Sunday, October 28, 2007

Ultra-Conservatives Week of Hate.

Ultraconservatives, Ann Coulter and David Horowitz, declared last week as Islamo-Facism week during which they held rallies around the country spreading their demagogy of hatred toward Islam. I came across several good articles regarding this event on the “Jews on First” website. “Jews on First” has openly spoken against "Islamo-Facism" week. Not only did Ann Coulter speak out against Muslims and Islam, but also referred to Christians as "perfected Jews." To acquaint yourself further with the subject please visit the following website. http://www.jewsonfirst.org/07c/islamo_facism.html

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Support the Local Economy/Support Peace

At a recent meeting of the Northern Michigan People for Peace, the issue was raised that many young people from Michigan might be more inclined to join the military due to the poor economic climate in the state. Others raised questions concerning the company Sovereign Deed, the "insurance" company which provides emergency services such as evacuation, water, food and shelter for its "members" which I'm sure would have to pay a pretty premium for these services. Sovereign Deed which is looking to open a facility in Pellston, is promising to create as many as 500 jobs in the community. Some people in the "peace community" feel that we should stop Sovereign Deed from coming to the community. I get uneasy about these discussions because I'm thinking how can we stop someone from bringing jobs to the community- but then not work toward bringing well paying jobs into the area? I hope that we can become creative and think of possible jobs, manufacturing, tourism attractions, which are eco and worker friendly. This is the challenge that I would like to put forth to members of the LTLPF and to all in the community. We will not be able to discourage people from joining the armed services, working for Wal-Mart or Sovereign Deed when people are literally trying to provide themselves with a subsistence level of income.

One way that you can immediately help support the local economy and your local organization is by participating in the "Shop for your Charity" day in Charlevoix. On November 3rd you can shop at your local participating Charlevoix store and 10% of the sale will go to the local organization of your choice. As a gallery owner, I'm participating in this event. The Cycling Salamander Art Gallery located 7 miles south of Charlevoix on US31 represents around 25 Michigan artists (and about a dozen local artists). I hope this Nov. 3rd you'll choose to do your holiday shopping in Charlevoix at any of the participating stores and thereby you'll be supporting the local economy (perhaps art) and your local organization. Think about designating your money to the LTLPF.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Say No to Illegal Government Spying

Barbara asked me to post this message so everyone can see it. The links work -- they'll take you to more information.

Legislative Action Message

Action: Say No to Illegal Government Spying

Take Action: Urge your representative to oppose warrantless eavesdropping.

Your representative will have an opportunity next week to restore oversight of government programs to eavesdrop on your telephone and Internet communications that were stripped away by legislation passed earlier this year. But the legislation to be considered next week needs to be strengthened to ensure that the government obtain an individual warrant every time it eavesdrops on the communications of U.S. citizens.

Here’s what you can do: The full House has scheduled a vote on legislation sponsored by Representatives John Conyers (MI) and Sylvestre Reyes (TX) that would restore many of the legal protections against government spying that were stripped away in legislation passed last August 2007. But the Conyers-Reyes bill, the RESTORE Act (H.R. 3773), still authorizes the government to spy on any person in the United States without an individual warrant, so long as that person is not the “primary” focus of the investigation.

This legislation should be amended to include language sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) that would ban the government from spying on any U.S. citizens without first obtaining an individual warrant from a court. This is a basic right guaranteed by the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.

Take Action

Please urge your representative to support legislation that would restore court oversight of government spying programs. Tell your representative that the legislation needs to state explicitly that the government must obtain an individual warrant every time it eavesdrops on the communications of U.S. citizens.
Read background on this legislation.
________________________________________
Contact Congress and the administration.
Order FCNL publications and "War is Not the Answer" campaign bumper stickers and yard signs.
Contribute to FCNL.
Subscribe or update your information to this list. To unsubscribe from this list, please see the end of this message.
Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists.
________________________________________
Friends Committee on National Legislation245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795fcnl@fcnl.org * http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/IBLOHSNCYW/HOWIHSNEIG/1474427091phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330
We seek a world free of war and the threat of warWe seek a society with equity and justice for allWe seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilledWe seek an earth restored.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Naomi Klein interview video

Watch John Cusack's interview with Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1184834084/bctid1209589880

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Film and Speaker Series

RE: Film and Speaker Series
When: 6:30pm Tuesday, October 23
Where: Charlevoix Public Library
What: Filmmaker to present film on Middle East.
Filmmaker, Rebecca Glotfelty, will introduce her feature length documentary "Sucha Normal Thing: A Simple Journey into the Israeli-Occupied West Bank,” Tuesday, October 23 at the Charlevoix Public Library at 6:30 p.m.

