Czachorowski
Walpole, MA
Dear editor of the Walpole Times,
Recent letter writers to the Walpole Times have sharply criticized the Walpole Peace and Justice Group for protesting the Iraq war and for holding vigils against war and torture. The appalling war policies of the Bush administration and its treatment of detainees compel the Group to protest and hold vigils.
The Bush administration started the war with Iraq under the blatantly false pretenses that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that he was linked to al-Qaeda. Now as a tragic consequence, over 2,500 of our service men and women have been killed as well as 30,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians, and thousands more wounded. The war has resulted in the widespread destruction of the country’s infrastructure and has unleashed terrible sectarian violence. It has intensified anti-American feelings and has made Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorists. While Saddam Hussein was an evil ruler, this war was not the way to change Iraq. It has done more harm than good. Major religions leaders, including Pope Paul II, opposed it on the grounds that it did not meet the just war theory criteria.
The Bush administration continues to deny their accountability. They attribute not finding weapons of mass destruction to “intelligence failures”, while the reality is that they purposely manipulated the facts. Now they claim that the war was necessary to fight the “war on terror.” This claim is nonsense as Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Ironically it has now become a hot bed of terrorism.
In regard to torture, ALL TORTURE is morally wrong. The Bush administration continues to use legal technicalities and manipulations to justify policies that most of the world would consider torture. Documents released show that the abusive and degrading interrogation methods used at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers were wide spread. Although the Bush administration would like to blame the abuse problems on a few ‘bad apples,’ they are a result of high level policies from the top levels of government. Those policies include rendition, sending detainees to other countries where we know they will be tortured, and denying that detainees are covered by the Geneva Conventions.
Most of the world has condemned the Guantanamo Detention Center, where we have held detainees for years without charging them of crimes and giving them due process of law. Tragically three detainees have committed suicide out of desperation. The Supreme Court, in the recent Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld ruling, rebuked the Bush administration for its military tribunals and for violating international treaties like Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions that bans cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners. Late last year the U.S. Congress passed the McCain Amendment outlawing the torture of detainees. Appallingly, the Bush administration’s response was to issue a ‘signing statement’ which asserted Bush’s right, as President, to ignore the law if he deemed it necessary to fight the war on terrorism. This assertion undermines the power of the Congress and condones the use of torture which should always be unacceptable.
The purpose of the Walpole Peace and Justice Group’s peace vigils is to bring attention to the Bush Administration policies and their impact. Sadly, our press often abdicates its duty to examine and question these policies. The shameful actions of the Bush administration in regard to the treatment of detainees contradict our country’s most basic values and undermine our moral authority. The Walpole Peace and Justice Group supports our troops in Iraq and their families. The best way to help our troops is to get them out of Iraq as soon as reasonably practical.
Philip Czachorowski
Walpole, MA
Monday, June 26, 2006
Paul Responds to Times Letter
To the Editor,
Once again I find myself responding to someone’s attack on my letter to the Times. In this case, it was about my letter from June 15 titled “Where’s the Outrage Over Iraq?” The first comment I want to make is that not one of my examples of U.S. war crimes was challenged. My main reason for writing these letters is to inform as many people as possible about important issues that they might not be aware of. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I do try to find out the truth about these issues and then write about them. I view this space in our local paper as a means to share ideas and where necessary have an open debate that will help flesh out what the truth is.
The issue of U.S. war crimes in Iraq is an extremely important one. Most Americans aren’t aware of the fact that prior to the war on Iraq most Iraqi’s were living a relatively comfortable lifestyle. Men and women would go to work, children would go to school and probably play soccer after school and then they would have supper together and pray together and then sleep peacefully at night. Today it is just absolute chaos. There is virtually no electricity, no clean water and no security. Every Iraqi now fears for their life and those that they love. The civilian death toll is said to be over 50,000. The wounded probably over 100,000. (And they don’t have access to adequate medical care.) Hundreds of thousands are now probably homeless due U.S. bombs and missiles.
All of this overwhelming suffering is due to a war of aggression. Iraq didn’t pose any threat to the U.S. The Bush administration manipulated the intelligence on WMD and connections to 911 and al-Qaeda. The main reason we invaded Iraq was to gain control over Iraq’s vast oil reserves. To support this view, I merely have to point to the fact that about the only part of Iraq that was given any security was the oil industry.
There are a number of other serious consequences that the war on Iraq is responsible for. The most important to most Americans should be the impact on our troops. So far 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed. The total wounded is said to be between 20,000 and 48,000. The disruption of tens of thousands of families’ lives is a true hardship. Then there is the damage to our image around the world as countries view us as an aggressive, violent nation. The on going genocide in Darfur is another consequence. Over 400,000 people have been killed over the past few years in Darfur. This is happening in Sudan, where more innocent people are being killed and tortured each week than Saddam was probably responsible for over a number of years time. I wish our marines were standing between these helpless people and the brutal thugs who are terrorizing them. But, there is no oil for us there and we are already stretched too thin in Iraq.
As far as the comment that I denigrated our leaders, I will stand guilty as charged. We have a President and a Vice President who when they were younger both supported the Vietnam war and they both not only lacked the courage to go fight in it, they pulled every string possible to keep from going! These men have sent our troops into an unnecessary war without proper body armor and humvee plating, which has caused many deaths and serious injuries. Both of them have sanctioned the use of torture. They also didn’t have a realistic plan to keep the peace after the war or a realistic exit strategy. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., we have a foreign policy that is based on guided missiles that is directed by misguided men. Our troops and the Iraqi people are paying dearly for their blunders.
The best way to end this tragedy is to do what 72% of our troops in Iraq have stated in a February 2006 Zogby poll. That is to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year. The people of Walpole can best support our troops by signing the Declaration of Peace at www.declarationofpeace.org
Peckham, June 26,2006
Once again I find myself responding to someone’s attack on my letter to the Times. In this case, it was about my letter from June 15 titled “Where’s the Outrage Over Iraq?” The first comment I want to make is that not one of my examples of U.S. war crimes was challenged. My main reason for writing these letters is to inform as many people as possible about important issues that they might not be aware of. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I do try to find out the truth about these issues and then write about them. I view this space in our local paper as a means to share ideas and where necessary have an open debate that will help flesh out what the truth is.
The issue of U.S. war crimes in Iraq is an extremely important one. Most Americans aren’t aware of the fact that prior to the war on Iraq most Iraqi’s were living a relatively comfortable lifestyle. Men and women would go to work, children would go to school and probably play soccer after school and then they would have supper together and pray together and then sleep peacefully at night. Today it is just absolute chaos. There is virtually no electricity, no clean water and no security. Every Iraqi now fears for their life and those that they love. The civilian death toll is said to be over 50,000. The wounded probably over 100,000. (And they don’t have access to adequate medical care.) Hundreds of thousands are now probably homeless due U.S. bombs and missiles.
All of this overwhelming suffering is due to a war of aggression. Iraq didn’t pose any threat to the U.S. The Bush administration manipulated the intelligence on WMD and connections to 911 and al-Qaeda. The main reason we invaded Iraq was to gain control over Iraq’s vast oil reserves. To support this view, I merely have to point to the fact that about the only part of Iraq that was given any security was the oil industry.
