One Eighty For Peace

If distinctions can still be made between liberals and conservatives, an affinity for war is one of them. Unfortunately, war is one of the elements that makes lines fuzzier all the time.

It was once easy to lump PJALS into a liberal or progressive pile, but now most of us would like to point out some of the finer points that set us apart, and war, though it’s hardly fine, is one. These are the points that determine that our organization will never fit into any category labeled large, wealthy, or wildly popular.

Without being in lock step, we still manage to generally agree that violence is bad and nonviolent action is good. We always agree that peace is better than war, and now that much of the general population agrees with us that the Iraq War, at least, is very, very bad, it’s time to get more of them to support PJALS.

The idea for one eighty comes from the common reference to a 180 degree turn as a complete change in direction of thinking or acting, as well as our government’s penchant for demanding money to be spent for death and destruction in batches of 180 billion dollars, or so, at any given time.

PJALS can make a difference by using a slogan or catch phrase to increase our pressure on elected leaders and influential institutions to bring about a complete change in the national priority and attitude about war. It would aid our cause if we also attracted some new members and supporters and revitalized others at the same time.

Soon, most of you will be asked to participate in our annual giving campaign, although some of you have already renewed your membership while adding a generous gift for PJALS programming and other needs. I’d like to link our action and our funding through the imagery of 180 for Peace.

As you see from the back page, we’re using 180 for Peace as the theme for our Veterans Day Funeral March, on November 12, believing it is reasonable and urgent to demand congressional consideration for an about face on the war. Certainly time for tinkering is past, and too many lives have already been destroyed. And the deeper we dig this hole, the less consideration will ever be given to rebuilding and reparations, not to mention the healing of our own, the veterans whom we profess to revere and appreciate. Our action will include music from the P-Jammers, symbolic coffins and a petition against the war. We ask for no less than a 180 degree change.

To sustain PJALS and our work for peace and an international community of solidarity and economic justice at home, I want to invite you and many others to give “one eighty for peace.” This might be a one time gift of $180, a pledge of $1080 for 2008, or a membership or renewal at 180 percent of the usual $40 dues ($72). We do ask for less, when it comes to money. Every $1.80 helps, and no matter how much we request, the amount that works for you is your decision.

If you like the 180 idea, make it work for you and for PJALS, and suggest it for your friends who haven’t found a good enough reason, yet, to get involved with their feet or their money. If someone would like to contact the office to learn more about PJALS, that works for us, and we’ll give them only a few of our 180 reasons to be a part of PJALS.

Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Burma and Spokane

One more reason for ending the Iraq War immediately is that concentrating the violent energy of the United States is one part of the world makes inevitable the rise of violence and oppression in other parts of the world.

The violence and oppression in Burma, called Myanmar by its rulers and their supporters among the world’s largest corporations, is hardly new, but the dictators have long hidden their crimes behind U.S. military adventurism in the Middle East. Indeed, it is mind-boggling that our First Lady suddenly discovered human rights abuses that Congress and the White House have successfully ignored for almost two decades, in spite of global recognition for the vision, courage and suffering of Aung San Suu Kyi.

This is not the time for potshots because of missed opportunities, but for action to slow the repression and shed some light in this dark corner of the world. Because of news control, we only get an occasional snapshot of life and death in Burma, but we can lift our voices. We can also expect the arrival of some 20,000 Burmese refugees in the U.S. in the near future, as we struggle for ways to alleviate suffering without offending corporations that profit from it.

http://www.avaaz.org is a website you may use to sign a petition to world leaders on behalf of the oppressed people of Burma. You may also use information from that site to contact your elected leaders and demand action in support of the general population.

You might also wish to see the film, Total Denial, which documents both corporate support and popular resistance concerning the oppression of Burmese families, dissidents and religious institutions.

Meanwhile, back in the Middle East, Turkey has taken some of the spotlight for its urge to attack its Kurdish enemies across the border in Iraq. It seems beyond hypocrisy for the U.S. to lecture Turkey about reckless retaliation, not only for our own versions of justifiable warfare, but for our limitless tolerance for Israeli and Palestinian tit for tat which is supported with billions of our tax dollars.