In an attempt to deconstruct her preconceived visions, filmmaker, Rebecca Glotfelty, traveled beyond the mainstream news headlines into the heart of the Palestinian West Bank to experience first-hand one of the most pressing conflicts of our time. This provocative documentary introduces the viewer to the Palestinians, Israelis and international striving to non-violently end the occupation. “Sucha Normal Thing” captures the uncertainty of a “normal” day for farmers, children, doctors and other Palestinians living in, and six Americans traveling through, occupied Palestine. The documentary, which was released in 2004, has been widely praised and has been shown at Universities throughout the United States, England and Poland.

Glotfelty has a degree in Broadcast Communications-Video Productions and a B.A in Social Science-International Relations from Michigan State University with cognates in French and Arabic. She studied Standard Arabic in Irbid, Jordan and attended the American University in Cairo in 1992 as a graduate student in Sociology

Since 2003, Glotfelty has spent 9 weeks filming Palestinian life throughout the West Bank. In December 2005, Glotfelty exhibited her photography exhibit, “What I’m Thinking: American Thoughts on the Middle East” at An Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine.

Glotfelty will lead a discussion following the film with Palestinian Peace Activist, Raad Amer.
The program is sponsored by the Little Traverse League for Peace and Freedom. For more information visit http://ltlpf.blogspot.com or call 231-547-2333. The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments by donation.

What people are saying about Sucha Normal Thing:
““It was amazing”It captured so brilliantly the day-to-day grind under occupation.” Gila Svirsky, Israeli Peace Activist
“Sucha Normal Thing” would be a valuable addition to any course that introduces the Middle East to American students.”

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Hold Blackwater & other contractors accountable in Iraq - send letter to your senator

MoveOn.org sent this e-mail to its members yesterday. Please consider following the link in the message to send a letter to your senator.


Working for American taxpayers and being above the law doesn't come cheap. Just ask Erik Prince, the head of Blackwater, U.S.A. Over the last decade, Prince has contributed almost $230,000 to Republican campaigns.1 And on September 16th, when Blackwater employees were accused of killing innocent civilians in Iraq, we learned what that investment had bought for his employees: Total immunity for their actions.

Just yesterday the House overwhelmingly passed a bill2 that would make it clear that U.S. law applies to all armed contractors hired for overseas missions.3

Now it's up to the Senate. Our friends at True Majority Action have put together a letter urging your senators to follow the House's lead. If we're going to preach the rule of law in Iraq, we can't be above it. Can you sign on to their letter?

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3039&id=11345-1699176-VoWbVe&t=1

An astounding 120,000 "private security contractors" are in Iraq, with 48,000 of them working for private military companies.4 They get paid far more than our troops in Iraq and they are essentially accountable to no one.

These companies are doing severe damage to our national image abroad—-the shooting last week has become an international scandal.

Things are bad enough in Iraq as it is, we don't need these private contractors to make it worse. Let your senators know how important it is that security contractors in Iraq be held accountable for their actions.

Please join True Majority Action's call to the Senate today.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3039&id=11345-1699176-VoWbVe&t=2

News Release from AFSC [for Rebecca]

News Release
PEACE CHURCHES HOST DIALOGUE WITH IRANIAN PRESIDENT AND 100 RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Meeting Is Third in a Series Seeking to the Use the Common Ground of Faith to Address Political Tensions

Mary Ellen McNish, AFSC General Secretary. listens as PresidentAhmadinejad respond to questions from religious leaders.

NEW YORK [SEPTEMBER 26] — More than 100 religious leaders today participated in an hour-long, interfaith encounter with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Church Center for the UnitedNations. The gathering was organized by the Mennonite Central Committee and endorsed by the American Friends Service Committee, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Mennonite Church USA,the Mennonite Church Canada and the Church of the Brethren GeneralBoard. Other endorsers included Sojourners/Call to Renewal, PaxChristi USA, the World Council of Churches Commission of Churches onInternational Affairs, and the World Conference of Religions forPeace. The meeting also included Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians,Presbyterians and others.

This is the third in a series of conversations focused on establishing a dialogue between people of faith in the United States and the people and government of Iran. The discussions began with the Iranian President's visit to the U.N. in September of last year when 43 U.S.religious leaders met with him at his hotel. In February, 13 American religious leaders visited Iran where they met with a variety of governmental, academic and religious leaders.

This ongoing dialogue emerges out of the concerns of religious leadersin the United States that the escalating political and economicconfrontation between the U.S. and Iran could lead to war. They have called on the governments of Iran and the United States to establish direct, face-to-face diplomatic negotiations as one part of an effort to create a path to peace. Known as "peace churches" for their historic witness to nonviolence, Mennonites and Quakers have long been at the forefront of international movements for peace and reconciliation.

"You make peace with those with whom you disagree, not your allies,"said Mary Ellen McNish, general secretary of the American FriendsService Committee who traveled to Iran with the February delegation."Dialogue is not a reward or validation; it is a means to begin the process of reconciliation and pave the way for future constructive relationships."

Joe Volk, executive secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, added: "When other venues have been closed, leaders of faith communities serve by demonstrating that alternatives to heated rhetoric and political isolation exist and may prevent war."

