Walpole Talk on the State of Democracy in the United States - Tuesday, June 5, 7:30 PM at Walpole Library
Despite all of the extraordinary efforts of people’s movements since the founding of the United States of America, democracy is as fragile as ever. After decades of environmentalism the destruction of nature is accelerating, oil and resource wars are more dangerous than ever, and the gap between the world’s rich and poor is a deepening abyss.
Why do powerful wealthy interests and influential government officials, woefully outnumbered by the rest of us, always prevail in the end (with occasional relatively minor concessions)? What is it that we don’t know about changing the system, changing the culture, that we need to know in order to create a peaceful and livable world?
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group would like to invite you to come to hear Adam Sacks speak to these questions on June 5th at 7:30 pm at the Walpole Public Library. Adam is the director of the Center for Democracy and the Constitution. A non-profit located in Lexington, Mass. He is currently developing a think tank to explore how to change the current paradigm so that people around the world can survive the 21st century.
For the Walpole Peace and Justice Group
Paul Peckham
Monday, June 04, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
The War Comes to Walpole
A touching piece by Emily Rooney on the memorial service for Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich (27), and on the activities in Walpole and Norwood this morning, on Greater Boston: "First Lt. Andrew Bacevich - who was killed in Iraq last week - is buried today. We discuss the impact of the war on Massachusetts".
The video piece preceeds an interesting discussion between Ms. Rooney and two academics (from Tufts and the Kennedy School).
Walpole Mourns Lt. Col. Andrew Bacevich
direct link to vieo
More tributes in the MMS:
Video from WBZ-TV
Video from NECN
Story w/ video on WCVB
Story w/ audio on WBUR
Here and Now on WBUR
OnPoint on WBUR
There are a few articles from the Globe here:
"A somber service in Norwood for a fallen soldier"
"Following war tragedy, son and father revered"
"BU professor creates scholarship fund in memory of son killed in Iraq"
"Rescinding the Bush Doctrine (by Andrew J. Bacevich)"
Offer support here: "Guest Book for Andrew J. Bacevich"
From the National Desk at the New York Times:
Former Soldier, Now a Professor, Loses His Only Son to a War He Actively Opposed"
And coverage from the Herald:
"Hundreds line streets for fallen soldier"
And a few write-ups in The Daily Transcript:
"Hundreds line streets for fallen soldier"
"Mournful morning"
"His father staunch critic of war"
From the blogosphere:
Stram - done that: "They gave it all"
Free Our Fobbits: "Correspondence on Bachevich's death"
Jules Crittenden - Forward Movement: "Beloved Son"
ToughEnough.org: "Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, of Walpole, Mass."
Jeff Egnaczyk - boonville blog: "RIP, Andrew Bacevich"
Steve Clemons - TMP Cafe: "What is Andrew Bacevich's Son's Life Worth?"
A day of sorrow; a day Walpole will clearly remember for some time. It was amazing to see all the support downtown; obviously, Lt Bacevich's service and sacrifice have touched many. Our condolences to the Bacevich family.
The video piece preceeds an interesting discussion between Ms. Rooney and two academics (from Tufts and the Kennedy School).
Walpole Mourns Lt. Col. Andrew Bacevich
direct link to vieo
More tributes in the MMS:
Video from WBZ-TV
Video from NECN
Story w/ video on WCVB
Story w/ audio on WBUR
Here and Now on WBUR
OnPoint on WBUR
There are a few articles from the Globe here:
"A somber service in Norwood for a fallen soldier"
"Following war tragedy, son and father revered"
"BU professor creates scholarship fund in memory of son killed in Iraq"
"Rescinding the Bush Doctrine (by Andrew J. Bacevich)"
Offer support here: "Guest Book for Andrew J. Bacevich"
From the National Desk at the New York Times:
Former Soldier, Now a Professor, Loses His Only Son to a War He Actively Opposed"
And coverage from the Herald:
"Hundreds line streets for fallen soldier"
And a few write-ups in The Daily Transcript:
"Hundreds line streets for fallen soldier"
"Mournful morning"
"His father staunch critic of war"
From the blogosphere:
Stram - done that: "They gave it all"
Free Our Fobbits: "Correspondence on Bachevich's death"
Jules Crittenden - Forward Movement: "Beloved Son"
ToughEnough.org: "Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, of Walpole, Mass."
