June 6: Gaza Solidarity Day

Saturday, June 6 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Israeli seizure of Gaza. Organizations and individuals in solidarity with the people of Palestine will be taking to the streets once again to demand: End the Siege of Gaza!

The world looked on in horror this past winter as Israel mercilessly starved and bombed the people of Gaza, killing around 1,200 Palestinians (at least a third of whom were children). The Arab world now refers to the dark days from the end of December to mid-January "The Gaza Massacre." Although the mainstream media no longer focuses on Gaza, the suffering continues there nonetheless. Using the pretext of combating terrorism, Israel has refused to allow in even one truckload of cement into Gaza. In other words, the city that was reduced to rubble still lies in rubble today.All these months later, people are still living in tents and are scarcely able to secure the necessities of life.

People of conscience around the world continue to raise their voices in outrage at this crime against humanity, and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Gaza. We will also stand for all Palestinian people's inalienable right to return to their homes from which they were evicted. Let your voice be heard -- join us Saturday, June 6, at 12 noon at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC (14th St. and Pennsylvania NW).

Sponsoring organizations include ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) and more!

Contact us at (202) 544-3389 or dc@answercoalition.org to get involved!

Music City Center Protest

Starting Tuesday May 4, 2009 a weekly protest will be held against the acquisition of land and construction of Music City Center, Nashville's proposed new convention center. We will gather on the public square in front of the Metro Courthouse every Tuesday night around 5:30 p.m. Metro Council Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. This will be a weekly protest of the plans to build Music City Center, Nashville's new Convention Center. If you oppose the purchase of land for Music City Center or the construction of Music City Center come join us to let Metro Council know we do not want them building Music City Center. We should continue to protest until they drop the idea of building Music City Center. When votes come before the Metro Council on this issue we will already have a protest in place. Tell as many people as you know about this. This is a major issue for Nashville, especially in these economic times. Please consider joining this protest regardless of you political affiliation.

www.lpmndc,org has a list of 101 reasons not to build a new Convention Center.

Global Network Annual Report

GLOBAL NETWORK ANNUAL COORDINATOR REPORT

Our 2008 GN space organizing conference in Nebraska turned out to be a great event that solidified our relationship with Nebraskans for Peace and helped put StratCom’s expanded mission of total warfare planning out to a much wider audience. That is what we want to happen after holding our annual event in a location that has a key role in Star Wars – more visibility for the local issue and a deeper working relationship with the hosts.



Just a few weeks ago we learned that the Czech Republic government had fallen, in some large part due to their very unpopular decision to accept the US offer to base a Star Wars radar in their country. This was an issue that the Global Network worked hard on to show our solidarity with the remarkable opposition movement inside the Czech Republic. Last year we brought one of the Czech movement leaders, Jan Tamas, to our conference in Nebraska and helped plan his speaking tour of the east coast afterwards. Many members of the Global Network joined in solidarity with the hunger strike that came out of Prague. I joined the strike for 14 days and when I finished Mary Beth Sullivan took over for 12 days. GN member Sung-Hee Choi, then in New York City, joined the hunger strike for two weeks as well and led many street vigils in support of the effort. On June 22 our Czech friends called for a global day of fasting and hundreds of our members and supporters in the US and around the world responded to our request to join the strike on that day.



On the morning of June 22 I received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Col. Robert Suminsby, Jr., then the base commander at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, N.M. I had just written about Suminsby in my blog reporting on a speech he had made months before to community leaders in Albuquerque calling for cuts in “entitlement programs” (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare) This was part of a larger Air Force public relations campaign that was running on TV commercials and full-page advertisements in major newspapers, like the New York Times, called “Air Force Above All.” The campaign made the case that more money was needed for high technology space systems and aircraft in order to protect our nation. In his call Col. Suminsby yelled at me, “I can see that you are not one who should be involved in deciding on our nation’s priorities,” and then hung up the phone. Not long after being elected, President Obama held a “responsibility summit” where he called for dealing with “out of control” spending on entitlement programs.



In December 2008 we sent a letter to newly elected President Obama with 700 signatures of US members and supporters of the GN. The letter called on him to scrap the proposed Bush deployments of “missile defense” systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. We put the letter, with all the signatures, into the latest edition of our newspaper Space Alert.



The Obama administration has requested that Congress grant the Pentagon a 4% budget increase in 2010, which would put the military’s annual budget at over $663 billion. While it does appear that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) might see about a $2 billion cut in their funding most of their program will remain in place.



At a recent MDA conference in Washington they acknowledged that the testing program for the Ground-based Midcourse Missile Defense program – or GMD – was not going well. In addition the MDA admitted that the Airborne Laser program was four years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. These two programs, and others facing similar problems, are likely to see some level of cutbacks in funding.

In a speech at the MDA conference Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) stated, “Missile defense is an important element of our nation’s defense. For example, it is a high priority to field effective defenses for our forward-deployed forces against the many hundreds of existing short- and medium-range missiles. Patriot and the Aegis BMD system are already providing such protection, and THAAD is expected to begin fielding soon. We will need more of these capabilities.”

Although Mary Beth Sullivan left the GN staff at the end of February, prior to her leaving she had done excellent work expanding on our message about conversion of the military industrial complex. Mary Beth traveled to three states in 2008 to speak on our behalf about conversion and continued to write extensively on the subject. She and I began helping a worker from the Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard in Maine where the Navy’s Aegis destroyer is built. Through this relationship we have been able to expand the discussion about conversion across the state and deep into the shipyard where workers now routinely sign petitions and put bumper stickers on their cars saying they want to build wind turbines.



My cable TV show, called This Issue, is now in its 6th year and still plays on eight Maine community access TV stations. In addition I am in my second year co-hosting a weekly radio show at the local Bowdoin College station along with BIW worker Peter Woodruff.

Also in 2008 I was invited to speak to students at the University of Maine-Orono and the Maine Public Broadcasting Network taped the talk and played it on statewide radio a few weeks later. This was great exposure for the message of the GN across our state.



For the second year in a row the owner of three radio stations in Jacksonville, Florida, a strong Navy city, is giving the GN over $5,000 of free radio ads on his stations. These ads feature the economic conversion message.



During the past year, with the assistance of GN board member MacGregor Eddy, a new GN video was created called “A Space 4 Peace.” This excellent documentary was shown extensively during space week.



Our annual Keep Space for Peace Week last fall concluded with more than 90 local protest actions in eleven countries. We continue to benefit from the extraordinary support of Carol Urner who gets WILPF to co-sponsor our space week. This year we are requesting that Carol be added to our GN Advisory Board.



Carol was also instrumental in creating a Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) working group within the GN and WILPF to support the creation of a new UN treaty banning weapons in space. She spent several days months ago walking the halls of Congress dropping off materials about PAROS and speaking with Congressional staffs.



In 2008 I traveled to 10 states and five countries speaking on behalf of the GN. Our administrative grant from the Wallace Global Fund has continued for a third year but they have told us that 2009 will be our last year. Fundraising in 2010 could become more difficult as the US economy continues its slide into a depression. Many non-profit organizations are experiencing financial meltdowns. For this reason I am taking a voluntary $100 a month pay cut as a way to help stabilize our budget in anticipation of harder times ahead.



One of the talks that really opened up things for us in 2008 was my invitation to speak at the Global Greens conference in Brazil. I was asked to speak about the space-militarism-climate change connection before an audience of hundreds from every continent. This talk then led to an invitation to speak in Portugal and opportunities to publish our message in various Green journals.



One important space related issue in the US remains quietly forgotten and that is the concern about toxic rocket pollution. It is believed that 20-40 million Americans may be exposed to the chemical called perchlorate. The fuel additive has seeped into the ground and water in dozens of states -- usually near military bases, production facilities, or NASA sites. That's how perchlorate has ended up in the drinking water and the food supply. I continually try to keep the issue alive in our emails, web site, blog, and newsletter.



As we move into the GN’s 17th year there is some hope in the peace movement that Barack Obama will bring real change. His words of invitation to Russia to end the nuclear arms race are but one example. But the reality we see on the ground is another story. The US encouragement of NATO expansion eastward to essentially surround Russia belies the talk of a new positive relationship. The August 2008 five-day war between Russia and Georgia was just one example of the possibilities of a new cold war as the US encourages Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia (all along Russia’s borders) to join NATO. The first official US visitor to Georgia following their shooting match with Russia was then Sen. Joseph Biden who later was chosen as Obama’s Vice-President. On his trip to Georgia Biden declared the US’s uncritical loyalty to Georgia and promised to rebuild their military.



It seems unlikely that Russia or China will agree to significant reductions in their nuclear forces, or stop their efforts to build anti-satellite space weapons, as long as the US continues its drive for global supremacy via NATO expansion and space control. The present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan do nothing to give Russia and China the confidence that the US is truly interested in real nuclear disarmament.



Bruce K. Gagnon

Global Network Coordinator

April 18, 2009

Presented in Seoul, South Korea



Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://space4peace.blogspot.com (Blog)

Will Metro "Go Green" With Mosquitos?

WILL METRO ‘GO GREEN’ WITH MOSQUITO CONTROL IN 2009?

