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The NewPeople is the peace and justice newspaper of Pittsburgh and the Tri-State area and fills the voids left by the mainstream by providing a media outlet reflecting the reality of progressive, alternative politics locally, nationally and globally.
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August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 1
THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE.
PITTSBURGH, PA 15224
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PITTSBURGH, PA
PERMIT NO. 458
TH
E
PITTSBURGH‘S PEACE AND JUSTICE NEWSPAPER
Published by the Thomas Merton Center VOL. 41, No. 6 August, 2011
CITIZENS DEMAND THEIR SHARE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
By Rob Conroy
Storms of all stripes raged inside
and outside of the Kingsley
Association on July 18.
Approximately 600 frustrated
local citizens crammed into the
packed East Liberty auditorium.
They met with representatives
from Pennsylvania legislators‘
offices to demand better jobs and
better futures for themselves,
their children and their
grandchildren.
The ―town hall‖-styled event--
the latest in a series of fair
economy actions at least
partially coordinated by the One
Pittsburgh coalition-- began with
a rally mixing old-fashioned
motivational preaching from the
Reverend David Thornton of the
Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact
Network (PIIN) and the Hill
District‘s Grace Memorial
Presbyterian Church. Music was
provided by the Wesley Center
AME Zionist Church choir,
Pittsburgh‘s own heartland protest
rocker Mike Stout and socially-
conscious rap/video artist Jasiri X.
The message from the stage was a
simple one repeatedly exhorted by
the Reverend Thornton: ―We are
sick and tired of being sick and
tired! God will keep us keeping on
for better jobs, justice, and one
Pittsburgh.‖
Dozens of community members
formed lines at two separate
microphones as the government and
community leaders: Jackie Erickson
of Senator Robert Casey (D-PA)‘s
office, Corey O‘Connor of U.S.
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Swissvale)‘s
office, Darcy Burner of
ProgressiveCongress.org and
Progressive Congress Action Fund,
Rev. Richard Freeman of PIIN
and Braddock‘s Resurrection
Baptist Church, and Rick Adams
of Western PA Black Political
Assembly, took their seats on the
stage at the front of the room.
Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill
Peduto (D-District 8) and a
representative from Pittsburgh
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl‘s office
were also in attendance, but
were not seated with the other
leaders.
The representatives‘ message
was spelled out as part of a
PowerPoint slide: ―Every good
American worker deserves a
good American job.‖ Ms.
Erickson brought a more local
angle from Senator Casey to the
fold, saying, ―We need to get
Pennsylvania back to work.‖
Similarly, although the fired-up
citizens speakers ran the gamut of
age, education and race, their stories
affirmed, sometimes heart-
wrenchingly, what everyone
gathered at the Kingsley Center
instinctively knew; a
disproportionate share of
Pennsylvanians need jobs and many Continued on page 3
Nuclear News
Pages 4, 5
Caravan to Cuba
– Pages 1, 9
Pittsburgh Coffee Party Page 8
TMC works to build a consciousness of values and
to raise the moral questions involved in the issues
of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice,
oppression and environmental justice.
TMC engages people of diverse philosophies and
faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent
struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just
world.
END THE EMBARGO CAMPAIGN 2011
LEAVES BY BUS FOR MEXICO AND THE UNKNOWN
By Michael Drohan
As of July 19, 2011, over 100 U.S. , Canadian and
citizens of other countries are gathered in
MacAllen, Texas readying themselves to cross the
Mexican border and on to Cuba. The group is or-
ganized by the Interreligious Foundation for
Community Organizing (IFCO) and takes the
form of a Caravan of buses, trucks and cars carry-
ing humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba. The
Embargo on Cuba has now been in force for over
50 years, an unprecedented attempt to punish the
Cuban people for having the chutzpah to believe
that the resources of Cuba should serve their own
people and not foreigners. The Embargo is a
crime against humanity but, alas, one that has be-
come normalized and accepted by the majority of
the population.
In years past I took part in IFCO Caravans to
Chiapas, Mexico in solidarity with the Zapatista
uprising of 1994 against NAFTA and the unjust
policies of the Mexican government vis-à-vis the
Mayan population. This year, however, is my first
one to Cuba even though it is the 22nd Peace Cara-
van to Cuba organized by IFCO.
Continued on Page 9
Photo by Frank Carr
Many of the hundreds gathered at the Kingsley Center to speak out for good jobs.