Jeff Egnaczyk - boonville blog: "RIP, Andrew Bacevich"
Steve Clemons - TMP Cafe: "What is Andrew Bacevich's Son's Life Worth?"
A day of sorrow; a day Walpole will clearly remember for some time. It was amazing to see all the support downtown; obviously, Lt Bacevich's service and sacrifice have touched many. Our condolences to the Bacevich family.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Press Release Joe Gerson Talk May 8th
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring a talk by Joseph Gerson on his new book “Empire and the Bomb: How the U.S. Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate the World”. The talk will be held at the Walpole Public Library, May 8th, at 7:30 PM. Joseph Gerson will show how the U.S. has repeatedly used the threat of a first strike nuclear attack to bolster our foreign policy and imperial ambitions. This policy of using nuclear weapons to threaten other countries has only served to drive the proliferation of nuclear weapons with these countries attempting to acquire their own weapons. Every U.S. president since President Truman has used the threat of nuclear weapons. Over 12 of these threats have been made in regard to the Middle East. For example, the U.S. has made implicit threats of using ‘bunker-buster” atomic bombs to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
In his talk, Joseph Gerson will give a history of the U.S. nuclear weapon policy, from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the present standoff with North Korea and Iran. He will also give a history of the anti-nuclear movement. He will show the difference between “arms control” and “nuclear weapons abolition” and why it is imperative that nuclear weapons be abolished. The talk is particularly timely given the part that the alleged nuclear weapon threat played in initiating the war with Iraq as well as the current crisis over North Korea’s and Iran’s quest for developing nuclear weapons.
Joseph Gerson is the Director of Programs of the American Friends Service Committee in New England and a leading figure in the U.S. peace movement. He has spoken at over 70 colleges and at international conferences like the World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima, the Japan Peace Conference in Sasebo, and the Swedish Peace Council. He is the author of several books and it is a great honor to have him speak in Walpole. The public is invited. There will be a book-signing after the talk.
Philip
In his talk, Joseph Gerson will give a history of the U.S. nuclear weapon policy, from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the present standoff with North Korea and Iran. He will also give a history of the anti-nuclear movement. He will show the difference between “arms control” and “nuclear weapons abolition” and why it is imperative that nuclear weapons be abolished. The talk is particularly timely given the part that the alleged nuclear weapon threat played in initiating the war with Iraq as well as the current crisis over North Korea’s and Iran’s quest for developing nuclear weapons.
Joseph Gerson is the Director of Programs of the American Friends Service Committee in New England and a leading figure in the U.S. peace movement. He has spoken at over 70 colleges and at international conferences like the World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima, the Japan Peace Conference in Sasebo, and the Swedish Peace Council. He is the author of several books and it is a great honor to have him speak in Walpole. The public is invited. There will be a book-signing after the talk.
Philip
Friday, April 27, 2007
WPnJ at the Peace Abbey
On Monday, the Walpole Peace and Justice Group held a planning meeting at the Peace Abbey in Sherborn. We all took a tour of the Abbey with Madeline:
The Abbey's courtyard features a monument to Emily (the cow) and a series of six walls covered with plaques containing statements of peace. It was a beautiful and warm evening, and we were able to enjoy the place with the setting sun.
An offering left at the monument to Emily.
Emily the cow escaped the slaughter-house by jumping a fence.
Madeline's Iraq War Casualties Project - each link in these paper chains has the name of an American soldier who has lost his or her life in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Abbey's courtyard features a monument to Emily (the cow) and a series of six walls covered with plaques containing statements of peace. It was a beautiful and warm evening, and we were able to enjoy the place with the setting sun.
An offering left at the monument to Emily.
Emily the cow escaped the slaughter-house by jumping a fence.