Nashville, TN – Long before “going green” was fashionable, environmental groups and concerned citizens asked the Metro Public Health Department to place more emphasis on less toxic approaches to mosquito control. Successful models and strategies from Health Departments in other cities, like Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC, were cited to encourage the department to go in this direction. These cities choose to place a strong emphasis on reducing standing water and larvicide since the Center for Disease Control claims that reducing standing water remains the most effective and economical method of providing long-term mosquito control. They say larvicide is the second most effective way. (CDC West Nile virus Guidelines, August 2003)

“The Metro Public Health department has made a few improvements over the years but they still have a ways to go before their program could be considered truly proactive or green,” says Rachel Sumner, a citizen volunteer with the No Spray Coalition. “When the department finds that a neighborhood has mosquito problems, they should be using the most effective controls first. The department claims they are doing this, however, inspection of their records shows something quite different,” states Sumner.

Sumner examined the Health Department’s 2008 standing water inspection records to find out what they did to help manage mosquitoes before they began spraying last summer in Antioch. At the time, the department had three batches of mosquitoes with positive tests for West Nile virus in the neighborhood’s traps. The department’s records revealed that no standing water inspections were done in the neighborhood where the diseased mosquitoes were found during the three-week period before the department sprayed.

“With just one blood meal, a female mosquito can lay several hundred eggs. To effectively and economically manage mosquito problems, you must take the time to find and reduce or treat standing water where females lay their eggs. If you do not do this, you are fighting a losing battle and wasting precious tax dollars,” states Sumner. She added, “It is common sense to kill mosquitoes is when they are contained in water so you can prevent thousands of mosquitoes from becoming adults. It is much more difficult to kill them once they are in the air.”

Sumner shared the results of her research with District 29’s Councilwoman, Vivian Wilhoite, who represents the Antioch neighborhood that was sprayed five times last summer. Wilhoite volunteered to meet with the Director of the Health Department, Dr. William Paul, to request that the department enhance their program and be more proactive. During the meetings, Paul acknowledged some of the weaknesses in the program and promised that improvements would be made or considered. A few weeks after the meetings, he announced that the Health Department would hold its annual Backyard Inspection Day in Antioch where spraying took place last year.

Health Department staff and community volunteers, including Wilhoite and Sumner, will meet at Lakeview Elementary at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 25th. They will go door-to-door from 9 a.m. until noon offering approximately 200 homeowners backyard inspections to identify mosquito breeding grounds. In addition to the inspections, homeowners will learn how to reduce mosquito breeding grounds and how to protect themselves from biting mosquitoes.

Sumner brought the idea of Backyard Inspection Days to the Health Department in 2004. The department has used a Backyard Inspection Day to kick off the mosquito season each year since. Sumner commented, “The original idea was to hold periodic inspection days throughout the summer to help neighborhoods with mosquito problems. I’d like to see this happen this summer. The Backyard Inspection Day has been helpful to the one neighborhood they select each year and it is good publicity for the department. I look forward to seeing Dr. Paul’s new plan. I hope it is strategic and takes full advantage of more effective and greener approaches.”

Nashville Scientology Protest May 2nd

East Coast Anonymous Joins in Protest of Cult Expansion in Nashville.

Nashville Anonymous protests the expansion of the Church of Scientology in Nashville by hosting a regional protest. The Anonymous collective will converge on the site of the Nashville Celebrity Centre Ideal Org, slated to open April 25th at the Falls School Business Center. Anonymous from Washington DC, St. Louis, Colorado, Maryland and throughout the Southeast will participate in this important event to raise awareness of the dangers of the cult of Scientology.

This is a critical time for Nashville. The Church of Scientology has publicly announced intentions to expand in the area, and has purchased a grand new home to that end.[1] Nashville-based protesters have joined with critics from other areas to respond by informing residents of the cult’s criminal history, and their persistent disregard for the concerns and well-being of their neighbors.

In Clearwater, Florida, where the cult has its largest stronghold, downtown is dominated by Scientology. When they first arrived in the 70’s under an assumed name, they literally came with plans to take over the town. The FBI’s 1977 raid on Scientology offices revealed a number of nefarious operations intended to assert control of Clearwater, legitimize the church, and silence criticism.[2] One operation, “Project Normandy”, called for the collection of information on designated targets, information which would be used to “penetrate and handle [the targets] in order to establish control.” Despite the exposure of these plans, and attempts to halt them, the cult exercises enormous influence over the city today.[3]

Clearwater is the most dramatic and shocking example of the kind of influence that the Church of Scientology can attain, but it is not the only one.[4] On May 2nd, Anonymous will bring attention to these and other abuses by the Scientology organization through public protest and distribution of informational flyers and critical resources. Both the curious and the critical are welcome to attend.

The protest will take place Saturday May 2nd at noon at the intersection of 8th Ave. South and Edgehill. For more information, please visit nashanon.livejournal.com or contact anon.nashville@gmail.com.

1. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090321/NEWS/90321010/1022/NEWS05
2. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/01/us/religion-s-search-for-a-home-base.html
3. http://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/normandy1.htm
4. http://laist.com/2008/09/22/nonscientologists_live_on_l_ron_hub.php

For more information about the cult of Scientology:
www.xenu.net
www.xenu-directory.net

Kingston Springs Mother Honored by TJC

Kingston Springs Mother Will Be Honored as Mother of the Year
for Her Fight to Obtain Healthcare Services for Her Twins

Kingston Springs, TN – Brittany Wilson of Kingston Springs will be honored as a Mother of the Year by the Tennessee Justice Center at a reception on Thursday, May 7, in Nashville. The event is in recognition of her persistence in battling to obtain medical services for her twin girls and for extraordinary commitment to the health care of all children and families. Mrs. Wilson is one of six mothers and grandmothers to be honored by the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) as a Mother of the Year.

Brittany Wilson is the mother of 18-month-old identical twins Addleigh and Kennedi. The girls both have medical conditions that cause seizures, muscle weakness, and developmental delays. Neither Brittany nor her husband have health insurance through their jobs, so TennCare has been essential in caring for the twins’ special medical needs. In August 2008, around the girls’ first birthday, the family was notified that the girls’ TennCare coverage would be discontinued. Brittany Wilson appealed the decision and called TJC for help.

TJC client advocates immediately recognized that the twins were still eligible for TennCare. After a phone call from TJC to the Department of Human Services to correct the mistake; the girls’ TennCare was reinstated. Mrs. Wilson was grateful that her girls were protected, but wanted to ensure that all Tennessee children are protected from similar mistakes and oversights. She worked with TJC to write a letter to TennCare, sharing the twins’ story as well as experiences of other families. In response, TennCare described the new comprehensive training it has implemented to improve the accuracy of eligibility screens.

In her fight for her twins’ care, Brittany Wilson also spoke for many other parents struggling to receive care for their children. Currently, more than 640,000 children rely on TennCare for their health care.

“Brittany Wilson’s devotion to her children and her persistence in fighting for their rights is an inspiring example of how Tennessee mothers bravely stand up for the rights of their children who are sick or have disabilities,” said Michele Johnson, managing attorney at the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC), a non-profit public interest law and advocacy firm based in Nashville. “These caregivers face many obstacles in obtaining the care that their children need and that taxpayers have already paid for them to receive. Yet their vision and hope for their children is unyielding. Our annual Mothers of the Year recognition is a way to acknowledge their struggles, sacrifices, and devotion to their children.”

Mrs. Wilson said, “The thought of losing health insurance for my girls was terrifying. TJC helped me solve a problem I had thought was insurmountable, and put my mind at ease.”

The May 7 Mothers of the Year Awards reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Nashville office of Stites and Harbison law firm, SunTrust Plaza, Suite 800, 401 Commerce Street. The reception is open to the public. Mrs. Wilson and five other Tennessee mothers and grandmothers will be honored that evening.

The Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) is a non-profit public interest law and advocacy firm serving Tennessee’s families. It gives priority to policy issues and civil cases in which the most basic necessities of life are at stake and where advocacy can benefit needy families statewide. TJC works to empower its clients by holding government accountable for its policies and actions. TJC was established in 1996 and is located at 301 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN. For additional information about the Tennessee Justice Center and its services, visit www.tnjustice.org or call 615-255-0331.

TN Hate Crimes Bill Moves Forward

Tennessee Hate Crimes Bill Moves Forward

On a day when a jury in Greeley, Colorado, found a man guilty for First Degree murder for the killing of Angie Zapata, a transgender woman, and when members of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives defeated attempts to strip gender identity from H.R.1913, the Federal Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Tennessee's House Criminal Practice Subcommittee passed HB0335, which would add "gender identity or expression" to Tennessee's hate crimes sentencing enhancement statute. The committee approved the bill by a voice vote with no questions and no debate.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition thanks all of you who contacted members of the Criminal Practice Subcommittee. We especially appreciate the assistance of the Tennessee Equality Project for mobilizing their members is support of the bill.

We now move forward to the full House Judiciary Committee:

Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro), Chair, rep.kent.coleman@capitol.tn.gov
Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol), Vice-Chair, rep.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov
Janis Sontany (D-Nashville), Secretary, rep.janis.sontany@capitol.tn.gov

Eddie Bass (D-Prospect), rep.eddie.bass@capitol.tn.gov
Karen Camper (D-Memphis), Bill Co-sponsor, rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov
Vance Dennis (R-Savannah), rep.vance.dennis@capitol.tn.gov
Chad Faulkner (R-Luttrell), rep.chad.faulkner@capitol.tn.gov
Henry Fincher (D-Cookeville), rep.henry.fincher@capitol.tn.gov
Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown), rep.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov
Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), rep.judd.matheny@capitol.tn.gov
Mike Stewart (D-Nashville), Bill Co-sponsor, rep.mike.stewart@capitol.tn.gov
Eric Watson (R-Cleveland), rep.eric.watson@capitol.tn.gov

The House Judiciary Committee will vote on HB0335 next Wednesday, April 29.