There are a number of other serious consequences that the war on Iraq is responsible for. The most important to most Americans should be the impact on our troops. So far 2,520 U.S. troops have been killed. The total wounded is said to be between 20,000 and 48,000. The disruption of tens of thousands of families’ lives is a true hardship. Then there is the damage to our image around the world as countries view us as an aggressive, violent nation. The on going genocide in Darfur is another consequence. Over 400,000 people have been killed over the past few years in Darfur. This is happening in Sudan, where more innocent people are being killed and tortured each week than Saddam was probably responsible for over a number of years time. I wish our marines were standing between these helpless people and the brutal thugs who are terrorizing them. But, there is no oil for us there and we are already stretched too thin in Iraq.
As far as the comment that I denigrated our leaders, I will stand guilty as charged. We have a President and a Vice President who when they were younger both supported the Vietnam war and they both not only lacked the courage to go fight in it, they pulled every string possible to keep from going! These men have sent our troops into an unnecessary war without proper body armor and humvee plating, which has caused many deaths and serious injuries. Both of them have sanctioned the use of torture. They also didn’t have a realistic plan to keep the peace after the war or a realistic exit strategy. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., we have a foreign policy that is based on guided missiles that is directed by misguided men. Our troops and the Iraqi people are paying dearly for their blunders.
The best way to end this tragedy is to do what 72% of our troops in Iraq have stated in a February 2006 Zogby poll. That is to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year. The people of Walpole can best support our troops by signing the Declaration of Peace at www.declarationofpeace.org
Peckham, June 26,2006
Vigil for Victims of Torture
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group invites townspeople to join us for a vigil commemorating the 7th annual United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The vigil will be held on Monday, June 26, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the Walpole Common, at the corner of West and Main streets.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appealed to "all governments and members of civil society to take action to defeat torture and torturers everywhere," calling June 26 a "day on which we pay our respects to those who have endured the unimaginable… an occasion for the world to speak up against the unspeakable."
The importance of this action is clear. Despite long-standing international conventions against torture, and national laws against this crime against humanity within the U.S. and elsewhere, the United States and over 150 other governments continue to perpetrate acts of torture.
Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) and torture survivors from every continent around the world will be gathering in Washington DC on June 26 for a 24-hour vigil.
We will join this vigil for one hour, here in Walpole, voicing grave concern about the ongoing U.S. abuse of prisoners detained in the "War on Terror" and affirming a position on the abuse of any detainee: "Zero tolerance for torture!"
If you cannot join us for the 5:30-6:30 vigil on Walpole Common, we hope you will light a candle in memory of those who have been tortured.
Lois Czachorowski
Walpole
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appealed to "all governments and members of civil society to take action to defeat torture and torturers everywhere," calling June 26 a "day on which we pay our respects to those who have endured the unimaginable… an occasion for the world to speak up against the unspeakable."
The importance of this action is clear. Despite long-standing international conventions against torture, and national laws against this crime against humanity within the U.S. and elsewhere, the United States and over 150 other governments continue to perpetrate acts of torture.
Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) and torture survivors from every continent around the world will be gathering in Washington DC on June 26 for a 24-hour vigil.
We will join this vigil for one hour, here in Walpole, voicing grave concern about the ongoing U.S. abuse of prisoners detained in the "War on Terror" and affirming a position on the abuse of any detainee: "Zero tolerance for torture!"
If you cannot join us for the 5:30-6:30 vigil on Walpole Common, we hope you will light a candle in memory of those who have been tortured.
Lois Czachorowski
Walpole
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
After Last Tuesday
To the editor,
After last Tuesday’s talk at the Walpole Library by Dr. Nabeel Khudairi, my first response to the audience was to ask “Where’s the outrage!?” Dr. Khudairi gave a very informative talk on Iraq that showed it to be a major center of education and culture in the Middle East. Even during Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, the majority of the people in Iraq were living a relatively comfortable lifestyle in it’s very modern cities.
As the talk started to focus on the impact of the first Gulf War, the 12 years of UN sanctions and the current war, the effect on everyone was truly gut wrenching. We saw images of young children with arms burnt down to the elbow, without legs, severe body burns, infants born with the most grotesque birth defects imaginable. We saw peoples’ homes destroyed by bombs as well as whole blocks of homes just leveled to rubble from U.S. attacks. Dr. Khudairi described how the U.S. basically destroyed Iraq’s entire infrastructure – water treatment plants, bridges, roads, etc., and how this caused 10’s of thousands of civilian deaths, mostly young children and the elderly.
What has been happening in Iraq can only be described as a horrific nightmare that has as it’s source a long list of war crimes that the U.S. is responsible for. The list starts with a war of aggression that the Bush administration started against Iraq by lying to the American public about WMD and al Qaida connections. The Nuremberg Tribunal called the waging of aggressive war “essentially an evil thing… to initiate a war of aggression…is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”
Then there is the use of such illegal weapons as cluster bombs, white phosphorus, depleted uranium, etc. (One of the effects of depleted uranium is the aforementioned birth defects.)
Then there is the collective punishment against the civilian population as is evidenced in cities such as Baghdad and Fallujah. The “Shock and Awe” bombing of Baghdad was probably the cause of many of the destroyed homes that we saw pictures of. Eight weeks of bombing Fallujah caused the destruction of 36,000 homes, 60 schools, 65 mosques and untold civilian casualties.
Then there is the widespread use of torture that is in direct violation of of the Geneva Accords. The list goes on and on, but for the sake of brevity I want to make my point that we as U.S. citizens need to take action and vigorously oppose what the Bush administration is doing in Iraq. We need to demand that the U.S. set a goal of getting out of Iraq as soon as possible – hopefully by the end of the year. We also need to demand that those who are responsible for these war crimes are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And I’m not talking about just a few bad apples at the lower levels of service, but as far up the chain of command as needed.
One of the most outrageous aspects of this war is the silence of the American people. Silence in such important matters as this can only be described as complicity. I feel that the mainstream, corporate media is mainly responsible for this. They didn’t challenge the manipulated intelligence that the Bush administration gave them and they haven’t shown the carnage taking place in Iraq that we saw on Tuesday night. I firmly believe that most Americans will want to take a stand against such injustices if they really know the truth.
So what can people in Walpole do about this? You can start by getting informed. Get your information from alternative news sources, such as The Nation Magazine, Z Magazine, truthout.org, alternet.org, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International (or Amnesty International USA), etc. Make donations to organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Sign the Declaration of Peace. Take part in our (Walpole Peace and Justice Group) meetings and demonstrations. (It would be great if we had 100’s of people at our demonstrations on the common.) You can contact us at walpole_peace@verizon.net
Paul Peckham 6/12/06
After last Tuesday’s talk at the Walpole Library by Dr. Nabeel Khudairi, my first response to the audience was to ask “Where’s the outrage!?” Dr. Khudairi gave a very informative talk on Iraq that showed it to be a major center of education and culture in the Middle East. Even during Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, the majority of the people in Iraq were living a relatively comfortable lifestyle in it’s very modern cities.
As the talk started to focus on the impact of the first Gulf War, the 12 years of UN sanctions and the current war, the effect on everyone was truly gut wrenching. We saw images of young children with arms burnt down to the elbow, without legs, severe body burns, infants born with the most grotesque birth defects imaginable. We saw peoples’ homes destroyed by bombs as well as whole blocks of homes just leveled to rubble from U.S. attacks. Dr. Khudairi described how the U.S. basically destroyed Iraq’s entire infrastructure – water treatment plants, bridges, roads, etc., and how this caused 10’s of thousands of civilian deaths, mostly young children and the elderly.