Madeline's Iraq War Casualties Project - each link in these paper chains has the name of an American soldier who has lost his or her life in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Links and Books on Israel-Palestine from John Spritzler
Here are some links to good books about the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Also, click here for links to my articles and books, many of which are about the Israel/Palestine conflict.
--John
BACKGROUND READING: PRO-ZIONIST AND ANTI-ZIONIST AUTHORS DISCUSS A JEWISH STATE
Articles by Pro- Zionist Authors:
Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001
by BENNY MORRIS
The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (Cambridge Middle East Studies)
by Benny Morris
Morris describes the Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, but does not condemn it.
The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
by Yoram Hazony
Hazony explains the anti-democratic foundation of a Jewish state. He also worries that many Israelis don't understand the importance of a Jewish state.
Perfidy
by Ben Hecht
Hecht supports the idea of a Jewish state, but was shocked to learn of the perfidy of Zionist leaders during WWII who betrayed European Jews for it's sake.
1949, The First Israelis
by Tom Segev , Arlen Neal Weinstein
I'm not sure if the authors consider themselves pro- or anti-Zionist, but they were the first to write the history of Israel's origin based on newly obtained archival records, and they challenged the pro-Zionist mythology.
Articles by Anti-Zionist Authors:
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine , by Ilan Pappe "This is a stunning and relentless collection of evidence. Pappe uses things such as military archives (opened in the 1990s), diary entries from Ben-Gurion, and oral histories from Hagana soldiers and Palestinians. He gives lengthy, village-by-village accounts of the destruction of homes and expulsion of residents. The expulsions were guided by files of the Jewish National Fund, which had been gathering intelligence data on the demographics of the villages for decades.
"It is hard to think of a book that is more opposite of a commonly accepted history than this one. According to Pappe, 1948 was not a desperate fight for survival by a surrounded Jewish enclave, it was a Zionist attack on the countryside. Most of the fighting stemmed from the Hagana's systematic destruction of 400 Palestinian villages. Most refugees were driven out BEFORE the main war started on May 15, 1948. Arab armies did intervene in a haphazard attempt to defend Palestinian sections (as set by the UN partition plan), but they were always out gunned, out numbered and out coordinated by the Hagana. Jordan, in particular, had a secret agreement with the Zionists to annex the West Bank in return for not joining an invasion of Israel. So the most effective Arab army, (and a Jordanian also commanded the pan-Arab "Arab Liberation Army") was not trying to destroy Israel, only protect its own designs on the West Bank and East Jerusalem." [a review on Amazon.com]
One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, by Ali Abunimah "Clear-eyed, sharply reasoned, and compassionate, One Country proposes a radical alternative: to revive an old and neglected idea of one state shared by two peoples. Ali Abunimah shows how the two are by now so intertwined—geographically and economically—that separation cannot lead to the security Israelis need or the rights Palestinians must have. He reveals the bankruptcy of the two-state approach, takes on the objections and taboos that stand in the way of a binational solution, and demonstrates that sharing the territory will bring benefits for all. The absence of other workable options has only lead to ever greater extremism; it is time, Abunimah suggests, for Palestinians and Israelis to imagine a different future and a different relationship" [from Amazon.com]
Sharing the Land of Canaan by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, who proposes for the region, one single multi-cultural state, in which the rights of all peoples of the region, Muslim, Christian and Jew, are respected and preserved, and those who have been displaced and disenfranchised be granted the right, under the United Nations Charter, and principles of humanitarian justice, to return to their homeland.
The One-State Solution: A Breakthrough for Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock, by Virginia Q. Tilley
The One-State Solution by Edward Said (January 10, 1999)
Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, by Israel Shahak
Apartheid Israel : Possibilities for the Struggle Within by Uri Davis
Davis describes in detail how the Israeli government officially discriminates against non-Jews and denies them their human rights.
FATEH - Palestinian Liberation Movement Palestine, 1/12/2003
This Palestinian organization position paper rejects the two-state "solution" and calls for "Return First, and Peace for Two Nations in One State"
Karma Nabulsi is a fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, a former PLO representative and adviser at the peace talks 91-93
Nabulsi reports, "Across the board, from the mainstream political parties as well as from the refugee camps, the petitions and the declarations have flooded in. Just read any half-dozen and you see immediately that they are unequivocal. For the absolute majority of the Palestinian people, the refugee issue is right at the core of the conflict, and it has to be addressed .."