We would also like to thank those members who are signing on as co-sponsors of the bill. Those who are joining Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis), Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville) and Larry Turner (D-Memphis) are:

Karen Camper (D-Memphis), Judiciary Member, rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov
Cooper, Barbara (D-Memphis), rep.barbara.cooper@capitol.tn.gov
DeBerry, Lois M. (D-Memphis), Speaker Pro Tempore, rep.lois.deberry@capitol.tn.gov
Hardaway, G. A. (D-Memphis), rep.ga.hardaway@capitol.tn.gov
Shaw, Johnny (D-Bolivar), rep.johnny.shaw@capitol.tn.gov
Mike Stewart (D-Nashville), Judiciary Member, rep.mike.stewart@capitol.tn.gov

In addition, we thank State Senator Ophelia Ford (D-Memphis) for joining Beverly Marrero as a co-sponsor of the companion bill in the Senate, SB0235.

Marisa Richmond
President

Caravan to Cuba

IFCO/Pastors for Peace Caravan to Honduras & Nicaragua
November/December 2009

In December of 2008 the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace announced plans to organize an historic solidarity and humanitarian aid caravan to Honduras and Nicaragua. Today we are announcing that this caravan is now scheduled for the fall of 2009. It will be in support of communities and non-governmental organizations that are working for social and economic justice. We will stand with these organizations as they work to create social and economic alternatives based on the principle of peace with justice and dignity for all human beings.

By pushing our dates till Fall of 2009 we will seek to incorporate even more communities across the US into networks of solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Central America opening new channels of education and cooperation.

En route to delivering urgently needed material aid, the caravan will travel through cities throughout the US and Canada to raise awareness about the effects of US foreign policy and the internal policies on the poor, indigenous and afro descendant peoples of Central America. This aid will include educational and medical materials.

The caravan demonstrates a people-to-people foreign policy which aims to support self-determination and sustainable development. This policy serves as an example to our own government, which historically has supported policies that discourage or actively suppress grassroots movements for progressive social change in the region. We believe that with this act of solidarity we can challenge the new administration to revise and change our foreign policy towards the people of Central America into one of mutual respect and cooperation on equal terms.

In November of 2009 the IFCO/Pastors for Peace Caravan will travel on 4 different routes to visit more than 30 US and Canadian cities. We will travel in school buses, trucks and cars loaded with medical and educational supplies donated by groups across the US and Canada as a collective challenge to the foreign policy of our government which continues to negatively affect the social and economic conditions in the region.
We will spend 8 days in Central America in fellowship with our brothers and sisters, visiting different communities and non-governmental social projects such as organic farms, health centers, youth and women’s collectives. We will seek to understand their realities in light of their different perspectives about the problems caused by U.S. foreign policy and the ways they have creatively responded. We will also learn of the severe impacts of the Central American Free Trade Agreements (CAFTA-DR) and the successes of a new model of inclusive and sustainable development within the framework of the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA). We will see the effects of the new wave of transition and cooperation led by Cuba and Venezuela that have assisted these countries with initiatives such as Operation Miracle and other social missions.

We will also meet with different communities of faith that have stood side by side with the poor and all the excluded in the people’s struggle. In these exchanges with progressive church leaders and activists we will learn about the historical and prophetic role many churches have played in providing a safe haven and a springboard for popular struggle and dissent.

Being in Honduras & Nicaragua will permit us to see first hand the medical missions Cuba has sent to these countries in response to various natural disasters and how they have come to the aid of millions of people who otherwise would not have access to healthcare. In this experience we will be able to see firsthand the effects of Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine whose graduates have returned to work in their home countries.

IFCO/Pastors for Peace Caravan schedule

Nov 12 – 22 Caravan routes - educational events and aid collections in the US and Canada.

Nov 23 – 24 Orientation

Nov 25 – Dec 1 Border crossing and travel to Central America

Dec 2 – 9 Educational and cultural program in Honduras & Nicaragua.

JOIN US!

You can join the caravan as we pass through your community. Many past caravanistas say the time traveling through the US, meeting and staying with local community activists across the US, is as important a part of the experience as the time in Central America.

Ways you can get involved

• Come as a caravanista - contact us for an application

• Recruit other caravanistas - get them to request an application form

• Get involved locally - host a caravan event in your community – email us at
p4p@igc.org for a local contact - and if there isn't one, you or your group can
take the initiative to host the caravan!

• Collect material aid - let us know so we can send you the aid information packet

• Help out as a volunteer in the IFCO office in New York, or in your community.

--
Manolo E. De Los Santos
Project Coordinator
IFCO/Pastors for Peace
Tel. 212.926.5757
Fax. 212.926.5842
e-mail: p4p@igc.org
www.IFCOnews.org

IFCO/PASTORS FOR PEACE
418 West 145th Street, 3-FL.
New York NY 10031
tel: 212.926.5757 - fax 212.926.5842 - e-mail ifco@igc.org

Gorbachev Critical of US Nuclear Policy

http://wire.antiwar.com/2009/04/16/gorbachev-us-military-power-blocks-no-nukes/
Gorbachev: US military power blocks `no nukes'

President Barack Obama's call for a nuclear weapons-free world is
welcome, but the huge U.S. defense budget may prove an "insurmountable
obstacle" to reaching that goal, former Soviet President Mikhail S.
Gorbachev said Thursday.


Talk of nuclear disarmament would be "just rhetorical" if other
nations were asked to give up nukes while the United States maintains
an overwhelming conventional military superiority, Gorbachev said.
What's needed, he said, are talks to "demilitarize" world politics.

Gorbachev, last leader of the now-defunct Soviet Union, helped
inaugurate two days of discussions on nuclear disarmament involving
some 100 former and current international leaders, under the
sponsorship of the Italian Foreign Ministry, the U.S.-based
organization Nuclear Threat Initiative and Gorbachev's own World
Political Forum.

The U.S. contingent was led by former Secretary of State George P.
Shultz, former Defense Secretary William Perry and ex-Sen. Sam Nunn of
Georgia..

In an afternoon of talks, conference participants repeatedly applauded
the positions Obama has taken on the nuclear future, including his
unprecedented joint statement April 1 with Russian President Dmitri
Medvedev that the two leaders had "committed our two countries to
achieving a nuclear free world."

Egyptian diplomat Nabil Fahmy recalled a different time.

"In the 1970s, when we said we wanted a nuclear-free world, we were
laughed out of the room. It was as if today I took this chair and
threw it into that chandelier," he told fellow conferees in a grand
meeting room at the Italian ministry. "I am pleased and honored that
we are discussing this seriously now."

Shultz, 88, President Ronald Reagan's secretary of state in 1982-89,
called nuclear abolition "an idea whose time has come." But, he added,
"time is not on our side. The key phrase must be `careful urgency.'"

Gorbachev, 78, who once bargained with Reagan over possibly
eliminating nuclear arsenals, said the major nuclear powers only
recently have recognized that "the current situation is untenable" — a
world with more than 23,000 atomic warheads, 95 percent of them in
U.S. and Russian hands.

But a "militarized" world without nuclear weapons would also be
untenable, he suggested, since it would leave other nations
potentially vulnerable to U.S. military power.

"Defense budgets far exceed reasonable security needs," Gorbachev
said.. "The United States spends on military purposes almost as much
as the rest of the world put together." U.S. military spending totals
more than $600 billion this year.

"Military superiority would be an insurmountable obstacle to ridding
the world of nuclear weapons," the ex-Soviet president said. "Unless
we discuss demilitarization of international politics, the reduction
of military budgets, preventing militarization of outer space, talking
about a nuclear-free world will be just rhetorical."

Asked about Gorbachev's call for conventional arms negotiations, Perry
said talks on nuke control could still go ahead independently.

"Many things need to happen in parallel with nuclear disarmament," he
said. "If there is no solution to all of these problems it does not
mean that you don't proceed on nuclear arms control."

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://space4peace.blogspot.com (Blog)

Nashville UN Annual Dinner

Nashville United Nations Association
http://una-nashville.org/

Joe Sills is a retired senior official from the United Nations secretariat. During his tenure at the UN he was press spokesman for Secretaries-General Perez de Cuellar and Boutros-Ghali and Director of the UN's Washington office. Upon his retirement he returned to his hometown of Nashville where he now serves as a member of the UNA-Nashville Board. Mr. Sills will discuss the prospects for US-UN relations in the Obama administration, contrasting them with the previous administration. The issues he will cover include human rights, UN peacekeeping, US participation in various treaty regimes, and payment of US financial obligations to the UN.)

ANNUAL SPRING MEETING & DINNER
May 5, 2009
5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
US-UN Relations in the Administration of President Obama


Joe Sills
Belmont United Methodist Church (Community Center)
21st Avenue South at Acklen in Hillsboro Village
Reception 5:30, Dinner 6:00, Program 7:00 pm
Reservation Required

Call (615) 870-8446 or email una-event@bellsouth.net
By noon on Sunday, May 3rd
Cost: $16.00 for adults and $12.00 for students
A vegetarian option will be available.

Gay Sites Filtered from TN Students

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/04/pro-gay-sites-f.html

Public schools in Tennessee are filtering access to online websites
discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, but are not
blocking sites advocating "reparative" therapy to change their lifestyle.
. . . . . . "When I found out about this web-filtering software, I wasn't
looking for anything sexual or inappropriate, I was looking for
information about scholarships for LGBT students, and I couldn't get to
it because of this software," said Andrew Emitt, a 17-year-old Central
High senior in Knoxville.