What has been happening in Iraq can only be described as a horrific nightmare that has as it’s source a long list of war crimes that the U.S. is responsible for. The list starts with a war of aggression that the Bush administration started against Iraq by lying to the American public about WMD and al Qaida connections. The Nuremberg Tribunal called the waging of aggressive war “essentially an evil thing… to initiate a war of aggression…is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”
Then there is the use of such illegal weapons as cluster bombs, white phosphorus, depleted uranium, etc. (One of the effects of depleted uranium is the aforementioned birth defects.)
Then there is the collective punishment against the civilian population as is evidenced in cities such as Baghdad and Fallujah. The “Shock and Awe” bombing of Baghdad was probably the cause of many of the destroyed homes that we saw pictures of. Eight weeks of bombing Fallujah caused the destruction of 36,000 homes, 60 schools, 65 mosques and untold civilian casualties.
Then there is the widespread use of torture that is in direct violation of of the Geneva Accords. The list goes on and on, but for the sake of brevity I want to make my point that we as U.S. citizens need to take action and vigorously oppose what the Bush administration is doing in Iraq. We need to demand that the U.S. set a goal of getting out of Iraq as soon as possible – hopefully by the end of the year. We also need to demand that those who are responsible for these war crimes are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And I’m not talking about just a few bad apples at the lower levels of service, but as far up the chain of command as needed.
One of the most outrageous aspects of this war is the silence of the American people. Silence in such important matters as this can only be described as complicity. I feel that the mainstream, corporate media is mainly responsible for this. They didn’t challenge the manipulated intelligence that the Bush administration gave them and they haven’t shown the carnage taking place in Iraq that we saw on Tuesday night. I firmly believe that most Americans will want to take a stand against such injustices if they really know the truth.
So what can people in Walpole do about this? You can start by getting informed. Get your information from alternative news sources, such as The Nation Magazine, Z Magazine, truthout.org, alternet.org, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International (or Amnesty International USA), etc. Make donations to organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Sign the Declaration of Peace. Take part in our (Walpole Peace and Justice Group) meetings and demonstrations. (It would be great if we had 100’s of people at our demonstrations on the common.) You can contact us at walpole_peace@verizon.net
Paul Peckham 6/12/06
Pauls Letter to Walpole Times
To the Editor,
I just want to say a few words about the Walpole Peace and Justice Group’s Speakers Series. We have had I wide range of speakers so far covering such topics as Cuba, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Taiwan, Venezuela, and Islam. (We might have Mr. Hafiz Muhammad Masool back because we ran out of time before he could answer everyone’s questions. For those of you who couldn’t hear Mr. Masool speak and would like to know more about Islam, he was kind enough to donate the brief and very informative film, Islam: A Closer Look, to the library.)
I am particularly looking forward to our next talk on Iraq by Dr. Nabeel Khudairi. Iraq has become the single, most important issue for most Americans today. What is happening in Iraq will have an impact on all our lives for years to come. I don’t know if Dr. Khudairi supports the war in Iraq or if he is against it. When I talked to him, I merely asked if he would talk about Iraq and he said he would like to.
Dr. Khudairi was born in Baghdad in 1961 and his family moved to Boston in 1966 in order to avoid political harassment by the Ba’ath Party. His family returned to Iraq for a few years in the mid 1970’s but left again when Saddam Hussein seized the presidency. He still has close ties to Iraq since many of his friends and relatives still live there. Dr. Khudairi is an optometrist with private practices in Norwood and Wellesley. He is president of the Norwood Lions Club as well as the Islamic Council of New England. I hope we get our largest turnout yet for what should be a very informative and important talk for everyone.
Paul Peckham
I just want to say a few words about the Walpole Peace and Justice Group’s Speakers Series. We have had I wide range of speakers so far covering such topics as Cuba, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Taiwan, Venezuela, and Islam. (We might have Mr. Hafiz Muhammad Masool back because we ran out of time before he could answer everyone’s questions. For those of you who couldn’t hear Mr. Masool speak and would like to know more about Islam, he was kind enough to donate the brief and very informative film, Islam: A Closer Look, to the library.)
I am particularly looking forward to our next talk on Iraq by Dr. Nabeel Khudairi. Iraq has become the single, most important issue for most Americans today. What is happening in Iraq will have an impact on all our lives for years to come. I don’t know if Dr. Khudairi supports the war in Iraq or if he is against it. When I talked to him, I merely asked if he would talk about Iraq and he said he would like to.
Dr. Khudairi was born in Baghdad in 1961 and his family moved to Boston in 1966 in order to avoid political harassment by the Ba’ath Party. His family returned to Iraq for a few years in the mid 1970’s but left again when Saddam Hussein seized the presidency. He still has close ties to Iraq since many of his friends and relatives still live there. Dr. Khudairi is an optometrist with private practices in Norwood and Wellesley. He is president of the Norwood Lions Club as well as the Islamic Council of New England. I hope we get our largest turnout yet for what should be a very informative and important talk for everyone.
Paul Peckham
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Talk on Iraq June 6
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is continuing their speakers series on June 6 with a talk on Iraq by Dr. Nabeel Khudairi. Dr. Khudairi was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1961. In 1966, to escape political harassment by the newly established Ba’ath Party, his family moved to Boston, where his father taught at Northeastern University. As a young adult he returned to Iraq for a few years in the mid 1970’s but returned to the U.S. when Saddam Hussein seized the presidency. Many of his relatives still residing in Iraq have suffered incredible hardships from the first Gulf War, the 12 years of deprivation from the U.N. imposed sanctions and more recently from the decline in domestic security created by the current occupation of Iraq.
The lecture will reflect on the lesser known history of Iraq, it’s society and the impact of the three devastating wars in less than two decades that the civilian population has endured.
Dr. Khudairi is an optometrist with private practices in Norwood and Wellesley. He is president of the Norwood Lion’s Club and president-elect of the Islamic Council of New England. He has lectured to various schools and religious and peace organizations and has been interviewed by major television, radio, and print news services about the affairs in Iraq.
The speakers series is the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library. All talks are open to the public.
The lecture will reflect on the lesser known history of Iraq, it’s society and the impact of the three devastating wars in less than two decades that the civilian population has endured.
Dr. Khudairi is an optometrist with private practices in Norwood and Wellesley. He is president of the Norwood Lion’s Club and president-elect of the Islamic Council of New England. He has lectured to various schools and religious and peace organizations and has been interviewed by major television, radio, and print news services about the affairs in Iraq.