2 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE THOMAS MERTON CENTER 5129 PENN AVE., PITTSBURGH, PA 15224
Phone: 412-361-3022 — Fax: 412-361-0540 — Web: www.thomasmertoncenter.org
Editorial Collective
Mana Alibadi, Erica Augenstein, Frank Carr, Nicole Coast, Rob Conroy, Deyja Donohue, Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Rory Henc, Steven Green, Charles McCollester, Ken-
neth Miller, Francine Porter, Jordana Rosenfeld, Molly Rush, Florence Wyand
TMC Staff, Volunteers and Interns
Viv Shaffer, Thomas Merton Center Coordinator
Roslyn Maholland, Bookkeeper / Mig Cole, Assistant Bookkeeper
Shirley Gleditsch, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Shawna Hammond, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Dolly Mason, Furniture Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
Jordana Rosenfeld, Summer Intern
TMC Board of Directors
Casey Capitolo, Rob Conroy, Kathy Cunningham, Michael Drohan,
Mary Jo Guercio, Wanda Guthrie, Edward Kinley, Shawna Hammond, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Charles McCollester, Diane McMahon,
Jibran Mushtaq, Francine Porter, Dominique Reed, Chadwick Rink, Molly Rush, Courtney Smith, Carole Wiedmann
STANDING COMMITTEES
Board Development Committee (Recruits board members, conducts board elections)
Building Committee Oversees maintenance of 5123-5129 Penn Ave.
Membership Committee Coordinates membership goals, activities, appeals, and communications
Editorial Collective Plans, produces and distributes The NewPeople
Finance Committee Ensures financial stability and accountability of TMC
Personnel Committee Oversees staff needs, evaluation, and policies
Technology Team Provides technical advice and assistance to TMC
Special Event Committees
Plan and oversee TMC fundraising events with board and staff
(Events include the spring New Person Awards and the fall Thomas Merton Award Dinner)
Anti-War Committee [email protected] www.pittsburghendthewar.org
Book‘Em (books to prisoners)
[email protected] www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem
CodePink (Women for Peace) [email protected], 412-389-3216
www.codepink4peace.org
Conscience 412-231-1581
www.consciencepgh.blogspot.com
Demilitarize Pittsburgh: War-Profiteering Edu-cation & Action Network
412-361-3022, [email protected] www.demilitarizepittsburgh.org
Diversity Footprint (art, justice, community)
East End Community Thrift Shop 412-361-6010, [email protected]
Economic Justice Committee [email protected]
Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up
(prisoner support and advocacy) 412-802-8575, [email protected] www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup
Fight for Lifers West 412-361-3022 to leave a message
[email protected] http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com
Food Not Bombs
[email protected] http://fnb-pgh.2ya.com
In Sisterhood: The Women’s Movement in Pgh 412-621-3252, [email protected]
Literacy for Ziguinchor 724-549-4933, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance
412-867-9213
Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW!
412-422-5377, [email protected] www.pcdn.org
Pittsburgh Works! (labor history documentaries) [email protected]
Roots of Promise 724-327-2767, 412-596-0066 [email protected]
(Network of Spiritual Progressives) [email protected]
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition [email protected]; www.pittsburghdarfur.org
Sustainable Living Project [email protected], 412-551-6957
Three Rivers Area Medics (TRAM) 412-641-9191 or [email protected]
Urban Arts Project
Pittsburgh Progressive Notebook
Call 412-301-3022 for more info
The Palestine Film Festival
Call 412-301-3022 for more info
Murrysville Marcellus Community Group
Wanda Guthrie
724-327-2767
The Pittsburgh Totebag Project
Sue Kerr, 412-228-0216
P.O. Box 99204
Pittsburgh, Pa 15233
www.tote4pgh.org
The Africa Project 412-657-8513, [email protected]
www.africaproject.net
Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office 412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org
Amnesty International [email protected] www.amnestypgh.org
Association of Pittsburgh Priests Molly 412-343-3027 [email protected]
The Big Idea Bookstore 412-OUR-HEAD, www.thebigideapgh.org
Black Voices for Peace Gail Austin 412-606-1408
Citizens for Global Solutions 412-471-7852 [email protected]
Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown
Larry Blalock, [email protected]
Haiti Solidarity Committee [email protected],
412-271-8414 www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs
PA United for a Single-Payer Health Care (PUSH) www.healthcare4allPA.org Molly Rush [email protected]
Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi 412-761-4319
Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition
412-563-1519 [email protected]
Pgh Independent Media Center [email protected] www.indypgh.org
Pgh North Anti-Racism Coalition 412-367-0383
Pgh North People for Peace 412-367-1049
Pgh Palestine Solidarity Committee [email protected] www.pittsburgh-psc.org