J.E. McMurtry Begins Recycling Program

News from Madison, Tennessee

In an effort to be green and take a hands on approach in helping to save the environment J.E. McMurtry Disposal has decided to start a recycling program aimed at individuals and businesses on the North side of Nashville in Madison, Goodlettsville, Rivergate, and Hermitage areas. We are hopeful that people will sign up to be a part of our new recycling program so that we can divert trash out of landfills and start recycling in order to do our part to save the planet. We will be offering once a month curbside recycling for the low price of $10 a month. If they are already a customer of ours through our trash disposal or if they become one, then we can offer them a cheaper trash disposal service rate than what we normally charge if they become a recycling customer as well. We will furnish any customer who signs up with us under this program a 96 gallon green cart for their recyclables.

Restore Justice

Restore Justice for Politically Motivated Prosecutions
http://RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com
A VelvetRevolution.us Campaign

Under the Bush administration, the Justice Department was driven by
ideology, and prosecutions were often used to settle scores and
intimidate the opposition. In fact, the GOP, under the direction of Karl
Rove, used the DoJ to target political enemies including Democratic
contributors and those who were a threat to GOP electoral gains and big
business interests. The Department was used as an arm of the White House
to destroy these Democrats. This political profiling resulted in the
criminal prosecution of many on the enemies list, including Alabama
Governor Don Siegelman and trial lawyer Paul Minor.

Barack Obama and Eric Holder promised to return justice to the Justice
Department and free the department from politics. We are now insisting
that that promise be fulfilled by righting the wrongs of political
profiling and prosecutions under the previous administration. We call on
Attorney General Holder to immediately vacate the convictions of
Siegelman and Minor, to investigate and identify others who have been
politically prosecuted, and to vacate their convictions. Political
profiling, like racial profiling, is wrong; when it results in a
criminal prosecution, it constitutes prosecutorial misconduct. Our
letter to AG Holder, endorsed by organizations representing hundreds of
thousands of citizens and signed by many patriotic Americans, makes
clear that Mr. Holder must act quickly to restore justice at the
Department of Justice.

We ask other organizations to sign on to this campaign by sending an
email to RestoreJusticeAtJustice@velvetrevolution.us. Individuals can
sign on here:
http://RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com

ANSWER Demands Extradition of Carriles

U.S. indictment links Luis Posada Carriles
to the murder of Fabio di Celmo

On April 8, the U.S. government indicted terrorist Luis Posada Carriles for lying about his role in the 1997 hotel bombings in Havana, which killed Italian tourist Fabio Di Celmo. For the first time, the U.S. government has actually acknowledged that Posada is a terrorist.

However, Posada's indictment for lying does not go far enough. He must be tried not only for his false statements, but for his acts of terrorism -- producing the bombs and hiring the mercenaries to plant them in the Havana hotels in 1997, and for his role in masterminding the Oct. 1976 mid-air bombing of Cubana Flight 455, killing 73 people. Washington has been stonewalling that extradition request since Posada entered the U.S. in March, 2005.

In a press conference held on April 9, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition announced a new letter-writing campaign directed to the Obama Administration and Congress, demanding Posada's extradition. A similar campaign in 2005 generated 75,000 letters and emails. Join the campaign by clicking here.

Send your letter today, before Posada’s arraignment on Apr. 17, in El Paso, on the charges of perjury. Let Congress, President Obama, Attorney General Holder and Secretary of State Clinton know that the U.S. government must not continue to harbor the most notorious terrorist in the western hemisphere.

That same day, at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has stated he will publicly call for Posada’s extradition to Venezuela, to face trial for the murder of the 73 people in the Cubana plane bombing.

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition also demands the immediate freedom of the Cuban Five, who were railroaded into United States prisons over 10 years ago, because of their work in defending Cuba from the U.S.-backed terrorists like Posada Carriles.

Mountain Justice Summer Camp 2009

MOUNTAIN JUSTICE SUMMER 2009 CAMP OUT MAY 16 – 22
COAL IS DIRTY, DANGEROUS AND DEPLETING!

Y’all are formally invited to the 5th annual Mountain Justice Summer camp where activist and organizers come from all over to learn, educate, refresh and party to celebrate a summer of resistance to the pernicious process know as strip mining.

Join us! at this years camp in beautiful Pipestem West Virginia. You will be surrounded by forest and friends—and the heart of the resistance movement against the destruction of the magnificent ancient majestic mountains which surround you.

Join us! as this camp kicks off the now annual summer campaign of resistance in the Appalachia bioregion to protect some of the oldest watersheds on earth. Come join us as we celebrate 5 years of continuous non stop resistance to the forces that would lay waste to our land and the people which belong to it.

Join us as we seek to take advantage of the changing political climate to create the pressure and visible resistance that will make it possible to capitalize on that climate.

After 5 years of resistance Mountain Justice now is at the cusp of making gains dreamed of during the darkest days of the Bush presidency. Now the agency heads are no longer from the industry they are supposed to regulate. Now agencies are being captured=2
0back from the industries that owned them up to now. Now is the time for us to take back the losses of the Bush years.

We are going to stop strip mining for coal with YOUR HELP. Come and help us forge a new energy future. Coal is a 19th century technology that hired a 20th century PR firm but this year we will rock the national with the truth that THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL!

Our planet is tied to the same crossroads as our species. As climate change becomes more damaging, as we gasp in cities dying deaths of slow asphyxiation from coal pollution as and entire community is wiped out by the toxic ash byproduct of this 19th century technology now is when we weigh in and make our choice.

Help us forge a new energy policy for our mountains, the planet the people which inhabit it. Now is the time, distance, speed and place where if we push back hard enough we can not only take back what was done during the Bush years—we can push forward into a new cleaner future.

Coal is dirty, dangerous and depleting is our message. Come join us to play, sing, learn and prepare to make a new path for our species. We need you now more than ever before because now is the time. We need writers, filmers, teachers, lawyers, artist, fishermen, 4 wheeler enthusiasts. If you have any skill—and are willing to work hard for the mountains of Appalachia we need you!

Help us preserve the most valuable resource of all—our highland watersheds. If you think the war
s for oil are bloody—wait till you see the wars for water. Appalachia is the Saudi Arabia of WATER and it is that resource which the future is going to be most grateful when we end strip mining and the resulting annihilation of highland watersheds.

Please come prepared to camp—more importantly come with respect and a willingness to learn and work. We have fun—but this camp is a huge tool in the resistance and it’s a tool we need to do what its designed for—making strip mine corporations a living hell. We need people that are autonomous and can take care of themselves. You are coming into the Appalachian Mountains with a distinct culture which you will do fine with if you just come with respect.

If your even curious goto our website at mountainjustice.org and see what we are about. At the very least at the end of the week you will leave with new friendships, new knowledge and perhaps some new skills to help in the fight.

So join us! Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Aunts and Uncles students and teachers. We need an entire broad range of experience and have everything ranging from tent space to comfortable indoor lodge space and a massive kitchen. You will be comfortable, well fed, entertained and will walk away with an entire skill set.

Y'all come!

Mountain Justice
Information Services
(MJIS)
mountainjusticesummer.org

Who Are the Real Con Artists?

by Ron Wall
rwaldron@stny.rr.com

Persons of any level of intelligence are vulnerable to deception by experienced con artists. Confidence tricks exploit human weaknesses like greed, dishonesty, vanity, but also virtues like honesty, compassion, or a naïve expectation of good faith on the part of the con artist. Just as there is no typical profile for swindlers, neither is there one for their victims. Virtually anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes. … Certainly victims of high-yield investment frauds may possess a level of greed which exceeds their caution as well as a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, not all fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deceptive individuals looking to make a quick dollar. Nor are all fraud victims naive, uneducated, or elderly. A confidence trick or confidence game (also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, hustle, scam, scheme, or swindle) is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. Con artists make money through deception. They lie, cheat and fool people into thinking they've happened onto a great deal or some easy money, when ­they're the ones who'll be making money. If that doesn't work, they'll take advantage of our weaknesses -- loneliness, insecurity, poor health or simple ignorance. The only thing more important to a con artist than perfecting a con is perfecting a total lack of conscience. What does the average con artist look like? Despite what you may think, he isn't always a shady-looking character. A con artist is an expert at looking however he needs to look. If the con involves banking or investments, the con artist will wear a snappy suit. If it involves home improvement scams, he'll show up wearing well-worn work clothes. Even the basic assumption that the con is a "he" is incorrect: there are plenty of con women too. It would be impo­ssible to catalogue every con, because con artists are inventive. While many cons are simply variations on ones that are hundreds of years old, new technologies and laws give con artists the opportunity to create original scams. Many cons tend to fall into a few general categories, however: street cons, business cons, Internet cons, health cons and self improvement cons. Tired of working for your money? Cheat the system and cheat other people by becoming a con artist! Scam and swindle your way to the top. Become a preacher, politician, or a used car salesman, you will be well on your way.

Local Green in New Play

Martin Holsinger, co chair of the Green Party of Tennessee, producer of the Green Hour on WRFN Radio Free Nashville and blogger on Brother Martin blogspot is making his stage debut this month in "Stand and Deliver - an Exploration of Manhood" produced locally by the same production cast that produced "Read Our Lips." Holsinger will perform three songs and deliver a monologue in the two hour production which is open April 24th at the Little Hamilton Perfomance space.