The speakers series is the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library. All talks are open to the public.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Talk on Islam May 2
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring a talk on Islam by Hafiz Muhammad Masood on Tuesday, May 2nd at the Walpole Public Library. This talk is part of the Walpole Peace and Justice Group’s monthly speaker series and is very timely given the current Middle East situation. The conflicts that are taking place in the Middle East have resulted in misinformation and even demonization of Islam by some in the media. Mr. Masood is the Imam at the Islamic Center of New England in Sharon. He is on the faculty at the Islamic Academy of New England in Mansfield. He is also an assistant professor of Economic Doctrines of Islam at Islamabad University in Islamabad, Pakistan. He earned his Masters in Islamic Theology at Islamic University in Pakistan. Mr. Masood has inculcated and memorized the entire Quran. The talk will be at 7:30 PM and is open to the public.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Federal Budget Quilt for Tax Day
Taking our lead from AFSC we made a "Federal Budget Quilt", and presented it on Tax Day in front the Post Office with the words: "What Your Taxes Pay For".
click for larger image
The quilt is a bar graph that illustrates how the federal government spends our money: each color represents a proportional segment of the budget. The Iraq War, in black, is technically "off-budget" spending. You can see the remaining portion of the quilt is more than half red: red is military spending (excluding benefits to vetrans!). I made a color-key below to explain which is which. Of course, non-discretionary spending (Soc Sec) is not included, either -- but it is rather harsh to see the "sizes" of each portion. I gues it might leave you seeing "red".
More images for Tax Day:
The "Key" to the colors:
click for larger image
And, yes, I could not resist adding a bit of my own personal experience to the Quilt -- I signed and dated the thing in the corner, and added the Red Sox box score from the game I was listening to while I did the lettering. An here's the blurbie from our e-mail announcement:
NOT ONE MORE DEATH, NOT ONE MORE DOLLAR. The urgency of that cry grows in magnitude daily. The impact of the war on so many fronts: healthcare, housing, environment, education, aid to Katrina victims, etc., and the awful cost in lives lost and destruction of Iraq - all make the link of deaths and dollars painfully clear. Surely it is imperative on Tax Day to say no! - not one more death - not one more dollar!
We will have two banners representing the human cost of this war:
· A 60 foot banner with 2,139 stars, representing the U.S. service men and women killed through December 2005. The count is tragically now 2,360. The Iraqis killed is estimated to be between 30,000 and 100,000.
· A 46 foot banner providing a dramatic representation of the financial cost of the war and the impact it is having on social service budgets. The banner is comprised of a series of colored fabric strips, each colored strip representing a U.S. government budget with its length proportional to the whole budget. The defense budget is proportionally 20 feet long and the special Iraqi war budget 6 feet compared to 2.5 feet for education and 8 inches for social services. While Walpole struggles to fund our schools and town services, the total spending on the Iraqi war is equivalent to a per capita cost of $1,000 or $23,000,000 for Walpole based on our population.
click for larger imageThe quilt is a bar graph that illustrates how the federal government spends our money: each color represents a proportional segment of the budget. The Iraq War, in black, is technically "off-budget" spending. You can see the remaining portion of the quilt is more than half red: red is military spending (excluding benefits to vetrans!). I made a color-key below to explain which is which. Of course, non-discretionary spending (Soc Sec) is not included, either -- but it is rather harsh to see the "sizes" of each portion. I gues it might leave you seeing "red".
More images for Tax Day:
The "Key" to the colors:
click for larger imageAnd, yes, I could not resist adding a bit of my own personal experience to the Quilt -- I signed and dated the thing in the corner, and added the Red Sox box score from the game I was listening to while I did the lettering. An here's the blurbie from our e-mail announcement:
NOT ONE MORE DEATH, NOT ONE MORE DOLLAR. The urgency of that cry grows in magnitude daily. The impact of the war on so many fronts: healthcare, housing, environment, education, aid to Katrina victims, etc., and the awful cost in lives lost and destruction of Iraq - all make the link of deaths and dollars painfully clear. Surely it is imperative on Tax Day to say no! - not one more death - not one more dollar!
We will have two banners representing the human cost of this war:
· A 60 foot banner with 2,139 stars, representing the U.S. service men and women killed through December 2005. The count is tragically now 2,360. The Iraqis killed is estimated to be between 30,000 and 100,000.
· A 46 foot banner providing a dramatic representation of the financial cost of the war and the impact it is having on social service budgets. The banner is comprised of a series of colored fabric strips, each colored strip representing a U.S. government budget with its length proportional to the whole budget. The defense budget is proportionally 20 feet long and the special Iraqi war budget 6 feet compared to 2.5 feet for education and 8 inches for social services. While Walpole struggles to fund our schools and town services, the total spending on the Iraqi war is equivalent to a per capita cost of $1,000 or $23,000,000 for Walpole based on our population.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Stick to the facts
[This letter, written by Paul, is in response to Bob Connolly’s letter in the March 16 edition of the Walpole Times]
The first thing I want to say is that I’m not a communist sympathizer. I am the owner of a small business with 12 employees. I have been running this business for close to 23 years. I believe wholeheartedly in capitalism – it has allowed me to live a lifestyle that I never would have dreamed possible. I don’t believe, however, in the unrestrained, purely profit driven form of capitalism that the U.S. promotes. This results in inhumane sweatshops and a foreign policy that attempts to control other countries (usually poor ones) either politically and/or economically. So let’s stop with the commie name calling (which serves only as a distraction) and stick to the facts.
The facts about Cuba are: 1. The U.S. has been trying to overthrow the Cuban government for over 45 years by using an embargo that is causing severe economic hardships for the innocent Cuban people. 2. This embargo has been condemned by virtually every country in the world except Israel! 3. Despite this embargo, Cubans now have the highest quality of life when compared to any country in Latin America. 4. When I was in Cuba, everyone in our group was able to go anywhere and talk to anyone we wanted to. We never had to fear for our safety. We heard plenty of complaints about the Cuban government from many people (usually the younger generation), but on the whole the vast majority were very supportive of their government. In other words, Bob, these people were free to speak their minds! The majority of Cubans blame the U.S. embargo for their hardship! 5. As far as dissenters being severely punished goes, the Cuban government claims that the people who they have imprisoned were getting support and material aid from the U.S. What do you think Bush would do if the U.S. suspected that someone was working to overthrow our government? Hint: think Guantanamo, torture, etc. The fact of the matter is that until the U.S. stops its brutal, inhumane embargo, it is impossible to put the blame totally on the Cuban government. If we stop the embargo and Cuba then imprisons dissenters, I will then blame the Cuban government.
As far as the Venezuelan upper class complaining about electoral fraud goes, the fact is that the Carter Center, headed by Jimmy Carter, and the Organization of American States, observed the elections from start to finish and declared the elections were free and fair. It’s no surprise that the upper class would claim the elections to be fraudulent. Think about it. Here’s a country that has been a major oil exporter for decades, which should make it a very wealthy nation. And it is, but only about 20 percent of the people have enjoyed that wealth. The other 80 percent live below the poverty level. (We are talking extreme wealth as well as extreme poverty.) So Hugo Chavez becomes President and decides to implement programs to help the poor. Guess where the money came from! One main area was collecting the taxes that the rich had been avoiding under previous administrations. In 1997, before Chavez became President, the government collected $10.2 billion in taxes and in 2005, it collected $17.8 billion. So, here we have a situation where Chavez is making major changes in government programs that help 80 percent of the people who are poor and getting the wealthy 20 percent to pay their taxes to provide the money for those programs. Bob, do you still believe there was electoral fraud now? Or do you think that maybe the wealthy have an axe to grind?
