Open letter to President Obama,
You have been struggling with a dreadful task: deciding what the US should do with the war you inherited in Afghanistan. You are properly taking your time and analyzing anew what our country’s goals should be and how to accomplish them. You are being strongly pressured by military officials who have [...]
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By Greg Moses
CounterPunch / BobDylan.Com / TheRagBlog
CORPUS CHRISTI—The Bob Dylan Show this summer reaches its south-most destination at 27 degrees 48 minutes north latitude, half past four degrees into the Tropic of Cancer where fat velocities of rotation spin hysterical contradictions between centrifugal ups and centripetal downs.
Or if it’s not about cosmic number tonight why [...]
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Common Dreams
by Susan Van Haitsma
On Earth Day, I contemplated the pre-dawn sky, looking for shooting stars. The evening prior, my partner and I had scouted out a viewing spot adjoining a vacant lot just a few blocks from home. Though we live in a central neighborhood, the clear air and waning moon offered favorable viewing [...]
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By Greg Moses
Dissident Voice / The Rag Blog / CounterPunch
Austin TX — In the stone-walled sanctuary of Central Presbyterian Church, three hundred faithful settle into pews as the dean of Austin peace activism, Fran Hanlon, previews how the rest of the weekend schedule has been planned for this Winter Soldier event.
Fran’s partner at the podium, [...]
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By Susan Van Haitsma
An editorial published recently by the Austin American-Statesman admonished readers to view a trial in Minnesota as a “cautionary tale for activists.” Two men from Austin were charged with making explosives intended for use during the Republican National Convention last September.
Cautionary tales are important, and it’s fortunate that the explosives [...]
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by Susan Van Haitsma,
also posted at the makingpeace blog
On the eve of Veterans Day, four veterans of the Iraq war spoke on a panel at the University of Texas to offer a reality check to the jingoism surrounding most November 11th commemorations. Organized by the student group, CAMEO (Campus Antiwar Movement to End Occupations), [...]
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by Susan Van Haitsma
also posted at makingpeace
When Camilo Mejia walked into the auditorium of UT’s Garrison Hall where he was to speak last Thursday night, his first reaction was to shake his head at the large book-cover images of himself that were projected onto screens in front. He’s a humble guy, and self-promotion is [...]
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by Susan Van Haitsma, also posted at makingpeace
When I attended the presentation at UT on Tuesday evening by Daniel Ellsberg, the concept of freedom of conscience was already on my mind.
A few days prior, I had gone to a special commemoration of Gandhi’s birthday, where conscience was posed as a religious freedom issue by [...]
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By Susan Van Haitsma
September 21 is International Day of Peace, a day established by the General Assembly of the United Nations for “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all combatants to honor the day by standing down from battle. “I call [...]
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08
Sep
Reporting at the RNC
by Susan Van Haitsma (reposted from the makingpeace blog)
It was good to talk yesterday with our local CodePink folks who were just back in Austin from St. Paul. They described the full week of activities that took place surrounding the RNC, the barricaded ‘police state’ that made navigating the city a real challenge, the police (and national [...]
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29
Aug
Obama and the dream
I haven’t watched this much television since I was in grade school. I became glued to the DNC coverage this week, both televised and on the net. Of course, commentary about the proceedings abounded, from convention pundits and participants to bloggers on the scene and those watching from a distance. I enjoyed the opportunity to [...]
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by Susan Van Haitsma (cross-posted at her makingpeace blog at the Austin American-Statesman)
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, one of the greatest events in US history. The anniversary, remembered mostly for King’s “I Have a Dream” speech delivered to a quarter of a million people gathered in front of the [...]
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By Greg Moses
Somewhere down in their guts, and despite the bravado of Barack Obama’s campaign rhetoric, the people who yearn for “change” in America are asking for leadership that will not turn its back on the wisdom of peace makers like Saul Alinsky. But last week’s killings in South Ossetia seemed to grin back [...]
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by Greg Moses
OpEdNews
However we might assess recent anti-war statements by Russian human rights activists, Anna Arutunyan assures us that they are not to be confused with the “real” opposition in Russia. For the more popular alternative party, Arutunyan suggests that we look to the The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF).
“After all,” writes [...]
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by Greg Moses
OpEdNews / Red State Rebels / Dissident Voice
First they called on Georgia to stop the military assault on South Ossetia, then they denounced Russian aggression in Georgia. Human rights activists in Russia are speaking up for peace and justice in the Caucasus region.
Writing for the August 11 edition of the Eurasia Daily [...]
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By Greg Moses
OpEdNews / Dissident Voice
On Sunday Michel Chossudovsky reasoned that the US-backed attack on the capital of South Ossetia was designed to produce a humanitarian crisis. On Wednesday, President Bush declared that the US military would spearhead a humanitarian mission to Georgia, which the Russians had better not bother.
Now Chossudovsky is concluding that [...]
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By Greg Moses
The USA President makes loud threats about how he’s going to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Yet last week in Iran’s back yard an American-backed invasion proved that a nuclear arsenal may be the only deterrent to war that the USA President truly respects.
If the people of the USA want [...]
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Responses to South Ossetia Question Marks
Excellently written, excellently phrased. I enjoyed this immensely. Thank you for writing it.
–Sunnyvale, CA
************
Sir, thanks for this commentary today.
As a former US Marine/Vietnam vet, I hope they start a vets against war group and stop any further expletive wars before the expletive politicians can start more wars.
If the [...]
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10
Aug
South Ossetia Question Marks
Propaganda the Morning After
By Greg Moses
DissidentVoice / CounterPunch
There are two sides bleeding and too many dead in what is hopefully the aftermath of a weekend war in the Caucasus. And right on cue, the prime opinion space for the American mind is being occupied this Monday morning by a propagandist for perpetual war.
“Will Russia [...]
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Reuters is reporting that the Russians made two bombing raids directed at airports near Tbilisi, one in the morning and one in the evening. The report is confirmed by a photographer who “saw smoke.” Such targets might be construed as defensive if there are threats of continuing air attacks by Georgia, but one [...]
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