What is the definition of "Man"? Who really identifies or completely rejects
that standard? How do men deal with molestation, pornography, and
stereotypes? These are just a few of the questions posed and answered by
"Stand and Deliver: An Exploration of Manhood". Inspired by nationally known
"The Vagina Monologues" and the local production "Read Our
Lips",
this two hour show created by some of Nashville's brightest minds explores
different interpretations of masculinity by modern society and more. All
pieces are original and written by the cast, which includes men and women.
Covering both comedic and serious topics, this show has something to offer
everyone.

"Stand and Deliver" is a fundraiser for the Sexual Assault
Center,
a local facility which provides sexual assault services for people of all
genders, ages, and financial classes. Their mission is "to end sexual
violence and provide healing for children, adults, and families affected by
sexual assault through counseling and education." See above link for more
information.

"Stand & Deliver" performances will be:
* Friday, April 24 @ Little Hamilton , 7pm
1318 Little Hamilton Ave., Nashville, TN 37203
* Saturday, April 25 @ Revive,
7pm
1703 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37203
* Sunday, April 26 @ Mad Donna's , 1pm
1313 Woodland St., Nashville, TN 37206

Tickets are a special donation of $10 to the Sexual Assault Center, cash and
check accepted. Reservations: 615-945-2856 or
Stand.And.Deliver.Nashville@... .

Nutshell Republican Agenda

NUTCASE REPUBLICAN AGENDA IN A NUTSHELL...
by Richard Aberdeen

Besides pretending they care about the unborn while screwing the already born, if you examine the Republican agenda closely, what it really amounts to is, "we don't believe in spending tax dollars to actually help taxpayers". The agenda of the Republican Party is to use tax dollars for enhancing the bottom-line of the military industrial complex and otherwise, to enrich corporations at the expense of everybody else. Any use of taxpayer dollars that does anything else is branded as "socialism". Use of tax dollars for education is pretended to be big on their agenda, but they consistently lobby against and vote against increased spending for education when such bills come up in Congress, as they recently did regarding Obama's spending bill. Whatever they can't elimnate due to political popularity, such as Medicare and social security, they try to "reform" into oblivion, by creating huge government waste "reform" legislation, designed to pour trillions into big pharma and other corporate-donor pockets

The real agenda of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Shaun Hannity and Bill O'Reily, is to convince average Joe Americans that taxes should never be used to actually help them; any use of taxpayer dollars that will actually benefit average taxpayers is branded as "socialism" over and over again, the new all-purpose "red scare" derogatory term of the 21st Century.


Thank You, Sincerely
Richard Aberdeen
Freedom Tracks Records
615-889-1669 - 800-992-8084
richard@freedomtracks.com
www.FreedomTracks.com

Church: Where Discrimination Begins

by Ron Wall
rwaldron@stny.rr.com

Tax exemption is unfair and needs to end totally. It clearly is said that we should pay our taxes. Why should anyone’s stocks, bonds, and real estate be tax exempt. Charity is to be for the poor, but they rarely see it. Only 10 percent and less ever reaches the needy. But wealth has been made by a large number of greedy persons from contributions. Talk about a fraud system with no audits Though the measure is rarely enforced, the political activism of some conservative Christians over the past two decades has caused religious and political liberals to demand that the tax-exempt status of some conservative ministers be revoked. Fact being that all should be revoked. Any way you slice it, this is a government subsidy of religion. People who may not share a particular faith, or any faith, are thus forced to contribute to ideas with which they might disagree. Thomas Jefferson said of such a practice: "Almighty God has created the mind free. ... to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."


Churches may now hold weeknight political forums at which candidates may speak and answer questions. They are prohibited, however, from endorsing candidates from the pulpit, or actively lobbying for or against legislation. We all know the real reality. We would not be in the serious situation we are in today if it were not for the lobbying and complete support for the actions of the Republican Party, Israel, and AIPAC. There are options to correcting this imbalance in church-state relations. Most effective is for churches and other nonprofits that are engage in political discourse and legislative activism should give up their tax exemptions so that government will have no controlling authority over them. This would be the preference to most because it offers them unfettered opportunity to influence and shape government according to their own beliefs without the fear or favor of government leaders who might support their views today, but after a future election, oppose them. Exactly what the Republican Party has done for decades. When churches become "accepted" and appendages of political parties and politicians they tend to depart from their primary obligations and opportunities and become identified with earthly causes and political kingdom-building.

The mystical exploitation of religion has created a hierarchy of sanctimonious pedagogues who prosper in an environment free of obligation to the society from which they profit immensely. There is no such thing as a non-profit religion. If there were non-profit religions, most established religions would not exist. If a mystical organization cannot prosper or survive because of taxation, it must not have a message or purpose worth sustaining, nor the ability to communicate a concept that appeals to the public. If it requires exemption from taxation as the only way it can exist, then it is a religion based on a superficial concept of Biblical nonsense that eventually the public will ignore. The scheming and manipulation of the frenzied, right wing religious fundamentalists, has proven that religion untaxed, is more dangerous to Liberty than taxation of the same. Why should an institution founded on fantasy and myth, be exonerated from taxation while existing in a society that supports the infrastructure and services that make it possible for that religion to succeed? My freedom, yours, and every other individual that exists in this society, is threatened by the immense influence of organized religion in its massive appeal to legislate laws favorable to its establishment. We, unlike the religionists, do not as individuals, have the use of untaxed funds or Christianized Coalitions that exist to exercise leverage over politicians. What is Democratic, what is justifiable in allowing the churches the extraordinary freedom to exist exempt from taxation? Especially, when the exempted religions pursue as their objectives, the influence of legislation favorable to their continued material advancement.

The survival of organized revealed religion is dependent on not only the generosity of its members, but also from a government that is sympathetic to the continued domination of mystical authority in the affairs of state and society. Witness George Bush receiving the blessing from his religious minister for the carpet bombing and resulting mass murder of Iraqi civilians during the Desert Storm exercise in ignorance. The established religions have prospered in an environment that is maintained through the taxation of others for such simple things as street upkeep, courts of law, police and fire protection, or any of the many other services that the public pays for. It is we the people, who are assuring that religious associations can perform their functions, while they are exempted from the same obligation. They have been granted an exclusion, that is based on the erroneous concept, that religion is a non-profit enterprise. Anyone who believes religion is not profitable and exists solely as a distributor of myth and magic, has not looked recently at the vast resources and property that churches have acquired as non-profit organizations. The fact Christian religious leaders accept, and even court, the tax-exemption illustrates without question the non-altruistic, greedy and hypocritical nature which permeates Christianity. Not paying your fair share of anything, including taxes, reveals a non-altruistic and greedy streak. That's exactly what you would think of someone in a group of friends who all go on an outing and all chip-in to pay for expenses with the exception of one individual. And that selfish person is one of the very wealthiest people in the group! It will only be a matter of time until the others catch on and refuse to allow the unfairness.

Christian leaders add the ingredient of hypocrisy to themselves and their mythology by pretending to be followers of Jesus who allegedly believed religions SHOULD pay taxes to existing governments by saying, according to Luke 20:25, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." According to this quote from their holy book, their god would be against tax-exemptions for his followers. As Thomas Paine wrote, "... the Church has set up a system of religion very contradictory to the character of the person whose name it bears. It has set up a religion of pomp and of revenue, in pretended imitation of a person whose life was humility and poverty." The religions of this nation do not contribute, in any way, to my freedom, your Liberty, or the future of civilization. Freed of taxation they exist exclusively as a hierarchy whose interest is the exploitation of others! IS IT NOT TIME THAT WE THE PUBLIC DEMAND THAT THE RELIGIONS OF THIS NATION PAY FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY??? Is it not the proper time to cease characterizing religious institutions as a privileged ideology that is more important than other philosophies and concepts?

Why should the labor of a person working eight hours a day be taxed, while a preacher is allowed to avoid taxation in many areas? Why should there be a tax for the general public, but not for those engaged in the production (or fabrication) of a religious ideology? Is the enterprise of corporate religion any better or more useful to society than an individual who thinks about existence from a philosophical and rational perspective? I think not. There is no such thing as an aristocracy of thought or complete agreement on any conception. Religion in all its many forms does not have the exclusive answers to the complexity of existence. Its reliance on mystical incomprehension and the miraculous is rooted in the dreams and desires of primitive man. Taxation of religion is based on fairness and justice. It is a notification to those who represent corporate religion that they are not a special institution or a favored aristocracy. It is telling them they do have an obligation to support society in the form of taxation. Particularly, as the Christian Coalition is doing, using the millions of dollars saved from taxes to pump into the campaigns of politicians who agreed to spread their brand of bigotry and superstition.

NOW! We all face deficits in the federal budget, every state budget, local budgets, a hugh 12 Trillion national debt. That requires that we all should share in its being resolved. William H. Rehnquist spoke for the court: Tax exemption for Church property is a clear violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. It is a form of subsidy; the Tenth Circuit Court addressed and held that “tax exemption is a privilege, a matter of grace rather than a right.” We tax payers demand that TAX EXEMPTIONS SHOULD END: Tax exemption is unfair and needs to end totally. It clearly is said that we should pay our taxes. Why should anyone’s stocks, bonds, and real estate be tax exempt. Charity is to be for the poor, but they rarely see it. Only 10 percent and less ever reaches the needy. But wealth has been made by a large number of greedy persons from contributions. Talk about a fraud system with no audits Though the measure is rarely enforced, the political activism of some conservative Christians over the past two decades has caused religious and political liberals to demand that the tax-exempt status of some conservative ministers be revoked. Fact being that all should be revoked. Any way you slice it, this is a government subsidy of religion.