One point worth noting here is the letter written on the same page as Bob’s by Lauren Doty. This was a heartfelt appeal to save the music program in Walpole. I find it ironic that Cuba and Venezuela are actively supporting the arts programs in their schools while in the richest nation in the world many towns are facing cutbacks due to lack of money. Maybe this is one of the things that the Bush Administration doesn’t want the American public to learn about. After all, getting the rich to pay for their fair share of the taxes has allowed Chavez to provide free healthcare for everyone and generally expand the educational programs for everyone as well. Not only has Bush cut back on taxes for the rich, he started the ill fated war with Iraq that has cost each person roughly $1,000, which translates into $23 million for the town of Walpole! Think what we could do with $23 million!
Bob, thanks for bringing Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) into the debate. These are both very important organizations that I have been supporting for many years. They perform a vital service, namely, keeping a watchful eye on all governments, including the U.S. I don’t have the time or the space to respond to your other charges now, so let me leave you with this little bit of information. When you go to their websites you will see reports that express the concerns on various issues that they have for each country. HRW has about 25 listings for Venezuela, which is about the same as Canada and Italy, and Germany has about 50. The U.S. has about 1,200! AI has about 50 for Venezuela while Canada has 45, Italy has 65, Germany has 67 and the U.S. has 1,448! Not very good for the Bush Administration, Bob.
Bob, I’d be more than willing to address your other charges during the talk I’m giving on Venezuela at the Walpole Library on April 4 at 7:30 p.m. If you can’t make it, then I’ll respond with a letter on these pages at a later date.
Paul Peckham
Walpole
The first thing I want to say is that I’m not a communist sympathizer. I am the owner of a small business with 12 employees. I have been running this business for close to 23 years. I believe wholeheartedly in capitalism – it has allowed me to live a lifestyle that I never would have dreamed possible. I don’t believe, however, in the unrestrained, purely profit driven form of capitalism that the U.S. promotes. This results in inhumane sweatshops and a foreign policy that attempts to control other countries (usually poor ones) either politically and/or economically. So let’s stop with the commie name calling (which serves only as a distraction) and stick to the facts.
The facts about Cuba are: 1. The U.S. has been trying to overthrow the Cuban government for over 45 years by using an embargo that is causing severe economic hardships for the innocent Cuban people. 2. This embargo has been condemned by virtually every country in the world except Israel! 3. Despite this embargo, Cubans now have the highest quality of life when compared to any country in Latin America. 4. When I was in Cuba, everyone in our group was able to go anywhere and talk to anyone we wanted to. We never had to fear for our safety. We heard plenty of complaints about the Cuban government from many people (usually the younger generation), but on the whole the vast majority were very supportive of their government. In other words, Bob, these people were free to speak their minds! The majority of Cubans blame the U.S. embargo for their hardship! 5. As far as dissenters being severely punished goes, the Cuban government claims that the people who they have imprisoned were getting support and material aid from the U.S. What do you think Bush would do if the U.S. suspected that someone was working to overthrow our government? Hint: think Guantanamo, torture, etc. The fact of the matter is that until the U.S. stops its brutal, inhumane embargo, it is impossible to put the blame totally on the Cuban government. If we stop the embargo and Cuba then imprisons dissenters, I will then blame the Cuban government.
As far as the Venezuelan upper class complaining about electoral fraud goes, the fact is that the Carter Center, headed by Jimmy Carter, and the Organization of American States, observed the elections from start to finish and declared the elections were free and fair. It’s no surprise that the upper class would claim the elections to be fraudulent. Think about it. Here’s a country that has been a major oil exporter for decades, which should make it a very wealthy nation. And it is, but only about 20 percent of the people have enjoyed that wealth. The other 80 percent live below the poverty level. (We are talking extreme wealth as well as extreme poverty.) So Hugo Chavez becomes President and decides to implement programs to help the poor. Guess where the money came from! One main area was collecting the taxes that the rich had been avoiding under previous administrations. In 1997, before Chavez became President, the government collected $10.2 billion in taxes and in 2005, it collected $17.8 billion. So, here we have a situation where Chavez is making major changes in government programs that help 80 percent of the people who are poor and getting the wealthy 20 percent to pay their taxes to provide the money for those programs. Bob, do you still believe there was electoral fraud now? Or do you think that maybe the wealthy have an axe to grind?
One point worth noting here is the letter written on the same page as Bob’s by Lauren Doty. This was a heartfelt appeal to save the music program in Walpole. I find it ironic that Cuba and Venezuela are actively supporting the arts programs in their schools while in the richest nation in the world many towns are facing cutbacks due to lack of money. Maybe this is one of the things that the Bush Administration doesn’t want the American public to learn about. After all, getting the rich to pay for their fair share of the taxes has allowed Chavez to provide free healthcare for everyone and generally expand the educational programs for everyone as well. Not only has Bush cut back on taxes for the rich, he started the ill fated war with Iraq that has cost each person roughly $1,000, which translates into $23 million for the town of Walpole! Think what we could do with $23 million!
Bob, thanks for bringing Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) into the debate. These are both very important organizations that I have been supporting for many years. They perform a vital service, namely, keeping a watchful eye on all governments, including the U.S. I don’t have the time or the space to respond to your other charges now, so let me leave you with this little bit of information. When you go to their websites you will see reports that express the concerns on various issues that they have for each country. HRW has about 25 listings for Venezuela, which is about the same as Canada and Italy, and Germany has about 50. The U.S. has about 1,200! AI has about 50 for Venezuela while Canada has 45, Italy has 65, Germany has 67 and the U.S. has 1,448! Not very good for the Bush Administration, Bob.
Bob, I’d be more than willing to address your other charges during the talk I’m giving on Venezuela at the Walpole Library on April 4 at 7:30 p.m. If you can’t make it, then I’ll respond with a letter on these pages at a later date.
Paul Peckham
Walpole
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Phil's Invitation to Venezuela Talk
Walpole Peace and Justice Group Sponsoring Talk on Venezuela April 4 Walpole Public Library
Dear Friends,
You are invited to a talk on Venezuela, sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group, on April 4 at Walpole Public Library.
Mr. Paul Peckham will speak about his trip to Venezuela this past January. The talk will focus on the social revolution that is taking place under the Hugo Chavez government as well as the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela. Over the past six years, Mr. Peckham has traveled to three other countries in Latin America: Chiapas, Mexico (home of the Zapatistas), Cuba (just before the Bush administration stopped all U.S. citizens from going there) and El Salvador (as a Presidential election observer). The purpose of these trips was to bear witness to the effects of U.S. foreign policy on these countries. There will be ample time for questions and an open discussion after the talk.
The WP&J speaker series is held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 at the Walpole Public Library. All talks are open to the public. We hope you can come.
Philip
[also, from the Walpole Times Calendar - click here]
TUESDAY, APRIL 4
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is continuing its speaker series at the public library.
This month’s talk will be given by Paul Peckham, who will discuss his trip to Venezuela this past January. The talk will focus on the social revolution that is taking place under the Hugo Chavez government as well as the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela.
The speaker series is held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the library. All talks are open to the public.
Dear Friends,
You are invited to a talk on Venezuela, sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group, on April 4 at Walpole Public Library.
