Friday, September 4, 2009

Peace is...




"Peace is a daily,
a weekly, a monthly process,
gradually changing opinions,
slowly eroding old barriers,

quietly building new structures."

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

War & Peace: Can we hope for change?

Since that fated day of September 11th,
this nation has been set on a perilous
course. Before that date we endured,
survived, and prevailed over threats
more visceral and immediate than
those we face today. But we had not
resorted to overt, unprincipled,
"preemptive aggression." We rejected
such action as immoral, unconscienable,
illegal, and beyond the pale. And then
came the "Bush Doctrine."

The Bush Doctrine is a proposal that America
has some inherent "right" to attack, invade, occupy,
or destroy any nation. This abomination betrays our
most fundamental values and beliefs. Such tyranny
flies in the face of our laws, traditions, and values.

The sad transgressions of the Bush/Cheney administration
should have been roundly rejected by the Obama administration.
Unfortunatley, this has not been the case. Barack Obama has
embraced these unconstitutional claims and seems willing to
violate extant US treaties and international law if it fits the
purposes of Robert Gates and other hangers-on.

It is time for the American people to move beyond hope to
demand real change in America. The misuse of our forces to
attack soverign nations who have not attacked us is illegal,
immoral, and does not serve this nation well. Since January,
our nation has participated in unprovoked attacks on a number
of nations. These attacks have precipitated civilian casualties,
made untenable situations worse, and sullied our reputation
and credibility.

"The New York Times reports that "The outrage over civilian
deaths swelled again over the weekend. Hundreds of angry
villagers demonstrated... after an American raid on a village
in the province on Friday night. The raid killed at least 16
villagers, including 2 women and 3 children, according to a
statement from President Hamid Karzai." ...Our attack
wasn't in self-defense; the Taliban isn't massed on our border.
They'd not been indiscriminately lobbing missiles, on a daily
basis, into Los Angeles or Chicago or Dallas. President Obama
approved the unleashing of the drones, recognizing that there
was a high probability civilians would be killed, including
women and children."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-hanft/the-first-civilian-deaths_b_161258.html

If Mr. Obama continues this extralegal behavior, our nation
will be seen as a rogue state and our current decline will
continue unabated. "Karzai warned the killing of innocent
Afghans during US military operations was "strengthening
the terrorists."
If we hope to find peace in our time, we must
establish a cabinet level department of peace, reject the
corporate enforcement tactics of the previous administration,
and demand that our leaders in congress and the White house
honor the letter and intent of constitutional and civil
law. We must rejoin our brothers and sisters as part
of a community of civlized nations who reject violence
and aggression as first resorts.

Mr. Gates has got to go. His history of abuse during eight
presidencies, has established that he is willing to lie to
congress, presidents, or the American people to advance
his personal agenda. We cannot afford such irresponsible
acts. These are tantamount to treason against the state.
The interests of the American people must trump the
interests and ambitions of corporate transnationals
who may often have little if any loyalty to this nation
or our people.

We need not suffer war. We can restore the peace.
But these goals require that we embrace the rule of
law and reject the Bush doctrine of unprincipled
aggression, in favor of a more hopeful movements
towards international peace, transnational
reconciliation, reconstruction, rebuilding, and in time...
we may find redemption for the atrocities perpetrated
in our name in recent times.

Tim Flanagan, Portland writer, teacher,
and facilitator at PeaceResource.org
Box 22, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034

Thursday, February 12, 2009

http://jewishpeacenews.blogspot.com

Who Profits from the Israeli Occupation?

Announcing a new on-line database: www.whoprofits.org

Now, more then ever, Israeli activists need a powerful
global movement to help us build a just peace in Israel/
Palestine. Looking for effective tools for ending the
occupation, we have launched a new website listing
companies directly involved in the occupation of the
West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan
Heights. The grassroots initiative, of the Israeli
Coalition of Women for Peace, includes a database and
an information center, and reflects an on-going two-year
effort, rigorous research, documentation and site visits.

This unprecedented on-line resource already lists about
200 companies, and hundreds more will be added during 2009,
offering an extensive and intricate mapping of the corporate
aspects and interests in the continued occupation. The website
offers a new useful categorization of all corporate interests
in the occupation, and exposes specific examples of direct
involvement of many international and Israeli companies for
the first time. In tracing ownership links it shows in detail
how some of Israel's largest corporations are tied in with
the occupation.

The database allows for advanced searches, such as: Which U.S.
corporations support the West Bank military checkpoints?
Which of the companies are listed in the London stock-exchange?
What settlements' production is formally registered inside
Israel? Note, however, that the on-line data is always partial,
always growing, and please send us any relevant information,
further requests for information or suggestions.

As Israeli activists, we feel obligated to try and educate
ourselves and others about the economic incentives and corporate
involvement in the occupation, but this is not enough. You
can support our efforts by continuing this investigation in
your own country, by informing others of our website, or by
sending us a much needed donation.

................................................................
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Jewish Peace News editors:
Joel Beinin
Racheli Gai
Rela Mazali
Sarah Anne Minkin
Judith Norman
Lincoln Shlensky
Rebecca Vilkomerson
Alistair Welchman
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Jewish Peace News archive and blog: http://jewishpeacenews.blogspot.com
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Jewish Peace News sends its news clippings only to subscribers. To
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http://www.jewishpeacenews.net

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