People who may not share a particular faith, or any faith, are thus forced to contribute to ideas with which they might disagree. Thomas Jefferson said of such a practice: "Almighty God has created the mind free. ... to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." Churches may now hold weeknight political forums at which candidates may speak and answer questions. They are prohibited, however, from endorsing candidates from the pulpit, or actively lobbying for or against legislation. We all know the real reality. We would not be in the serious situation we are in today if it were not for the lobbying and complete support for the actions of the Republican Party, Israel, and AIPAC. There are options to correcting this imbalance in church-state relations. Most effective is for churches and other nonprofits that are engage in political discourse and legislative activism should give up their tax exemptions so that government will have no controlling authority over them. This would be the preference to most because it offers them unfettered opportunity to influence and shape government according to their own beliefs without the fear or favor of government leaders who might support their views today, but after a future election, oppose them.

Exactly what the Republican Party has done for decades. When churches become "accepted" and appendages of political parties and politicians they tend to depart from their primary obligations and opportunities and become identified with earthly causes and political kingdom-building. The mystical exploitation of religion has created a hierarchy of sanctimonious pedagogues who prosper in an environment free of obligation to the society from which they profit immensely. There is no such thing as a non-profit religion. If there were non-profit religions, most established religions would not exist. If a mystical organization cannot prosper or survive because of taxation, it must not have a message or purpose worth sustaining, nor the ability to communicate a concept that appeals to the public. If it requires exemption from taxation as the only way it can exist, then it is a religion based on a superficial concept of Biblical nonsense that eventually the public will ignore. The scheming and manipulation of the frenzied, right wing religious fundamentalists, has proven that religion untaxed, is more dangerous to Liberty than taxation of the same. Why should an institution founded on fantasy and myth, be exonerated from taxation while existing in a society that supports the infrastructure and services that make it possible for that religion to succeed?

My freedom, yours, and every other individual that exists in this society, is threatened by the immense influence of organized religion in its massive appeal to legislate laws favorable to its establishment. We, unlike the religionists, do not as individuals, have the use of untaxed funds or Christianized Coalitions that exist to exercise leverage over politicians. What is Democratic, what is justifiable in allowing the churches the extraordinary freedom to exist exempt from taxation? Especially, when the exempted religions pursue as their objectives, the influence of legislation favorable to their continued material advancement. The survival of organized revealed religion is dependent on not only the generosity of its members, but also from a government that is sympathetic to the continued domination of mystical authority in the affairs of state and society. Witness George Bush receiving the blessing from his religious minister for the carpet bombing and resulting mass murder of Iraqi civilians during the Desert Storm exercise in ignorance.

The established religions have prospered in an environment that is maintained through the taxation of others for such simple things as street upkeep, courts of law, police and fire protection, or any of the many other services that the public pays for. It is we the people, who are assuring that religious associations can perform their functions, while they are exempted from the same obligation. They have been granted an exclusion, that is based on the erroneous concept, that religion is a non-profit enterprise. Anyone who believes religion is not profitable and exists solely as a distributor of myth and magic, has not looked recently at the vast resources and property that churches have acquired as non-profit organizations. The fact Christian religious leaders accept, and even court, the tax-exemption illustrates without question the non-altruistic, greedy and hypocritical nature which permeates Christianity. Not paying your fair share of anything, including taxes, reveals a non-altruistic and greedy streak. That's exactly what you would think of someone in a group of friends who all go on an outing and all chip-in to pay for expenses with the exception of one individual. And that selfish person is one of the very wealthiest people in the group! It will only be a matter of time until the others catch on and refuse to allow the unfairness.

Christian leaders add the ingredient of hypocrisy to themselves and their mythology by pretending to be followers of Jesus who allegedly believed religions SHOULD pay taxes to existing governments by saying, according to Luke 20:25, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." According to this quote from their holy book, their god would be against tax-exemptions for his followers. As Thomas Paine wrote, "... the Church has set up a system of religion very contradictory to the character of the person whose name it bears. It has set up a religion of pomp and of revenue, in pretended imitation of a person whose life was humility and poverty." The religions of this nation do not contribute, in any way, to my freedom, your Liberty, or the future of civilization. Freed of taxation they exist exclusively as a hierarchy whose interest is the exploitation of others! IS IT NOT TIME THAT WE THE PUBLIC DEMAND THAT THE RELIGIONS OF THIS NATION PAY FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY??? Is it not the proper time to cease characterizing religious institutions as a privileged ideology that is more important than other philosophies and concepts?

Why should the labor of a person working eight hours a day be taxed, while a preacher is allowed to avoid taxation in many areas? Why should there be a tax for the general public, but not for those engaged in the production (or fabrication) of a religious ideology? Is the enterprise of corporate religion any better or more useful to society than an individual who thinks about existence from a philosophical and rational perspective? I think not. There is no such thing as an aristocracy of thought or complete agreement on any conception. Religion in all its many forms does not have the exclusive answers to the complexity of existence. Its reliance on mystical incomprehension and the miraculous is rooted in the dreams and desires of primitive man. Taxation of religion is based on fairness and justice. It is a notification to those who represent corporate religion that they are not a special institution or a favored aristocracy. It is telling them they do have an obligation to support society in the form of taxation. Particularly, as the Christian Coalition is doing, using the millions of dollars saved from taxes to pump into the campaigns of politicians who agreed to spread their brand of bigotry and superstition. NOW! We all face deficits in the federal budget, every state budget, local budgets, a hugh 12 Trillion national debt. That requires that we all should share in its being resolved. William H. Rehnquist spoke for the court: Tax exemption for Church property is a clear violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. It is a form of subsidy; the Tenth Circuit Court addressed and held that “tax exemption is a privilege, a matter of grace rather than a right.” We tax payers demand that Churches pay their “Fair-Share”…

President Obama is ready to fight the lobbyists to pass his bold agenda. And the fight is officially on. Yesterday a top lobbyist called Obama's plan to transform our economy What we must understand is that we have only one real enemy, our OWN defeatism, for that is all that stands between us and generating policy moving numbers.

One need only observe how quickly Congress can move when there is real public outrage, like over the AIG bonus scandal, to realize that all we need to do is speak out in sufficient numbers to instantly have any policy change we want.

"devastating." If Obama's going to win this fight, he's going to need all of us fighting with him.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation calls on all of its member groups and individual supporters to join marches protesting U.S. spending on wars and occupations and calling for a new economy based on our country's unmet domestic needs.

Over the next ten years, the United States is scheduled to provide Israel with $30 billion in military aid to maintain its illegal occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, and to commit human rights abuses against Palestinians living under this military occupation. During the Bush Administration, Israel killed more than 3,000 innocent Palestinian civilians who took no part in hostilities, often with U.S. weapons.

Cut off military aid to Israel, in fact Boycott Israel.

Up is Down: Obama's Military Budget

Up Is Down: The Military Budget
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/41507
By David Swanson

The largest military budget in the history of the world is being increased. Certain weapons are being cut back, others expanded. But the overall budget is going UP. However, you don't need me to tell you that. You've learned it from these fine news sources:

FoxNews.com:

"With Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposing broad cuts in Pentagon spending, a new war over the president's budget has begun. While critics already are warning that the plan could compromise U.S. security, the greater resistance appears to be coming from lawmakers worried that the cuts threaten thousands of jobs in their states."

There really are cuts and critics and chicken littles, but nowhere does Fox tell you that the overall budget is INCREASING. Then again, if Fox didn't lie, how would we know what was true?

Rachel Maddow:

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates today proposed a massive overhaul of Pentagon spending. Since the year 2000 the already huge defense budget has risen 72 percent. Gates' new budget would pry the Pentagon away from its preparations for big conventional you-line-up-here we'll-line-up-here wars ... Anticipating criticism that he is making too big a change away from things that the Pentagon has traditionally LOVED spending money on, Mr. Gates said this: 'Every defense dollar spent to to overinsure against a remote or diminishing risk ... is a dollar not available to take care of our people.' ... And that was the head of the Pentagon acknowledging that there isn't infinite money available for his department, that there have to be tradeoffs. And that thump-thump-thump sound that you heard in the distance as he was talking was the sound of executives at all the big defense contractors passing out."

Love ya three-quarters of the time, Rachel, but you really should have waved blue pom-poms for this one. As noted below, many "defense" contractors are cheering for Gates' budget.

The New York Times:

"WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced a major reshaping of the Pentagon budget on Monday, with deep cuts in many traditional weapons systems but new billions of dollars for others, along with more troops and new technology to fight the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. … Representative Tom Price, a Georgia Republican, reacted strongly against Mr. Gates’s proposal to end spending for the F-22, which employs 25,000 workers in Georgia and across the country. 'It's outrageous that President Obama is willing to bury the country under a mountain of debt with his reckless domestic agenda but refuses to fund programs critical to our national defense,' Mr. Price said in a statement. In addition, a bipartisan group of six senators urged Mr. Gates not to make large cuts in missile defense programs. In a letter to Mr. Obama, they said the reductions 'could undermine our emerging missile defense capabilities to protect the United States against a growing threat.'"

If the New York Times didn't use "objective" (quote one war monger and a second war monger) reporting to back militarism, how would we know we weren't dreaming?

Air America:

"Regular Army No More? (Audio)
"By Ana Marie Cox
"Defense Secretary Robert Gates builds in unprecedented cuts to defense spending, especially on experimental and "next generation" weapons like the F-22 and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. What's next? Lower-tech, proven options such as intelligence and counter insurgency. What it has in common with the rest of the Obama program may surprise you."