Raging Grannies 412-963-7163, [email protected]
www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 [email protected]
School of the Americas Watch of W. PA 412-371-9722, [email protected]
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org
Urban Bikers [email protected]
Veterans for Peace [email protected]
Voices for Animals [email protected]
1-877-321-4VFA
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Eva 412-963-7163 [email protected]
TMC AFFILIATES and FRIENDS
TMC MEMBERSHIPS These are organizations or coalitions in which TMC has formal membership, including payment of dues to and fulfillment of other agreed-upon responsibilities as an organizational member
Abolition 2000: W. Pa. Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons 724-339-2242 / [email protected]
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
412-384-4310, [email protected]
TMC
HOURS of OPERATION
10 am — 3 pm
Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Friday
In this Issue
Page 4 Nuclear News
Page 6 International News: Haiti, Sudan, and India
Page 8 CODEPINK Protests Obama
Page 9 A message from the Cuba Caravan
Page 11 Jim Forest in PGH this fall
Page 12 How the U.S. has become
a plutocracy
CONTACT INFORMATION
General information ..................... www.thomasmertoncenter.org/contact-us/
Submissions .................................. [email protected]
Events & Calendar Items ............. www.bit.ly/tmcevents
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 3
FIRST THURSDAY FORUMS A MONTHLY FORUM SERIES OF IDEAS, POLITICS AND CULTURE
sponsored by the International Socialist Organization
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Sept. 1, 7:30 pm: RESISTING ATTACKS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION, TEACHERS & STUDENTS Documentary: ―The Inconvenient Truth Behind ‗Waiting for Superman‘‖
Brian Jones - New York City public school teacher, Huffington Post columnist
Kipp Dawson – Pittsburgh public school teacher, union activist
There is a concerted and well-funded assault on public schools, on teachers, and on working-class communities by billionaires and politicians who want to run education like
a business, advance privatization, and break teachers‘ unions. A documentary film, ―Waiting for Superman,‖ is part of this assault. A critical documentary response will
kick off a discussion of the issues. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Oct. 6, 7:30 pm: WORKING-CLASS LITERATURE Nick Coles - Professor, University of Pittsburgh, co-editor of American Working-Class Literature
Alicia Williamson - Graduate Student, University of Pittsburgh, researching socialist novels
Robin Clarke - Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh & poet
Paul Le Blanc – author/editor of Work and Struggle: Voices from U.S. Labor Radicalism
U.S. workers have been singing, reciting, performing, telling stories, writing, and publishing for more than three centuries. As diverse in race, gender, culture, and region as
America's working class itself, working-class literature embraces genres that include fiction, poetry, drama, memoir, oratory, journalism, letters, oral history, and songs –
reflecting varieties of work and struggle. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
NO FORUM NOVEMBER 3 – Please attend MERTON AWARD TO VANDANA SHIVA 6:00-10:00 p.m. at Sheraton Station
Square <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
><><><>
Dec. 1, 7:30 pm: NOT JUST A GAME: POWER, POLITICS & AMERICAN SPORTS Dave Zirin - sports commentator (CNN etc.), Nation columnist, author of A People’s History of Sport
Documentary: ―Not Just a Game‖
Sports and Politics Don‘t Mix!‖ Dave Zirin, whom Howard Zinn called ―Most Valuable Sportswriter,‖ exposes, with this remarkable documentary film,
the politics (militarism, racism, sexism, homophobia) actually dominating so much of sports – and highlights rebel athletes who have stood up for
social justice. Zirin will be present for the discussion that follows. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
All Forums at FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
4836 ELLSWORTH AVENUE
$2.00 SUGGESTED DONATION FOR EACH FORUM
Check us out on: isopittsburgh.blogspot.com (and also find us on Facebook). E-mail: [email protected]
of those that have jobs need better ones.
Michael Heller, a twenty-something South Side
Slopes computer programmer, said that although
approximately half of his friends are technically
employed, only half of them have ―real‖ jobs
about which they could be proud. With that in
mind, he said, the unemployment rate puzzles
him. ―Every job I‘ve ever had has been
understaffed,‖ he said. ―There‘s no reason that
people should be out of work.‖
Andrea Paganie of Economy Borough blamed
corporate greed. ―People should not have to work
until they‘re 70 to receive [Social Security]
benefits‖, she said, when corporations continue to
shirk their share of the tax burden. ―I get so
outraged when I see these corporations have legal
loopholes year after year after year,‖ she vented.