Turkey has come a long way toward enlightenment and prosperity, but it’s still a very short trip back into the darkness where violence and oppression dominate every sphere of society. Turks must look to some example other than the U.S. to salvage a place in the modern world.

Iran looks more like a bullseye every day, and Dick Cheney talks like a man who has been complimented and affirmed for every rabid statement he made as the point person for Bush’s preemptive boondoggle in Iraq. In the lead-up to the attack against the people of Iraq, we were warned that Sad Iran, Turkey, Burma... from p. 3 dam presided over the #5 military power on the planet, but one never hears, today, that Iran is four times the size of Iraq with a much more sophisticated and diversified population and infrastructure. This is supposed to be about nuclear weapons, so one has to wonder if our national memory is really this short and faulty.

As for support for insurgents in Iraq, Iran, even with huge problems in governance and human rights, is more benign that half the countries we call allies.

Iraq cannot be stuffed into a box designed by Bush and manufactured by Halliburton. The only sane option remains to get out, now, Lock, Stock and Blackwater. And getting out is an option, regardless of the hand-wringing by some of our leaders who call themselves anti-war and some of our corporations who call themselves leaders.

If a people can believe that sometimes we have to ignore torture and human rights abuses and civilian deaths to protect our country from people we don’t like, surely a few of us could understand that sometimes we have to give up on a bad investment, stop the killing, and get out.

The only reason Americans feel helpless to end this state of perpetual war is that our leaders haven’t figured out how to make peace without offending those who are making a fortune from the misfortunes of war victims. - RN.

Ft Benning Censors SOA Wikipedia Entry

A new scanning program reveals Wikipedia entries on the School of the Americas, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC), have been edited from an IP address from Ft. Benning to omit all references to human rights abuses connected to the school.

WikiScanner, developed by CalTech grad student Virgil Griffith, has traced the editorial changes made to the online encyclopedia to Fort Benning computers and the Directorate of Information Management at Fort Benning.
The program also revealed that an entry about Fort Benning was altered to delete all mention of SOA Watch.

Graduates of the SOA have a documented track record of using the skills they were taught at the SOA/WHINSEC against union organizers, social justice activists, faith leaders and everyone who speaks out for social change and the rights of the poor.

The School of the Americas is also active against human rights groups within our borders. The school not only monitors civilian groups and individuals working for a just U.S. foreign policy and the closure of the SOA/WHINSEC, but also uses tax dollars to actively interfere in the political process. Military officials at the SOA/WHINSEC are spreading misinformation to Congress, flooding media with letters to the editor, and approaching student groups who are planning events on the SOA/WHINSEC to demand access to the campus.

The SOA/WHINSEC propagates a mindset not in line with any role of the military in a democratic society, so it’s no surprise that SOA/WHINSEC instructors who taught "democratic sustainment" at the school from ‘03-’04 were arrested in October in Colombia for involvement in a notorious drug cartel.

- SOA Watch

Global Warming:A Real Solution

by ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. in Rolling Stone Magazine

In early May, 100 of the nation's top business leaders gathered at a private resort in Napa Valley. The attendees, gathered at the invitation of Silicon Valley venture capitalists, included CEOs and other top executives from such Fortune 500 corporations as Wal-Mart, Proctor & Gamble and BP. They had been invited to discuss ways to end America's fossil-fuel addiction and save the world from global warming. But in reality they had come to make money for their companies, and that may turn out to be the thing that saves us.

For 3 days, executives listened as their colleagues and rivals described how they are using new technologies to wean themselves from oil and boost their profits. DuPont has cut its climate-warming pollution by 72% since 1990, slashing $3 billion from their energy bills while increasing global production by nearly a third. Wal-Mart has new, energy-efficient light bulbs in refrigeration units that save the company $12 million a year, and skylights that cut utility bills up to $70,000/store. The company, which operates the nation's second-largest corporate truck fleet, also saved $22 million last year with auxiliary power units that allow drivers to operate electric systems without idling vehicles. In a move with even more far-reaching potential, Wal-Mart has ordered truck suppliers to double the gas mileage of the company's entire fleet by 2015. When those trucks become available to other businesses, America will cut its demand for oil by six percent.