What Price Israel? 50th Anniversary Edition 1953-2003
by Alfred M. Lilienthal
Lilienthal examines the controversial origin of a Jewish state.
51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration With the Nazis
by Lenni Brenner
Brenner has collected primary source documents revealing the collaboration between Zionist leaders and Nazis during WWII, based on their agreement that Jews and non-Jews could not live together in the same nation.
Dignity, Solidarity and the Penal Colony by Edward Said (September 25, 2003)
Zionism is the Issue: Building a Strong Pro-Palestinian Movement In the US By Lana Habash and Noah Cohen
Look Upon Your Works, Ye Israel, And Despair by Anne Gwynne
Sigmund Freud's letter to Dr. Chaim Koffler, 1930
Also, click here for links to my articles and books, many of which are about the Israel/Palestine conflict.
--John
BACKGROUND READING: PRO-ZIONIST AND ANTI-ZIONIST AUTHORS DISCUSS A JEWISH STATE
Articles by Pro- Zionist Authors:
Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001
by BENNY MORRIS
The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (Cambridge Middle East Studies)
by Benny Morris
Morris describes the Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, but does not condemn it.
The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
by Yoram Hazony
Hazony explains the anti-democratic foundation of a Jewish state. He also worries that many Israelis don't understand the importance of a Jewish state.
Perfidy
by Ben Hecht
Hecht supports the idea of a Jewish state, but was shocked to learn of the perfidy of Zionist leaders during WWII who betrayed European Jews for it's sake.
1949, The First Israelis
by Tom Segev , Arlen Neal Weinstein
I'm not sure if the authors consider themselves pro- or anti-Zionist, but they were the first to write the history of Israel's origin based on newly obtained archival records, and they challenged the pro-Zionist mythology.
Articles by Anti-Zionist Authors:
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine , by Ilan Pappe "This is a stunning and relentless collection of evidence. Pappe uses things such as military archives (opened in the 1990s), diary entries from Ben-Gurion, and oral histories from Hagana soldiers and Palestinians. He gives lengthy, village-by-village accounts of the destruction of homes and expulsion of residents. The expulsions were guided by files of the Jewish National Fund, which had been gathering intelligence data on the demographics of the villages for decades.
"It is hard to think of a book that is more opposite of a commonly accepted history than this one. According to Pappe, 1948 was not a desperate fight for survival by a surrounded Jewish enclave, it was a Zionist attack on the countryside. Most of the fighting stemmed from the Hagana's systematic destruction of 400 Palestinian villages. Most refugees were driven out BEFORE the main war started on May 15, 1948. Arab armies did intervene in a haphazard attempt to defend Palestinian sections (as set by the UN partition plan), but they were always out gunned, out numbered and out coordinated by the Hagana. Jordan, in particular, had a secret agreement with the Zionists to annex the West Bank in return for not joining an invasion of Israel. So the most effective Arab army, (and a Jordanian also commanded the pan-Arab "Arab Liberation Army") was not trying to destroy Israel, only protect its own designs on the West Bank and East Jerusalem." [a review on Amazon.com]
One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, by Ali Abunimah "Clear-eyed, sharply reasoned, and compassionate, One Country proposes a radical alternative: to revive an old and neglected idea of one state shared by two peoples. Ali Abunimah shows how the two are by now so intertwined—geographically and economically—that separation cannot lead to the security Israelis need or the rights Palestinians must have. He reveals the bankruptcy of the two-state approach, takes on the objections and taboos that stand in the way of a binational solution, and demonstrates that sharing the territory will bring benefits for all. The absence of other workable options has only lead to ever greater extremism; it is time, Abunimah suggests, for Palestinians and Israelis to imagine a different future and a different relationship" [from Amazon.com]
Sharing the Land of Canaan by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, who proposes for the region, one single multi-cultural state, in which the rights of all peoples of the region, Muslim, Christian and Jew, are respected and preserved, and those who have been displaced and disenfranchised be granted the right, under the United Nations Charter, and principles of humanitarian justice, to return to their homeland.