―They try to brainwash us, saying, ‗We have to
keep the money to give good jobs‘, but they don‘t
give good jobs--they keep it!‖
Others did not know whom to blame or how to
solve the problem, but wanted to share their
stories regardless.
Terry Miale, 57, of Bridgeville, was a 30-year
Verizon employee who lost her job to outsourcing
and who has now exhausted all of her
unemployment compensation. After exhaustively
searching for a job in her field, she has lost both
her home and custody of her daughter. Despite
working a part-time $8-an-hour job at Macy‘s,
she relies on food stamps for groceries and her
boyfriend to pay her rent. ―This is not the
American dream that I signed up for,‖ she said.
Benita Johnson of the North Side left school
when she was 14 to take care of her family. She
eventually earned a Bachelor‘s degree, worked
for more than 25 years, and volunteered with
numerous community public-service
organizations. Her last job was as a data collector
with the Census Bureau. When that job ended,
she attempted to enroll for her Master‘s degree
but discovered that the program in question was
cut; she had an opportunity to get another job
serving the public, but the funding for the job was
cut. She is now on Tier 3, the final stage of her
federal unemployment compensation extension,
and is facing homelessness if she does not acquire
a job soon. According to Ms. Johnson, she is at
the end of her rope. ―I refuse to be a statistic,‖
she exclaimed. ―I am a human being!‖
―I figured if my ancestors could survive slavery, I
could survive this,‖ she continued. ―But this is a
different kind of slavery—it takes the moral and
the spiritual will of a human being.‖
Rob Conroy is a Pittsburgh lawyer, advocate,
journalist, musician and activist.
Town Hall Meeting on Better Jobs (cont from page 1)
4 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
Nuclear News
Just Ahead: Nuclear-armed Drones
By Molly Rush
For longstanding opponents of the
nuclear arms race, it‘s déjà vu.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, when
Rockwell International was still
headquartered in Pittsburgh, they
were prime contractors for the B-1
bomber. Many Thomas Merton
Center members and other nuclear
opponents were arrested for
protesting at Rockwell.
Now, despite the fact that the
Pentagon still has 66 B-1s, 85
updated B-52 bombers and twenty
B-2 ―Spirit‖ bombers (which cost
between $283.1 million and $2.2
billion each during the 1990s), the
Department of Defense and the Air
Force are moving ahead on plans
for a fleet of 80 to 100 nuclear-
capable, long-range strike bombers
that could operate with or without a
pilot in the cockpit at a current
estimated cost of $55 billion [pre-
overruns that is]. Despite the fact
that our economy is at a complete
standstill, $197 million is set aside
in the 2012 budget, and $3.7 billion
over the next five years.
As Rep. Barney Frank put it, ―The
military budget is not on the table.
The military is at the table, and it is
eating everybody else‘s lunch.‖ On
July 8th, in the midst of the most
heated budget talks in recent
memory, the House easily passed
(336-87) a $649 billion defense bill
that boosted the Pentagon budget
by $17 billion. In fact, the Defense
Department is the only agency that
will see a double-digit increase in
its budget beginning Oct. 1. Our
―cost-cutting‖ former Defense
Secretary
Robert M.
Gates
defended the
need for a new
fleet of
bombers and
Howard
McKeon,
Chair of the
House Armed
Services
Committee, is
an enthusiastic supporter.
Because creation of this newly-
budgeted nuclear armed drone
requires the manufacturing of new
nuclear weapons, construction of
new nuclear bomb manufacturing
facilities is underway in Oakridge,
TN, Los Alamos, CA, and Kansas
City, KS.
There is also a strong possibility
that additional funding for the new
bomber program could already be
approved through the Air Force's
$12.6-billion classified, or "black,"
budget for weapons research and
development. If that‘s the case, it
would not be
unprecedented: the
B-2 program, one
of the largest
weapons
development
efforts since the
Manhattan Project,
was underway for
ten years before it
was made public.
The above
developments should clearly
energize longtime nuclear arms
opponents.
Fr. Louis Vitale, OFM, 79, co-
founder of the Nevada Desert
Experience, which carries out
resistance actions at the Nevada
Test Site, was released in May after
six months in prison for a School of
Americas Watch protest.
―It‘s great to be out,‖ he said, ―but
that isn‘t what‘s most important.
Nonviolent actions are over-
throwing militaries all over the
world. Let‘s turn that inspiration
into action here. The world‘s
counting on us.‖
Can we meet that challenge?
Sources: W.J. Hennigan, Los
Angeles Times, 5-22-11; Russ
Wellen, Institute of Policy Studies
blog, 6-3-11; Desert Voices,
Summer 2011; Center for Defense
Information.
