July 31, 2004
1. Interesting commentary on the right-ward
shift of the Democrats
2. Interview with Wendall Berry
3. Why our vigils remain important
4. SOA funding continues
5. It sounds like it is more dangerous to be a woman in the service than
in civilian life
6. Billionaires for Bush
7. Scale of attacks on US forces has been under-reported
*****************
1. This writer returns to his home state of
Kansas, and reflects on how the Democrats have shifted from the
champions of the working class to the seducers of the wealthier
liberals, who can make much larger campaign donations.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-frank18jul18,1,3286333.story
(free registration required)
2. Wendall Berry is such a keen observer of
American culture/society, and a thoughtful critic. This is a recent
interview with him that touches on a number of important issues.
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0407&article=040710x
<http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0407&article=040710x>
3. Jimmy Breslin reflects on how the
occupation has gone underground, with the public face from Iraq now
Allawi rather than US military or civil servants. We need to keep up the
public witness, so people can't push it out of their minds.
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=17358
4. Despite the Abu Ghraib fiasco, the House
passed an appropriation that keeps the SOA open. This article reviews a
little of the history of SOA graduates. It still needs to make it
through the Senate, so there is time to call or write to our Senators
asking that the SOA be shut down, once and for all.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/19313/
5. Horrifying tales of sexual assault
perpetrated on servicewomen by their fellow soldiers.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/19134/
6. Check out this street theatre - very
clever. Should we plan a Billionaires for Bush Event at Peace Plaza some
Saturday this fall? I'm sure we can find some elegant clothes at the
Goodwill....
http://www.alternet.org/rights/19134/
7. The news might lead us to think US troops
are laying low, and the violence is primarily directed toward Iraqis at
this point. Not so, according to this report from Robert Fisk.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/073004D.shtml
July 21, 2004
1. Learning the Hard Language of Peace
2. Letter to the Editor, Anyone?
3. Does this sound familiar?
4. Bill Moyers on Democracy
5. Open letter to the Iraqi people
6. Support for war wanes among military families
*******************
1. An interesting article about why we don't
talk about war, but should, by a professor of military history at West
Point. She believes peace activitists need to learn a new language, that
of war, and begin to use it. You can check out the link at the bottom of
the article regarding how to talk about war, though I didn't find it as
useful as I had hoped.
http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/article/item_8606.html
2. Here's some good stuff for a letter to
the editor, disputing Bush's claim that we are now safer because of his
wars. Anyone up for it?
http://www.antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=3030
3. Robert Fisk reports on an Iraqi
government that controls Baghdad but not much else - sounds a lot like
Afghanistan.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=48646&d=20&m=7&y=2004&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion
<http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=48646&d=20&m=7&y=2004&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion>
4. Bill Moyers writes about the further
divide between rich and poor, and how money has so corrupted the
democratic process. This is a Sojourners article so there is some
theology thrown in.
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0408&article=040810
<http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0408&article=040810>
5. You can sign onto this letter if you like
- it will be placed in newspapers in Iraq.
http://www.lettertotheiraqipeople.org/
6. This article has to have the Republicans
undies in a bundle, given that the military has traditionally voted
Republican. We can only hope people keep learning more about what's
going on and start thinking for themselves.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A175-2004Jul20?language=printer
July 13, 2004
1. Anna Lappe regarding thought traps and
hope.
2. Is China Next?
3. Unclassified version National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq was
doctored
4. Very thought-provoking essay on trying to be neutral on
Israel-Palestine situation.
5.Scott Ritter on why the insurgency in Iraq will continue to flourish
6. This little piece is beyond belief
****************
1. Anna Lappe and her mother Frances Moore
Lappe have written a new book "Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small
Planet". This essay offers some positive ideas for activists, while
warning us of the traps that hold us back.
http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/article/item_8598.html
2. Good article by Chalmers Johnson, who
wrote the book "The Sorrows of Empire" - illustrates another form of
influence of Pentagon on foreign policy
http://www.centurychina.com/plaboard/posts/3669896.shtml
3. No one is saying who ordered it, or who
did it, but the classified version contained qualifying language and
even dissenting views which were eliminated from the one released to the
public.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=2026&e=3&u=/latimests/20040710/ts_latimes/keyrevisionsweremadetociadocument
4. This author argues that the balance is
tipped so far in favor of the Israelis that it is no longer possible to
try to maintain a neutral position.
http://www.counterpunch.com/christison07102004.html
5. According to Scott Ritter, the
adminstration and Pentagon missed a significant change in Iraq prior to
the war, whereby Saddam Hussein had been reaching out to Islamic
fundamentalists in an effort to solidfy his power.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/19190/
6. This is an unbelievable tale of what
people will do to curry favor with Bush and the US - from Jim Hightower
http://www.jimhightower.com/air/read.asp?id=11406
July 06, 2004
1. Who really gassed the Kurds?
2. AFSC Exhibit on Cost of War
3. Iraqi views of Saddam trial
4. Let's hear it for independent businesses
5. Critique of Farenheit 911
**********
1. Apparently the evidence has been
available for some time - it was likely the Iranians, not Saddam who
gassed the Kurds. Will this find its way into the mainstream press?
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0703-01.htm
2. Eyes Wide Open - an interactive
multimedia display, will be in Boston July 22-29.
http://eyes.peacechicago.org/index2.html
3. Not so surprising, that Iraqis are
ambivalent about Saddam trial, given the way things have been handled by
the US
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4963033-103550,00.html
4. Remember the Boston Tea Party? It was
directed in part toward big corporations and unfair competition. This
new organization aims to strengthen independent (local) businesses,
which are quintessentially American!
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0705-10.htm
5. This is a thought-provoking critique of
F-911 from a journalism professor - reminds me that we need to apply the
same critical eye to offerings from the "left" as well as the "right". I
find that I agree with much of what he says. However, I don't think
Moore set out to do an analytical piece, so it's not surprising that
there is little in the way of analysis. It is not his style.
http://www.counterpunch.com/jensen07052004.html
July 03, 2004
1. More political/military prisoner torture
scandal likely to be revealed
2. The Iraqi resistance
3. Robbery in Iraq
4. 14 Characteristics of Fascism
5. Sowing the seeds of civil war in Iraq
6. The Revolutionary War and Iraq
***********
1. Apparently a large number of detainees
are being held on Diego Garcia, a British "territory". It is speculated
that torture is being used routinely, with the knowledge of high level
officials in US and Britain.
http://www.ymlp.com/pubarchive_show_message_iframe.php?globeintel+179
2. Don't expect much change on June 30th.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0627-02.htm
3. They call it reconstruction, Naomi Klein
calls it robbery.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/062704E.shtml
4. Do any of these ring a bell?
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/fasci14chars.html
5. A political exiles perspective on how we
have sown the seeds for civil war in Iraq.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1253111,00.html
6. A little Fourth of July reading comparing
the American Revolution to the Iraq War.
http://www.independent.org/tii/news/040702Marina.html