The One-State Solution: A Breakthrough for Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock, by Virginia Q. Tilley
The One-State Solution by Edward Said (January 10, 1999)
Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, by Israel Shahak
Apartheid Israel : Possibilities for the Struggle Within by Uri Davis
Davis describes in detail how the Israeli government officially discriminates against non-Jews and denies them their human rights.
FATEH - Palestinian Liberation Movement Palestine, 1/12/2003
This Palestinian organization position paper rejects the two-state "solution" and calls for "Return First, and Peace for Two Nations in One State"
Karma Nabulsi is a fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, a former PLO representative and adviser at the peace talks 91-93
Nabulsi reports, "Across the board, from the mainstream political parties as well as from the refugee camps, the petitions and the declarations have flooded in. Just read any half-dozen and you see immediately that they are unequivocal. For the absolute majority of the Palestinian people, the refugee issue is right at the core of the conflict, and it has to be addressed .."
What Price Israel? 50th Anniversary Edition 1953-2003
by Alfred M. Lilienthal
Lilienthal examines the controversial origin of a Jewish state.
51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration With the Nazis
by Lenni Brenner
Brenner has collected primary source documents revealing the collaboration between Zionist leaders and Nazis during WWII, based on their agreement that Jews and non-Jews could not live together in the same nation.
Dignity, Solidarity and the Penal Colony by Edward Said (September 25, 2003)
Zionism is the Issue: Building a Strong Pro-Palestinian Movement In the US By Lana Habash and Noah Cohen
Look Upon Your Works, Ye Israel, And Despair by Anne Gwynne
Sigmund Freud's letter to Dr. Chaim Koffler, 1930
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Is Jimmy Carter Right on Israel?
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group (WPJG) is sponsoring a talk by John Spritzler, "Is Jimmy Carter Right on Israel?" He will examine former President Carter's controversial book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," and address the question: "Does Israel practice apartheid policies?" Mr. Spritzler will describe the history and issues behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and propose avenues for a peaceful solution.
Mr. Spritzler is an author: "The People as Enemy: The Leaders' Hidden Agenda in World War II" and co-author of "On the Public Agenda: Essays for Change". He is also a Research Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health and a founding member of New Democracy. This WPJG talk will be held at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:30 PM. The public is invited to come and consider an issue that is critical to achievement of peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Spritzler is an author: "The People as Enemy: The Leaders' Hidden Agenda in World War II" and co-author of "On the Public Agenda: Essays for Change". He is also a Research Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health and a founding member of New Democracy. This WPJG talk will be held at the Walpole Public Library on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:30 PM. The public is invited to come and consider an issue that is critical to achievement of peace in the Middle East.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Peace Vigil 4th Anniversary of Iraq War in Walpole
Please join us for a peace vigil on Saturday, March 17 to mark the 4th Anniversary of the Iraq war and to remember the U.S. and Iraqi dead. We will be joining groups across the country in calling on the U.S. to end this disastrous war and bring our country’s troops home to safety. This war, which should never have been started, has caused four years of death and destruction. A 60-foot banner with the names of many of the more than 3,100 U.S. solders killed in the war will be displayed. We may also have a chain of rings with all 3,100+ names. Seeing the actual names of our dead is sobering as we reflect on the terrible human cost of this war. Over 22,000 other solders have been wounded, many with serious debilitating injuries. Iraqi civilian casualties are estimated to be as high as 600,000. The high financial cost of the war is placing a huge burden on the U.S. budget and will continue to do so for decades, limiting funds available for human needs. The direct cost through 2008 will be over $500 billion just for Iraq or about $1,700 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. The total cost will exceed $2 trillion.
A moment of silence with prayers will be held along with the reading of representative names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war. The vigil will be held on the Walpole Common, across from the Post Office, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Please attend for all of part of the vigil.
A moment of silence with prayers will be held along with the reading of representative names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war. The vigil will be held on the Walpole Common, across from the Post Office, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Please attend for all of part of the vigil.
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