Mr. Paul Peckham will speak about his trip to Venezuela this past January. The talk will focus on the social revolution that is taking place under the Hugo Chavez government as well as the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela. Over the past six years, Mr. Peckham has traveled to three other countries in Latin America: Chiapas, Mexico (home of the Zapatistas), Cuba (just before the Bush administration stopped all U.S. citizens from going there) and El Salvador (as a Presidential election observer). The purpose of these trips was to bear witness to the effects of U.S. foreign policy on these countries. There will be ample time for questions and an open discussion after the talk.
The WP&J speaker series is held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 at the Walpole Public Library. All talks are open to the public. We hope you can come.
Philip
[also, from the Walpole Times Calendar - click here]
TUESDAY, APRIL 4
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is continuing its speaker series at the public library.
This month’s talk will be given by Paul Peckham, who will discuss his trip to Venezuela this past January. The talk will focus on the social revolution that is taking place under the Hugo Chavez government as well as the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela.
The speaker series is held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the library. All talks are open to the public.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
click for larger imageSaturday, March 18, 2006
Iraq War 3-Year Anniversary
Today, we joined hundreds of thousands of people all over the world by protesting the US-led War in Iraq:
Iraq War protesters mark third anniversary (AP/Globe)
Protests mark Iraq war's third anniversary (CNN)
Thousands join anti-war protest (BBC)
Lots of events on the American Friends Service Committee will continue thru March 22nd:
Not one more death. Not one more dollar.
Events in Massachusetts
"March 19, 2006, is the Iraq war's third anniversary.
AFSC joins with global and local peace and justice groups in urging opponents of the Iraq war to organize events in their hometowns from March 15 to March 22."
There's a link on the AFSC web site to a terrific music video by Robert Cray filmed at a farm near Dover, New Hampshire, and showing AFSC's "empty boots" installation:
"Twenty" by The Robert Cray Band
Iraq War protesters mark third anniversary (AP/Globe)Protests mark Iraq war's third anniversary (CNN)
Thousands join anti-war protest (BBC)
Lots of events on the American Friends Service Committee will continue thru March 22nd:
Not one more death. Not one more dollar.
Events in Massachusetts
"March 19, 2006, is the Iraq war's third anniversary.
AFSC joins with global and local peace and justice groups in urging opponents of the Iraq war to organize events in their hometowns from March 15 to March 22."
There's a link on the AFSC web site to a terrific music video by Robert Cray filmed at a farm near Dover, New Hampshire, and showing AFSC's "empty boots" installation:
"Twenty" by The Robert Cray Band
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Taiwan Follow-up Articles
From BBC Asia News:
New Link added Mar 18, 06:
Taiwan protest at China 'threat'
New Link added Mar 13, 06:
Taiwan storm set to get louder
New Link added Mar 9, 06:
Japan-China row turns to Taiwan
China warning to US over Taiwan
Chinese TV cuts Ang Lee's speech
Taiwan's Chen under press attack
Taiwanese torn over independence
Communist debate grips Vietnam
HK press reacts to stalled reform
HK legislators vote down reform
Thousands march for HK democracy
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian scrapping the reunification council
New Link added Mar 18, 06:
Taiwan protest at China 'threat'New Link added Mar 13, 06:
Taiwan storm set to get louder
New Link added Mar 9, 06:
Japan-China row turns to Taiwan
China warning to US over Taiwan
Chinese TV cuts Ang Lee's speech
Taiwan's Chen under press attack
Taiwanese torn over independence
Communist debate grips Vietnam
HK press reacts to stalled reform
HK legislators vote down reform
Thousands march for HK democracy
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian scrapping the reunification council
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Zogby Poll of US Troops
Dale sent in this link to a TomPaine.com op ed piece about a new Zogby poll taken of our troops in Iraq:
"A first-ever survey of U.S. troops on the ground fighting in Iraq was released February 28, 2006. The findings are surprising, particularly the fact that an overwhelming majority of 72 percent of American troops in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year."
TomPaine.com Article
Zogby International Poll
"A first-ever survey of U.S. troops on the ground fighting in Iraq was released February 28, 2006. The findings are surprising, particularly the fact that an overwhelming majority of 72 percent of American troops in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year."
TomPaine.com Article
Zogby International Poll
- Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops want to heed Bush call to stay “as long as they are needed”
- While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy
- Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown
- Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11, most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks
- Majority of troops oppose use of harsh prisoner interrogation
- Plurality of troops pleased with their armor and equipment
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
[click for a larger image]Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Phil's Letter in the Walpole Times
The untold cost of the Iraq war
As the Town of Walpole faces a critical budget shortfall a compelling link can be made to the sky rocking cost of the Iraqi war, a war which the Bush administration started under blatantly false pretenses by manipulating intelligence data. Although the financial cost of the war pales to the destruction and deaths it has caused, the financial cost also directly affects the lives of every one of us as the federal government continues to cut budgets for human services.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has spent over $250 billon on direct military operations in Iraq since 2003, over and above the normal defense budget, which is already the highest in the world. The Iraqi war cost to-date breaks down to about $1,000 per capita or $23,000,000 just for Walpole based on our population. This amount is almost as much as Walpole’s education budget for one year. And according to Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, the 2001 Nobel economics prize winner, the full cost of the war could be one to two trillion dollars taking into account all long term costs.
We should demand that our congressional delegation work to end the war. This war is tragic enough with the number of Americans and Iraqi killed and wounded, with the destruction and civil war in Iraq, and with an intensification of anti- American feelings around the world. The war also is harmful as it threatens our nation’s capacity to fund critical human services and assist towns like Walpole.
Philip Czachorowski
Pemberton Street
[link]
As the Town of Walpole faces a critical budget shortfall a compelling link can be made to the sky rocking cost of the Iraqi war, a war which the Bush administration started under blatantly false pretenses by manipulating intelligence data. Although the financial cost of the war pales to the destruction and deaths it has caused, the financial cost also directly affects the lives of every one of us as the federal government continues to cut budgets for human services.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has spent over $250 billon on direct military operations in Iraq since 2003, over and above the normal defense budget, which is already the highest in the world. The Iraqi war cost to-date breaks down to about $1,000 per capita or $23,000,000 just for Walpole based on our population. This amount is almost as much as Walpole’s education budget for one year. And according to Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, the 2001 Nobel economics prize winner, the full cost of the war could be one to two trillion dollars taking into account all long term costs.
We should demand that our congressional delegation work to end the war. This war is tragic enough with the number of Americans and Iraqi killed and wounded, with the destruction and civil war in Iraq, and with an intensification of anti- American feelings around the world. The war also is harmful as it threatens our nation’s capacity to fund critical human services and assist towns like Walpole.
Philip Czachorowski
Pemberton Street
[link]
Paul's Letter in the Walpole Times
Trip to Venezuela suggests that the American public is being misinformed
On Jan. 23rd I traveled to Caracas, Venezuela as part of a Global Exchange Reality Tour. My reason for going was to find out first hand what really is happening in this country that seems to have the Bush Administration and Pat Robertson so opposed to the Hugo Chavez government. Keep in mind that the U.S. was found to be siding with those that participated in the coup to overthrow President Chavez in April 2002 and that Pat Robertson has advocated publicly for the assassination of Hugo Chavez. I have also read in the main stream media that Chavez has become "a strongman with near dictatorial control over the country."