I love Air America and was on it yesterday, but fluff is fluff and some of it I'm allergic to.

Center for American Progress:

"Gates Reins In Bloated Defense Budget
"Yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced his recommendations for the department's 2010 budget, offering 'deep cuts in many traditional weapons systems but new billions of dollars for others, along with more troops and new technology to fight the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.' The Los Angeles Times described his proposal offering 'the most sweeping changes in military spending priorities in decades.' The Wonk Room's Matt Duss wrote yesterday that Gates's recommendations represent 'an appreciable shift in the way that the United States approaches the issue of military acquisitions.'"

This went on at length without ever mentioning that the budget was going UP not DOWN.

True Majority:

"Tell Congress to support the Gates/Obama defense budget.
"Dear David,
"At last!
"Some of us wondered if this day would ever come. Today the Secretary of Defense explained to Congress exactly the points TrueMajority members have been making for years: wasting taxes on weapons which don't work and have no conceivable use against real-world enemies makes us LESS strong as a nation1.
Show Congress we're ready to invest in True Security -- sign the petition."

OK, I know this isn't a news source. But this is an activist group that drives giant displays of Oreo cookies around the country to illustrate the relative sizes of the military budget and budgets for schools and healthcare. An Oreo got added to the military stack, and "True" Majority wants us to cheer instead of vomiting.

You could find the news if you searched, of course. CNN included the news in its 39th paragraph. AP included the total cost in its second paragraph but not whether it was an increase or decrease. A New York Times editorial in favor of more cuts included the total cost in its ninth paragraph. A USA Today editorial admirably noted and lamented the huge size of the budget but praised the supposed cutting of it and did not note that the overall budget was increasing. The Washington Post's editorial claimed to approve the cuts but deemed them politically impossible, never noting the INCREASING military budget. And, of course, columnists in the Wall Street Journal screamed "Obama and Gates Gut the Military".

But business sources told a very different story. Here's Market Watch:

"Pentagon still a cash cow despite budget cuts
"Analysts weigh in on the winners and losers from Gates' spending proposal
"By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
"NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The proposed 2010 defense budget from the Pentagon had a lot of changes, but Wall Street analysts said Tuesday there's still plenty of funding for the country's top military contractors. 'Lockheed Martin had the best outcome from [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates' budget decisions, there was also strong support for Northrop Grumman's and General Dynamics' shipbuilding businesses,' said Douglas Harned, an analyst with Bernstein Research. 'Notably, there were no indications of plans to bring budgets down significantly in 2011.'"

Here's Jane's:

"US defence stocks surged on Gates' budget proposal
"Major US defence stocks were raised out of the doldrums by Defense Secretary Robert Gates' budget proposals thanks to the lifting of a degree of uncertainty and proposals that were not as dramatic as the markets expected. Fitch Ratings was among those who noted that although four of the top 10 US programmes face reductions or delays, several of the leading projects - including the F-35 and F/A-18 aircraft programmes - were to be increased. The proposal to increase intelligence and reconnaissance support by USD2 billion highlighted the new priorities of the Pentagon and threw up clear winners ranging from sensor and systems providers such as Raytheon (which closed 8.2 per cent up). Textron - which successfully divested its HR Textron unit the day before and increased its exposure to unmanned air systems through the buy of AAI Corporation - was the leader of the day, with a double-digit jump of 11.3 per cent."

The second round articles tended to be worse than the first:

ABC News:

"Will New Military Budget Prolong Recession?
"Many Cities and Towns Rely on Government Spending to Keep Their Economies Strong
"By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ, ABC NEWS Business Unit
"April 8, 2009—Many cities and towns across this country rise and fall with military spending. And with Defense Secretary Robert Gates' announcement earlier this week of new defense spending priorities, many communities are bracing for drastic cuts or a windfall."

This article mentioned that the budget was actually increasing in its 35th paragraph.

My point is not that the reported cuts aren’t real, that jobs won't be lost, or that congress members aren't bought-and-paid-for schmucks. And my point is not just that the military should be cut and that non-military investment produces more and better paying jobs. My immediate point is that we are not getting the news, even from sources that would be screaming it from the rooftops if Obama had an "R" after his name.

Now, the last time I claimed that everybody had something wrong, Hullabaloo complained that they had got it right, so I checked and sure enough Hullabaloo got this right by quoting TPM which got this right. My advice is to follow such sources closely if you want to know you can believe what you're reading.

Feith Dares Obama to Enforce the Law

By David Swanson

Doug Feith is bluffing big time, and he's lifted Dick Cheney and George Bush onto the table as his bet. Now if only he could stop visibly sweating. Feith's Wall Street Journal column on Friday argues that Spain has no right to put Americans on trial for torture, at least not second-tier officials who provided pseudo-legal justifications for torture and advocated its use, actions that Feith believes should be immune from prosecution, unlike ordering torture or engaging in it.

"If President Barack Obama and the prosecutors see a crime to be prosecuted, they can act," Feith wrote.

In fact, the job is Eric Holder's and the choice is no choice at all. Holder is legally required to prosecute those whom evidence suggests have engaged in, ordered, or otherwise facilitated torture. That list includes Doug Feith, but it most prominently includes George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, both of whom have admitted to authorizing torture in televised interviews. Feith is absolutely right that it makes the most sense to prosecute first and foremost those who actually gave the orders. Spain makes itself look a bit silly starting with those lower down, but you can imagine the xenophobic bile that would be gushing out of the Wall Street Journal if Spain had begun with Dubya.

Title 18 of the U.S. Code, our national laws, our red-white-and-blue tough-on-crime book of books has a little section called 2441 that prescribes prison or death to any American who commits or conspires to commit a war crime, including torture or cruel or inhuman treatment. Remember this was what caused then White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to warn the president and others that they should play word games as the best defense of their own necks.

Title 18 also contains section 2340, which -- like 2441 -- defines torture with clarity and sanity, and prescribes prison or death for those who engage in it, and prison for those who conspire to commit it. These laws were in place long before the Bush-era charade of Congress pretending to ban torture and Bush pretending he could legalize it with a signing statement. The United States had also already signed and ratified the Convention Against Torture which requires criminal prosecution of "an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture."

So the United States is actually required to do what Feith dares it to try and the American people support. But that doesn't mean that Spain (or Britain) has no right to step in while the United States fails to act. In fact, a few months ago the United States did the same thing. In January a U.S. court tried a citizen of Liberia for committing torture in Liberia and sentenced him to 97 years in a U.S. prison. At the time, then Attorney General Michael Mukasey said "I hope this case will serve as a model to future prosecutions of this type."

So, by the recommendation of the top law-enforcement official under President Bush, Spain should indeed prosecute Bush and his co-conspirators. Which brings us to Feith's claim that, apart from jurisdictional questions, he himself is innocent. Feith does not attempt to defend the other five men facing likely indictment in Spain, or Bush, or Cheney. But he claims that he himself never provided guidance that led to torture.

Feith does not address the fact that this is contradicted by a famous memo written by top Pentagon lawyer William Haynes and signed off on by Donald Rumsfeld. Nor does Feith address most of the claims made about him by author Phillipe Sands, who reported that Feith told him he'd "played a major role in" Bush's decision to declare the Geneva Conventions inapplicable to certain people. Sands reported that Feith pointed him to an article Feith had written in 1985 arguing for destroying the Geneva Conventions in order to save them.

Jason Leopold has catalogued additional evidence:

"In addition to Sands' account, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union have released documents showing that Haynes regularly briefed Feith about a list of aggressive interrogation techniques for use against 'high-value' Guantanamo detainees. … Other documents released last year show that Feith worked closely with Pentagon general counsel William Haynes II in 2002 on an Army and Air Force survival-training program called Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE), which were meant to prepare U.S. soldiers for abuse they might suffer if captured by an outlaw regime, against detainees at Guantanamo. One of the SERE techniques used against detainees was waterboarding. Moreover, Feith and Haynes were members of a Pentagon 'working group' that met from January through March 2003 and prepared a report for Rumsfeld stating what methods military interrogators could use to extract information from a prisoner at Guantanamo. Yoo worked on the legal memo for the group. Early drafts of the report advocated intimidating prisoners with dogs, removing prisoners' clothing, shaving their beards, slapping prisoners in the face and waterboarding."

Jane Mayer, in her book "The Dark Side", wrote:

"These memos denied legal protection not just to Al Qaeda, but to the entire Taliban. All were described as 'illegal combatants'. ... One of the earliest and most ardent proponents of this legal interpretation was Douglas Feith. ... A neo-conservative, he prided himself on being 'unfashionable', by which he evidently meant breaking with the more centrist foreign-policy establishment. As far back as the 1980s, when he had been a midlevel Reagan Administration official, Feith had argued that terrorists did not deserve to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. The issue had first arisen in connection with the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Feith, a passionate Zionist, had helped to convince the Reagan Administration to oppose international efforts to protect anti-Israel terrorists as soldiers. John Yoo and other Bush Administration lawyers seized on this position as a precedent."

Peter Weiss provides this analysis:

"The Spanish complaint alleges that, on February 3, 2002, Feith, in his capacity as DOD Undersecretary for Legal Affairs, issued a legal analysis which served as the basis of the subsequent document of February 7 denying the protection of the Geneva Convention, including their basic Common Article 3, to the Guantanamo detainees. The complaint goes on to state that this is consistent with an article Feith published in the 1980s in "The National Interest" in which he took a similar position concerning the conflicts in Central America and characterized the 1977 Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions as 'a masterwork of amoral design'."