These executives weren't waiting around for federal subsidies or new regulations. Business logic, not government intervention, was driving them to cut energy costs and invest in new fuel sources.

As the discussions at the summit demonstrated, America's top executives know something the Bush administration has yet to realize: America doesn't need to wait for futuristic, pie-in-the-sky technologies to cut its reckless consumption of oil and coal. Our last, best hope to stop climate change is the free market itself. There is gold in going green, and the same drive to make a buck that created global warming in the first place can be harnessed to slow the carbon-based pollution overheating the planet.

And green investment will not just enrich a few corporations. We know from experience that it will strengthen America's economy, national security, economic independence and the effectiveness of our world leadership. During the oil crisis sparked by OPEC in the 1970s, American business and government went into overdrive to promote conservation and develop alternatives to Middle Eastern oil.

Between ‘77 and ‘85, Detroit boosted fuel efficiency of its automobiles from 18 to 27.5 mpg. Oil use shrank by 17 %, while the economy grew by 27 %. More important, oil imports from the Persian Gulf plunged by 87 %, breaking the cartel's power over America's economy. Had we stayed the course, we would not have needed to import a single drop of oil from the Middle East after 1986, achieving true energy independence that, in all likelihood, would have enabled us to avoid the devastating attacks of 9-11, as well as both Gulf wars.

[Excerpted. Full text at: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15051506/]global_warming_a_real_solution%20on%20rollingstone.com

After signature validation for Initiative 2006-1 failed in July, Spokane Citizens for a Living Wage planned a debriefing over pizza. I invited the whole list, perhaps naively, to a “celebration.” Most of the coalition attended, though we missed many who had worked hard. Thankful for a generous donation from Bennendito’s Pizza, we sat to celebrate and commiserate. Coalition members took turns, weighing in on what to do next. A measure of grief and disparate opinions about strategy overshadowed the community organizing feats of the previous months. We adjourned with little resolution and barely a nod to our hard work, especially in the final days before turning in signatures.

I asked for and received feedback from nearly the entire email list. This led to a quick rewrite of the initiative to eliminate health coverage language and the higher wage. The coalition met again to review the city charter and determined the initiative must wait until the 2009 ballot. The simplified ordinance would be introduced to the city council in June 2008 and signature gathering could not begin until more than a month after that! Our sense of purpose was vague as we pondered: what do we do until next July? We could all feel the importance of what would come next, but what exactly was it?

Uncertainty dissipated with arrival of sunny days, and changing lives scattered the coalition. We met, and tabled to recruit members and interns. My role as a facilitator faltered when general PJALS operations called my attention elsewhere. The community living wage project drew lessened attention as the days grew longer. In September, I filed the paperwork to officially terminate our campaign cycle. I realized that perhaps what the I 2006-1 campaign needed most was to finish. The strategy that eluded us in July was completion and subsequent rest for coalition members.

In October, the NW Federation of Community Organizations released the ‘07 Northwest Job Gap Study to reflect reality faced by working families in the state: hard work just isn’t enough. The Spokesman ran the study as front page news, generating a few letters, and more ideas about what to do next. November is suddenly here, the days are impossibly short, and the end of the year campaign forecast is a continued lull. The coalition won’t meet again in 2007 as I will be away until mid-December.

When the restlessness of winter stirs, PJALS and Spokane Citizens for a Living Wage will be looking for help. We need to plan strategy for winning a living wage ordinance in Spokane. We need to disperse information to big box employees, brand our efforts with economic justice slogans, and generate talk about low wages and economic disparity. Plotting clear campaign strategy will be essential. Soon enough, it will be time to start signature collection next summer. Email livingwage@pjals.com to get on our contact list. We’ll need you . - In peace, Joni

Jena Six Still At Risk

Last month, the racist judge who originally presided over Mychal Bell's conviction sent him back to jail for 18 months for "violating probation" from an earlier conviction. The precise violation was his arrest in the Jena 6 incident. While the racist thugs who started this cycle of events continue to walk free, the Jena 6 are still facing long prison sentences.