Just as I learned from my trip to Cuba, the U.S public is being misinformed about what is really happening. To start off with, Venezuela arguably has a more democratic form of government than we do. The people not only vote for all levels of their representative government, they also have taken part in rewriting their constitution, which now provides for a popular referendum that allows the public a direct voice in legislation and the power to recall any publicly elected figure. This was initiated by President Chavez and as it ironically turned out the opposition forces used this process in an attempt to remove Chavez from office. As things turned out, Chavez won with over 60 percent of the vote and it gave him the mandate that he was hoping for to implement many of the reforms to help the poor in Venezuela.
As part of our tour, we traveled to different areas of Venezuela to see what was happening. Keep in mind that 80 percent of its people are living below the poverty level and that for decades they have mainly been ignored by their government and getting poorer while the rich have been getting a lot richer. We saw many government programs that have been put in place as part of a "preferential option for the poor." We visited a cooperative in Caracas that had a clothing factory that was the furthest thing from a sweatshop possible. The factory was well lit and well ventilated and the workers were obviously enjoying what they were doing. They were also being paid a livable wage. We also visited a government supported supermarket that sells food at below market prices.
We traveled to the countryside to learn about what the government was doing as far as its education, health care and land reform programs. In the area of education, the government has not only made changes that now enable all the children to get an education, they also provide a free breakfast, lunch and snack and keep the schools open all day so that students have access to various arts and sports programs. This allows parents the chance to work during the day. There is also a program that is for individuals who dropped out of high school to complete their education. On top of this, the public colleges are not only free, the government also gives financial support to those who would have to work to support their family and therefore not be able to study.
As far as health care goes, the government has set up medical clinics throughout Venezuela and is now providing free medical care to everyone! In the area of land reform, the government has not only distributed over 6 million acres of land to over 700,000 people, they have also provided technical support and training in mainly organic agriculture plus markets for what they grow. This will help improve the chances that these families will be successful. The goal of this land reform is to encourage people to migrate from the overcrowded cities and also to help the country to be more self reliant as far as its need for food.
When you compare what is happening in Venezuela to what we are experiencing here, you can see why the Bush Administration might be concerned. In contrast to what I’ve described above, we have seen small family farms struggle without any help, college costs sky rocketing as aid is being cut, schools cutting back on the arts and sports (or charging fees), around 50 million people without health insurance, and a government that represents mainly the interests of the most wealthy in our society. I must admit that I’m really perplexed about why Pat Robertson wants President Chavez assassinated, after all he is a major Christian leader and Hugo Chavez seems to be following Jesus’ teachings to help the poor.
When I look back on what I saw in Venezuela, four words come to mind – enthusiasm, pride, hope and grateful. The enthusiasm for this Social Revolution that most people expressed was practically contagious. They were full of pride at the work that they were given the chance to do. They seemed to now have hope for a better future – especially for their children. And they really seemed grateful towards the Chavez government for initiating these new programs that are based on a "preferential option for the poor."
If you want to help the Chavez government continue with these programs, there is something that you can easily do – buy Citgo gas. The main source of revenue for the Venezuelan government is its vast oil reserves and Citgo is the outlet in the U.S. for their oil. As many of you are probably aware, Citgo has also helped many of the poor in Massachusetts and in other states by selling oil at considerably lower prices.
I will be giving a more in depth talk on what I learned while in Venezuela at our Peace and Justice speakers series on April 4th (the first Tuesday of the month). The talk starts at 7:30 at the Walpole library.
Paul Peckham
Walpole
[link]
On Jan. 23rd I traveled to Caracas, Venezuela as part of a Global Exchange Reality Tour. My reason for going was to find out first hand what really is happening in this country that seems to have the Bush Administration and Pat Robertson so opposed to the Hugo Chavez government. Keep in mind that the U.S. was found to be siding with those that participated in the coup to overthrow President Chavez in April 2002 and that Pat Robertson has advocated publicly for the assassination of Hugo Chavez. I have also read in the main stream media that Chavez has become "a strongman with near dictatorial control over the country."
Just as I learned from my trip to Cuba, the U.S public is being misinformed about what is really happening. To start off with, Venezuela arguably has a more democratic form of government than we do. The people not only vote for all levels of their representative government, they also have taken part in rewriting their constitution, which now provides for a popular referendum that allows the public a direct voice in legislation and the power to recall any publicly elected figure. This was initiated by President Chavez and as it ironically turned out the opposition forces used this process in an attempt to remove Chavez from office. As things turned out, Chavez won with over 60 percent of the vote and it gave him the mandate that he was hoping for to implement many of the reforms to help the poor in Venezuela.
As part of our tour, we traveled to different areas of Venezuela to see what was happening. Keep in mind that 80 percent of its people are living below the poverty level and that for decades they have mainly been ignored by their government and getting poorer while the rich have been getting a lot richer. We saw many government programs that have been put in place as part of a "preferential option for the poor." We visited a cooperative in Caracas that had a clothing factory that was the furthest thing from a sweatshop possible. The factory was well lit and well ventilated and the workers were obviously enjoying what they were doing. They were also being paid a livable wage. We also visited a government supported supermarket that sells food at below market prices.
We traveled to the countryside to learn about what the government was doing as far as its education, health care and land reform programs. In the area of education, the government has not only made changes that now enable all the children to get an education, they also provide a free breakfast, lunch and snack and keep the schools open all day so that students have access to various arts and sports programs. This allows parents the chance to work during the day. There is also a program that is for individuals who dropped out of high school to complete their education. On top of this, the public colleges are not only free, the government also gives financial support to those who would have to work to support their family and therefore not be able to study.
As far as health care goes, the government has set up medical clinics throughout Venezuela and is now providing free medical care to everyone! In the area of land reform, the government has not only distributed over 6 million acres of land to over 700,000 people, they have also provided technical support and training in mainly organic agriculture plus markets for what they grow. This will help improve the chances that these families will be successful. The goal of this land reform is to encourage people to migrate from the overcrowded cities and also to help the country to be more self reliant as far as its need for food.
When you compare what is happening in Venezuela to what we are experiencing here, you can see why the Bush Administration might be concerned. In contrast to what I’ve described above, we have seen small family farms struggle without any help, college costs sky rocketing as aid is being cut, schools cutting back on the arts and sports (or charging fees), around 50 million people without health insurance, and a government that represents mainly the interests of the most wealthy in our society. I must admit that I’m really perplexed about why Pat Robertson wants President Chavez assassinated, after all he is a major Christian leader and Hugo Chavez seems to be following Jesus’ teachings to help the poor.
When I look back on what I saw in Venezuela, four words come to mind – enthusiasm, pride, hope and grateful. The enthusiasm for this Social Revolution that most people expressed was practically contagious. They were full of pride at the work that they were given the chance to do. They seemed to now have hope for a better future – especially for their children. And they really seemed grateful towards the Chavez government for initiating these new programs that are based on a "preferential option for the poor."
If you want to help the Chavez government continue with these programs, there is something that you can easily do – buy Citgo gas. The main source of revenue for the Venezuelan government is its vast oil reserves and Citgo is the outlet in the U.S. for their oil. As many of you are probably aware, Citgo has also helped many of the poor in Massachusetts and in other states by selling oil at considerably lower prices.
I will be giving a more in depth talk on what I learned while in Venezuela at our Peace and Justice speakers series on April 4th (the first Tuesday of the month). The talk starts at 7:30 at the Walpole library.