But all of this is really the least of Feith's worries, for there is a crime worse than torture, and the evidence that he engaged in that worse crime is overwhelming. I refer, of course, to the crime of aggressive war. In fact, when the Washington Post published Feith's defense of a memo he had written proposing that the United States aggressively attack "a non-Al Qaeda target like Iraq," Feith's defense seemed oblivious to the crime involved and did not even attempt to suggest that he had not urged a war of aggression.

It is this sort of obliviousness that leads people like Feith and Cheney to mouth off in the media, and that may ultimately be their undoing. Let's hope they're advising Bush on his forthcoming book.

Swanson holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia . He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association , and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN , the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

10,000 March on Wall Street

This past Saturday, April 4, in honor of Dr. King and his visionary 'Beyond Vietnam' speech in 1967, 10,000 people marched on Wall Street to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to demand a larger investment in the needs of our communities. Labor, veterans, students, immigrant rights groups, military families, faith-based people, women's groups, and community groups joined us for a lively, vibrant march.


Joining us, too, was Rev. James Lawson, a leader to us all and co-worker with Dr. King. Speaking before the start of the march, Lawson said to marchers, 'In the spirit of Dr. King and the movement for equality and justice of the fifities and sixties, I say if we want peace to blossom, we must eradicate poverty, racism, sexism, violence, and greed in the U.S. Peace cannot come by crying peace. Peace can only begin to emerge when justice does.'

Lawson also bemoaned the fact that 90 million working Americans 'hover in poverty' everyday. He said, 'The greatest impetus for stimulus to the economy is that those 90 million people receive wages that would allow them to sustain themselves and their families. Nothing would be more explosive than that kind of stimulus.'

Rev. Lawson led the march -- with IVAW leader Perry O'Brien, Rev. Brad Braxton of Riverside Church, and Youth & Militarism Organizer for Fellowship of Reconciliation, Shauen Pearce -- holding the 'Beyond War, A New Economy Is Possible' banner, UFPJ's ongoing campaign to link war and the economy. The lead banner was followed by veterans and military families, who held a banner, 'End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!'

The 10,000 demonstrators marched past the Federal Reserve building, surrounded the New York Stock Exchange, and ended in Battery Park for a Peace and Justice Fair. Despite intense wind conditions, along with the cold, marchers spent the next couple hours talking to members of more than 30 groups, who were tabling at the Fair, coordinating ways to continue our work for peace and justice. For images of the fair, please take a look at photos taken by UFPJ Steering Committee member, Mike Hearington.

TN Sales Tax Highest in Nation

TN Sales Tax on Food Highest in the Nation

Nashville, TN - At 5.5 percent, Tennessee's sales tax on food is the highest in the nation, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. That means low-income families in Tennessee, struggling to make ends meet, are paying a higher percentage of their income in food taxes than Tennesseans in higher income brackets, tax experts say.

State Rep. G.E. Hardaway, Memphis, has introduced legislation (HJR0076) calling for a joint legislative committee to study tax reform. He is convinced that the current tax on food and other necessities is unfair to low-income families.

"I believe that essentials like food need to be non-taxable items; they should be tax exempt."

Opponents of Hardaway's goal warn the state would lose revenue. Eliminating exemptions and loopholes from current sales tax laws could easily make up any shortfall, Hardaway says.

John Stewart, state chair of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, says his organization supports Hardaway's efforts. He points to numbers showing how unfair high food taxes are for Tennessee families with low incomes.

"Twenty to 25 percent of their disposable income goes to food, while for persons in the upper-income levels that number is five or six percent, if that."

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/8520-1

Report on TN Green Party

Informal Report on Annual Meeting
by Trish Adams

Our state meeting weekend began with a small reception at my house on Friday night. A few Knoxville Greens were in attendance to welcome our Chattanooga guests, Mike Bascom and his friend, Ruby. After a brief reception, we attended a local art reception for a Save the Ta-Tas project to raise breast cancer awareness and money for breast cancer treatment. The Green Party was well represented with Greens and GP friends providing models, artists, attendees, donors, and entertainers. One of the highlights of the evening was a magnificent dance performance by Knoxville Green Party member Maria Kateri McGuire.


Saturday began with a community creek clean-up. The Knoxville Green Party has adopted a particular urban stream which we clean on a regular basis. As part of a county wide clean-up effort, Greens along with a numerous community volunteers cleaned this area again yesterday. The Green Party was well represented with banners and members at the check-in table.

Our business meeting was conducted at 2 pm at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria. Eighteen Greens and friends were in attendance. We were entertained by Knoxville musician, Robert Quiggle. Rob played a new instrument which is a charango and guitar combo. Some of the attendees at the meeting accompanied Rob for a few songs-Ken Frasure (bass) and Brad Wiksten (drum). To view Rob playing his charango, please check out http://www.youtube.com/user/LeoHareMusic. After some socializing, entertainment, and appetizers, the business portion of the meeting convened. Howard Switzer served as facilitator. Lots of important business was concluded along with many critical decisions for the state party. Again, the minutes for the meeting will be distributed later.

After a pizza buffet and the distribution of various door prizes donated by Mike Bascom, the meeting concluded at approximately 7 pm. Overnight guests were given a tour of the future home of the Knoxville Green Party’s office and intern housing. Free Land and Marty Pleasant led the tour which concluded at my house. An evening party entertained us into the wee hours with various Greens and friends stopping by. The highlight of this evening was an impromptu performance of an original song by Howard Switzer and Katey Culver.

This morning brought a beautiful day to Knoxville and a rejuvenation of my hope for the Tennessee Green Party and the planet as a whole. Being with fellow Greens and seeing our impact in our local communities, state, country, and world are perhaps the most important business we conduct when we convene for our annual meetings. Even if you were unable to physically attend the meeting, I hope the positive energy we felt in Knoxville finds you wherever you may be.

Reflections on Obama Europe Trip

A friend wrote this morning, "The headline should read - Obama talks peace and plans for war." At the 60th anniversary NATO celebrations President Obama begged for more troops in Afghanistan from alliance member nations. They urged him forward but few countries offered help.

Then in Prague Obama called for the world to get rid of its nuclear weapons. Very commendable.

The Washington Post reported this morning that, "For those worried about a unilateral American disarmament, Obama promised that the country would keep enough nuclear weapons to defend itself and its allies as long as the weapons existed in other nations....He also reiterated his pledge to install a missile defense system in Eastern Europe as long as Iran poses a possible nuclear threat to the region."

Iran? We know Iran is no threat and scientists have long been telling us that Star Wars bases in Poland and the Czech Republic would not be capable of intercepting missiles from Iran....but they could intercept missiles from Russia.......

So the crucial message was delivered.....Star Wars technology will still likely be developed and put into Poland and the Czech Republic, using Iran as the excuse to cover larger US ambitions of surrounding Russia with the technology.

Here is the deal....


* Some years ago Gen. Charles Horner (the former commander of the US Space Command) became an advocate for getting rid of US nuclear weapons. His rationale was that they were an "outdated military technology" that would never be used thus wasting alot of money that could be put into other kinds of useable new weapons systems like Star Wars.

* The US has a public relations problem as we lecture Iran and North Korea about the evils of nukes but we have plenty of our own. So to regain some semblance of credibility around the globe the US has to show some movement. This is why Henry Kissinger became a proponent of getting rid of nukes.


* US strategy to surround Russia and China with "missile defense" systems only works if you first get those countries to get rid of a bunch of their nukes thus lessening their ability to have a "robust deterrent capability" after they are hit with the US first-strike system now under development. And it is obvious from Obama's words in Prague that he intends to continue developing the "missile defense" system that Bush proposed to deploy in Poland and the Czech Republic. According to French media, " U.S. President Barack Obama reassured Warsaw over concerns that Washington might scrap a planned missile base in Poland which has angered Russia, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Saturday."

* I worked on Jimmy Carter's successful campaign in 1976 largely because he said over and over again that "the nuclear arms race was a disgrace to the human race." Also very commendable. Then as president Mr. Carter proceeded to build the Kings Bay Naval submarine base in St. Marys, Georgia for the Trident II nuclear system.

* So I've been somewhat tempered by promises from politicians over the years. I now listen for the nuances in their language.....things like this from Obama in Prague, "This goal will not be reached quickly -- perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence." And it certainly won't be reached in President Obama's lifetime if he insists on moving forward with Star Wars and "missile defense" systems - especially deployed upon Russia and China's doorstep. Let's face the facts here, Obama is not a stupid man. He understands that these space technology systems very well could be show stoppers. With that in mind, then why would he still pursue them?

In the end the question remains how much will really change? Obama is doing an effective job of "changing the tone" and showing "humility" on the world stage as a way of atoning for Bush's more hard-edged bad cowboy talk. But at the same time Obama is skillfully revealing that he has the ability to repackage US empire building policies in a new kinder and gentler way, but still achieving the same results. One Brookings Institution analyst told the Washington Post, "the 'hard edge of policy' in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where unlike some European allies Obama has not signaled a willingness to talk to the armed Islamist group Hamas, the president's policy and goals have not changed much from those of his predecessor."


So for me this is what I am watching and trying to interpret - yes I see the rebranding of the product going on, but I am also watching the actions that follow the nice talk.

In words that Mr. Obama would understand, I am keeping my eyes on the bouncing basketball.


Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com
http://space4peace.blogspot.com (Blog)