After making his opening remarks, President Ahmadinejad responded to questions submitted by the invited guests. Following his comments,panelists from a number of groups including Catholic, Evangelical and Quaker organizations made brief responses. The gathering closed with comments by Ahmadinejad and Bert Lobe, interim executive director of Mennonite Central Committee, who moderated the gathering.

Lobe summarized the meeting saying, "We spoke out of our narratives,out of our traditions, and we acknowledged the particularity that is essential to dialogue with the other." He went on to say, "This conversation occurred in sacred space, the Interfaith Tillman Chapelat the United Nations; we believe that it is conversation like this, conversation emanating from religious space and out of our particular Christian tradition that carries the voice and call to dialogue.

"The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that conducts economic development, peace-building and social justiceprograms in 22 countries and 43 locations in the U.S. AFSC wasco-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Society of Friends (Quakers) for work to alleviate the suffering of war.

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice,peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Sara Gay's thoughts on the question of terrorism

Sara Gay left this as a comment to our initial welcome to the blog. I think it's too important to be left as a comment, so I'm re-posting it.

SG said...
Thank you for setting this up. Let's examine the whole question of terrorism and counter terrorism, as major candidates are saying troops will need to be in Iraq for many years. My thinking, in part based on personal experience in the Middle East and Asia, is that as long as our policy is to counter terrorism with military force we will continue to create terrorists.

A military approach to terrorism inevitably means the deaths of innocents (Americans and Iraqis and Afghanis and others)and while we may capture or kill one or two real terrorists we anger too many others who then join the terrorists because they see no other future.Our foreign policy needs to focus on the root causes of terrorism. We need to understand the frustrations, the culture, the reasons more and more people see America as the bully, robbing other countries of their natural resources for the benefit of corporations and our own wasteful lifestyles.

A lot of change needs to happen at home. And we certainly need a major change at the top of our government.

To that end I think it would be interesting if we could find a speaker who can talk to these issues knowledgeably. Most likely not someone local but someone with some gravitas. Let's search. I think we could get a forum easily.

September 29, 2007 6:22 AM

Black Gold flyer

Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Film Series Starts Oct. 9

From: Little Traverse League for Peace and Freedom
Contact: Rebecca Glotfelty 231-547-2333
RE: Film Series
Showing When: 6:30pm Tuesday, October 9
Where: Charlevoix Public Library
What: Co-founder of Fair Trade Coffee company to introduce Showing of Documentary "Black Gold"

Chris Treter, co-founder of Higher Grounds Trading Company in TraverseCity, will introduce the documentary "Black Gold," Tuesday, October 9 at the Charlevoix Public Library at 6:30 p.m.

Black Gold follows Tadesse Meskela, representative of the Oromio Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Southern Ethiopia, as he tries to secure a living wage for the 70,000 Ethiopian coffee farmers herepresents.

After oil, coffee is the most actively traded commodity in the world with $80 billion in retail sales. But for every $3 cup of coffee, coffee farmers receive only 3 cents. Most of the money goes to the middlemen, especially the four giant conglomerates that control the coffee market.

Black Gold goes inside the coffee actions in Addis Ababa, London, and New York where the fate of the coffee-growing nations is decided. The film was an official selection at both the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.

Higher Grounds Trading Company, the only 100% fair trade coffee company in the state of Michigan, has established a close working relationship with farmers in Ethiopia. The company's mission is to provide customers with premium, gourmet handcrafted coffees from partners who are leaders in sustainable development and environmental preservation. The company combines first-rate coffee with the opportunity to create social change.

The program is sponsored by the Little Traverse League for Peace andFreedom. It is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Department of Peace resolutions - update!

This is an e-mail from Linda Henderson, passed to me by Barbara M. so it can be posted.

Hello fellow DoP activists! Tonight, by unanimous vote, Lansing City Council (Michigan's capital city) passed a resolution in support of HR 808 which embodied language urging Congressman Mike Rogers (Republican) to co-sponsor the bill, and also urging both Michigan Senators, Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, to offer a companion bill in the U.S. Senate. I will be attempting to obtain an electronic version of the resolution from the City Clerk tomorrow to pass along. I will also try to get some electronic clips of the Council Vice President's comments in support, as they directly speak to why local city councils have an interest in supporting this kind of federal legislation. I also have a pic of the council with "the poster"...I will send that along also. I have heard tonight from Robert Weir, Michigan's 6th Congressional District Leader, who informs that the Kalamazoo City Commission has their resolution calendared in two weeks. Bravo!

We have movement in that direction in Traverse City and Grand Rapids. We also believe Manistee County Commission is poised to pass a resolution in support this month.

We are busy now trying to get students to the SPA Conference at Brandeis.

We have movement in that direction in Traverse City and Grand Rapids. We also believe Manistee County Commission is poised to pass a resolution in support this month. We are busy now trying to get students to the SPA Conference at Brandeis.