Paul Peckham
Walpole
[link]
Monday, February 27, 2006
News from Taiwan
X-Post from my personal blog -- an amazing report entitled The 228 Incident: A Report on Responsibility that claims former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was the prime culprit behind the 228 Incident:
Great Posts on 228 Incident
Also a link to more about the Report here:
[President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) with image of 228 victims]
Report blames Chiang for 2/28 incident
Possibly the best first person account available is from George Kerr's book, Formosa Betrayed -- the entire volume is online, and here is the relevant chapter:
The February Incident, 1947
Great Posts on 228 Incident
Also a link to more about the Report here:
[President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) with image of 228 victims]Report blames Chiang for 2/28 incident
Possibly the best first person account available is from George Kerr's book, Formosa Betrayed -- the entire volume is online, and here is the relevant chapter:
The February Incident, 1947
Friday, February 17, 2006
Write-up in Walpole Times
The film screening was written up in Brian Burns' "Around Town" section of the Walpole Times:
Film explores way to explore cycle of vengeance
Film explores way to explore cycle of vengeance
Monday, February 13, 2006
Taiwan Presentation March 7th
Walpole Peace and Justice Group Hosts a Panel Discussion and Conversation on Taiwan: “The Politics of a Democratic Island Nation”
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group will host a panel discussion and general conversation about Taiwan. Mr. Tom Tsai will lead a panel that will include Mr. William Wang, Dr. Tun-hou Li, and Ms. Mei Tsai. The talk and slide presentation will be given at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at 7:30 PM. The event is open to the public.
Last March 3, 2005, marked the 50th anniversary of the enforcement of the Mutual Defense Agreement (MDA) between the Republic of China (ROC) and the United States. This Agreement has been the principle instrument in the maintenance of a political and military standoff, essentially between the US and China, over the nation of Taiwan. Since the UN withdrew recognition of the ROC in 1971, Taiwan has existed without official status. In 1979, following President Nixon’s trips to Beijing in the early 70’s, the US officially recognized the People’s Republic of China, and the MDA was allowed expired and replaced by the “weaker” Taiwan Relations Act.
Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) Party maintained martial law on Taiwan until 1987, and was the only functional political party. Despite its unusual lack of diplomatic representation and difficult political history, Taiwan has prospered in these past fifty years, boasting a high-tech economy and the world’s third largest foreign reserves. In 2000, in the face of heavy pressure from China and in opposition to the KMT, the people of Taiwan elected a leader dedicated to democracy and progressive politics, President Chen Shui-bian; thus marking perhaps the first peaceful, democratic transition of power in Taiwan’s, or for that matter China’s, history.
The history and cause of Taiwan is less known in the US. For example, February 28th is a key date in Taiwan’s history, and marks another generational anniversary – the 228 Incident of 1947. It has been almost fifty years since the KMT brutally repressed a series of protests on the island, killing perhaps as many as 30,000. Many in the US would be familiar with Tiananmen Square or the Invasion of Tibet, yet few in the US know of the 228 Incident because Chiang was considered an ally.
Mr. Tsai will lead the panel. Mr. Wang will give a presentation on the history of the island, its people and its unique culture. Dr. Li will talk about the current political situation. Ms. Tsai will speak about the women’s movement in Taiwan. The public is invited to come learn about Taiwan, ask questions, and share their own experiences.
The next program in the series will take place on April 4, 2006, and will feature a presentation by Paul Peckham on his recent trip to Venezuela.
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group will host a panel discussion and general conversation about Taiwan. Mr. Tom Tsai will lead a panel that will include Mr. William Wang, Dr. Tun-hou Li, and Ms. Mei Tsai. The talk and slide presentation will be given at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at 7:30 PM. The event is open to the public.
Last March 3, 2005, marked the 50th anniversary of the enforcement of the Mutual Defense Agreement (MDA) between the Republic of China (ROC) and the United States. This Agreement has been the principle instrument in the maintenance of a political and military standoff, essentially between the US and China, over the nation of Taiwan. Since the UN withdrew recognition of the ROC in 1971, Taiwan has existed without official status. In 1979, following President Nixon’s trips to Beijing in the early 70’s, the US officially recognized the People’s Republic of China, and the MDA was allowed expired and replaced by the “weaker” Taiwan Relations Act.
Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) Party maintained martial law on Taiwan until 1987, and was the only functional political party. Despite its unusual lack of diplomatic representation and difficult political history, Taiwan has prospered in these past fifty years, boasting a high-tech economy and the world’s third largest foreign reserves. In 2000, in the face of heavy pressure from China and in opposition to the KMT, the people of Taiwan elected a leader dedicated to democracy and progressive politics, President Chen Shui-bian; thus marking perhaps the first peaceful, democratic transition of power in Taiwan’s, or for that matter China’s, history.
The history and cause of Taiwan is less known in the US. For example, February 28th is a key date in Taiwan’s history, and marks another generational anniversary – the 228 Incident of 1947. It has been almost fifty years since the KMT brutally repressed a series of protests on the island, killing perhaps as many as 30,000. Many in the US would be familiar with Tiananmen Square or the Invasion of Tibet, yet few in the US know of the 228 Incident because Chiang was considered an ally.
Mr. Tsai will lead the panel. Mr. Wang will give a presentation on the history of the island, its people and its unique culture. Dr. Li will talk about the current political situation. Ms. Tsai will speak about the women’s movement in Taiwan. The public is invited to come learn about Taiwan, ask questions, and share their own experiences.
The next program in the series will take place on April 4, 2006, and will feature a presentation by Paul Peckham on his recent trip to Venezuela.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Worlds Apart Screening
A tremendous film by Tom Jackson was shown at the Walpole Public Library tonight. Honest, personal, and hopeful. "Worlds Apart: 9-11 First Responders Against the War" follows Megan Bartlett from New York, where she was a medic at "ground zero", to Kabul, where she befriends Afghan medics and firefighters working in the shadow of the US occupation. Here is a link to the film's web site with clips and more:
Joe Public Films
Tom presented the film, and spoke about his experiences with the groups "Ground Zero for Peace" and "Global Exchange" (who handled the logistics of the trip). Tom was engaging and passionate; his stories were both troubling and inspiring. Ground Zero for Peace's stated mission is to make clear the difference between justice and vengeance. I was particularly taken with the words of a young lady in the film, Maggie Dubris, who was also a medic at ground zero on 9/11 -- she spoke about the need to end the cycle not of "violence", but the cycle of "vengeance". There's a clip of some of her interview here:
100,000 casualties in Iraq
And since 2004, the vengeance engine has been running at full speed: a cartoon can spark a series of fatal riots. At the same time, our Justice Department is apparently telling the President he can kill people on US soil. In vengeance, for every action there is a disproportionate reaction -- and people stop being rational beings.
With the film, Tom Jackson humanizes this situation, and changes the scale of this global schism. As the viewer, you see there is really very little that separates us as people. A medic in New York and a medic in Kabul both have to deal with messy ambulances, they both meticulously track their response times, and they both have to deal with the same kinds of human healing. Thanks Tom!
We have our own blog now; if you want to help moderate, post a comment at the link below. For those who may have missed it -- my "Peace Banner" post from the weekend. Check the schedule for events involving the banner on The Peace Abbey web site.
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