On Nov. 7, the growing movement to free the Jena 6 will face an important challenge. Four of the Six -- Theodore Shaw, Robert Bailey, Bryan Purvis, and Mychal Bell -- are expected in court for pre-trial hearings. The ANSWER Coalition is calling on all progressive and anti-racist forces to rally in front of local courthouses across the country with the demand to free the Jena 6, and drop all charges. Demonstrations are confirmed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and New Haven (CT).

The case of the Jena 6 has garnered international attention, and shone a spotlight on the nature of this country's criminal "injustice" system. Without activists taking action across the country, however, it is certain their case -- like so many -- would never have received the attention it has. Mychal Bell's original conviction never would have been overturned; instead he would have become just another statistic.

On Sept. 20, tens of thousands demonstrated in Jena, Louisiana and in other cities to demand the freedom of the Jena 6, and release of Mychal Bell. After 10 months in prison, he was granted bail and released. But shortly afterwards, the Louisiana judge that originally convicted Bell ordered him back into custody.

The spirit and determination of the Sept. 20 protest in Jena has to be replicated across the country. The movement is in a tug-of-war with the Louisiana justice system. We have to dig in our heels and, until all charges against them are dropped, we have to keep on pulling! All out for November 7th to Free the Jena 6!

- http://www.answercoalition.org

National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week!

November 11th-17th 2007

Wednesday, November 14th at SCC

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Fair, from 9 am to 1 pm:

9 am – 1 pm: Agency booths and art display, in the main lobby of the Lair

9:30 – 12:30: Forum, in the Bigfoot, Littlefoot, and Sasquatch:

9:30 am – 10:30 am: Music, poetries, and essays

Speaker Bob Peeler, of Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs (SNAP)

10:30 am – 11:30 am: Jen Martin, of SNAP, Dr. Nan Bulish, Panel discussion led by Dr. Bulish

11:30 – 12:30: Agency presentations

For more info, call Myra at 533-8221

 

One Eighty For Peace

Join PJALS, KYRS, Need to Know, and Veterans for Peace for a Veterans Day Funeral March on Monday, November 12, at noon. We’ll meet at the Community Building and, accompanied by the P-Jammers, we’ll walk to the Spokane offices of our Congressional Delegation to deliver coffins and a petition to stop all the killing.

This will be the first public action of our 180 for Peace campaign, calling for a 180 degree change in our country’s devastating war policies. The only appropriate way to support the troops and honor veterans is to end all support for the futile and illegal wars that prevent us from attaining justice and prosperity in our own land.

PJALS Mission Statement

PJALS is committed to involving
individuals and local communities in building foundations
for a just and nonviolent world.

Does this statement resonate with you? Does it say enough to motivate us and invite others? If you have a strong reaction, we’d like to hear it. As a PJALS member, you have a stake in our mission and our image.

Remember PJALS for holiday gifts. Come to see us while you are at the Fair Trade Festival

Remember PJALS for holiday gifts. Come to see us while you are at the Fair Trade Festival

Remember PJALS for holiday gifts. Come to see us while you are at the Fair Trade Festival

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Can you support PJALS?

PJALS is committed to involving individuals and local communities in building foundations for a just and nonviolent world.

Please join PJALS or make sure your annual membership is current.  We can take your credit card contributions at our website: www.pjals.net.  It's through PayPal, but you do not need a PayPal account to make an online donation.

The Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane depends upon gifts and dues from members to continue to work for peace and justice, locally and globally.  We welcome anyone who favors free exchange of ideas and nonviolent action to war or to inaction and ignorance.  PJALS, 35 W Main, Spokane, WA 99201.

        You determine your own level of support and participation.  Members also determine issues and projects that get the most attention and effort.