Barbara MacArthur

Our wonderful and dear mother passed away early this morning, Sunday, December 14 after a courageous battle with a rare form of leukemia. As was her typical fashion, she was more concerned about those she left behind than her own passing. We, her family, will miss her more than words can say. She was deeply loved by many and we were all so fortunate to have her in our lives. Thank you for your support, prayers and, encouragement throughout this difficult time.

Laurie MacArthur, on behalf of our entire family

Pres. Elect Obama and Afghanistan

Finally on Meet the Press , President elect Barack Obama has spoken to the issue of not solving the problems in Afghanistan with military force. It was third on his list of approaches to Afghanistan Let's hope he is giving all the necessary lipservice to military solutions and truly understands the solution lies not in military force and occupation but finally delving into the complexities that comprise the geographic area known as Afghanistan, a country that is not necessarily representative of the hopes of the generations who have found themselves, within those borders,variously under the thumbs of the Brits, Soviets, US and its own warlords.
Finally, a smart guy will be President. What a relief.
Let him not be sucked into the maelstrom of Washington think.
That is all our responsibility. Hold this guy's feet to our fires.

Obama Should Make a Clean Break With the Past on Latin America

Read this article to begin educating yourself about the U.S.'s relationships with its neighboring countries:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-weisbrot/obama-should-make-a-clean_b_147812.html

It's by Mark Weisbrot and was distributed by McClatchy Tribune Information Services on November 26, 2008.  It was posted on Huffington Post on December 2.

You can read Mark's bio on the site.

Terrorism

If our foreign policy based on "FIGHTING" al qaeda we are destined to fight forever.
Our foreign policy needs CHANGE, not the same old tired cliches.
It is time to examine the root causes of terror, look at the festering sores around the world that make it so easy to recruit terrorists for the agendas of the extreme few.
Pakistan and India must resolve their issues, Israel and Palestine must resolve their issues, the Shiites and Sunnis must come to a modus vivendi, the Philippine government must work out a proper settlement with their Moslem population, the governments of Somalia, Uganda, The Congo must be helped to resolve their conflicts and stop genocies.
The United States needs to take a leadership position for peace, not constant war.
All the bombs and guns in the world will never stop terror. More troops in Afghanistan will only inflame the situation unless they are there to bring stability not bomb more civilians, not endlessly hunt in the caves of the Khyber Pass for bin Ladin. We are wasting time and resources and inflaming more terror.
Our current policies have been al Qaeda's best recruiting tools.

It is time for the US to seek creative and intelligent ways to resolve these festering human tragedies.
It is time for a new approach.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Should we include this film in our winter documentary series?