Molly Rush is a member of the
Thomas Merton Center‘s Board
of Directors.
Remembering Hiroshima 2011 By Robin Alexander
August 6th and August 9th of 1945
will always be remembered as the
days when atomic bombs were
dropped on the cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Japan -- the first and
only time such weapons have been
used in warfare.
―The people of Hiroshima live each
day with the reminder of the
bombing etched into the walls and
streets of their city. We ask the
people of Pittsburgh to take a
moment from their day to just
imagine walking amongst these
shadows, and consider the
consequences of allowing these
weapons to continue to exist in our
world,‖ said Gary Huck from
ArtUp.
Remembering Hiroshima,
Imagining Peace has linked art and
activism in the
Pittsburgh community
for several years. In
addition to working to
prevent nuclear
proliferation, we will be
expanding our focus
this year in light of the
meltdown at the
Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant.
We are concerned not
only with the past, but
also the future and seek
to encourage activism
and hope.
A number of events are in the
works!
To encourage Pittsburghers to
remember the devastating impact of
nuclear weapons, Remembering
Hiroshima, Imagining Peace is
planning an art installation on
August 5th in connection with
Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn.
Join us to participate in the shadow
project, view projections of
children‘s artwork and more!
We are already planning a film
series, an art exhibit and speakers at
various venues along with peace art
activities at the Children‘s Museum.
We are also exploring the
possibility of holding a town hall
meeting on the question of nuclear
power.
Two exciting speakers are already
confirmed for the Fall!
On October 12th, Junko Kayashige,
a Hibakusha (survivor) and artist,
will speak at Carnegie Mellon
University. ―Many of us Hibakusha
do not want to tell our stories of
unhealed pain in our minds and
bodies. But we must tell the world
what has happened and what we
have gone through. Hibakusha are
aged now, and there are fewer and
fewer of us who can tell you stories
of our experiences,‖ said
Kayashige.
Lynnea Smith, a Navaho activist
who was instrumental in winning a
ban on uranium mining on the
Navaho Nation will also be
speaking at CMU in October.
Remembering Hiroshima 2011 is a
loose alliance of diverse labor,
peace, educational and cultural
organizations and individuals
who have come together to
promote awareness of the
dangers of nuclear weapons and
work for a more peaceful world.
Check out: http://
rememberinghiroshima2010.org
Robin Alexander is the Director
of International Affairs at the
United Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers of America
(UE). For more information
please contact Robin at
―The lone pine, to me, symbolizes
the peace movement. With the US
involved in four wars, the movement
is exhausted. The drones bombing
Pakistan, the continuing wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, the
"humanitarian bombing" of Libya
and now the revealing of new nu-
clear weapons production, to what
end, for what enemy? ―
~Vincent Scotti Eirene
Photo by Ko Sasaki
A lone pine tree stands amid the wreckage in Hiroshima, Japan.
As Rep. Barney Frank
put it, ―The military
budget is not on the
table. The military is
at the table, and it is
eating everybody
else‘s lunch.‖
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 5
By Anabel Dwyer with thanks to and after Jonathan Reed‘s ―The Lost Generation‖
[Read from the top down and you’ll get the essence of the problem. Read from the bottom up and you’ll get the solution]
We need nuclear weapons
I refuse to believe that
disarmament is possible
I realize that this may be a shock but
―We live by the rule of law, nonviolently,‖
is a lie and
―Security comes from greater force‖
So we can tell our children
they are not important in our lives
Our military corps will know
We have our priorities straight because
Secrecy
Is more important than
Truth
I will tell you this
Once upon a time
The judiciary was considered independent
But this will not be true in this era
This is a quick buck society
Experts tell me
30 years from now Babcock & Wilcox will still make nuclear weapons
I do not concede that
I will live in a country where citizen whistleblowers can make a difference
In the future
Chemical and radioactive contamination will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
We can stop the destruction of life
It will be evident that
Our times are violent and fruitless
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope
―And this will all come true unless we choose to reverse it.‖
Anabel Dwyer is an international lawyer dealing with the illegality of nuclear weapons. She is a member of the Lawyers' Committee on
Nuclear Policy and has defended individuals resisting nuclear weapons. [email protected]
Nuclear News
Road Trip Through the Nuclear Era By Vincent Scotti Eirene
―City was blown to bits and the ruins all caught
fire instantly everywhere, burning briskly. 70,000
people were
Killed right away or died within a few hours.
Those who did not die at once suffered great pain.
Few of them were soldiers.‖
-From "The Original Child Bomb," a poem by
Thomas Merton.
COLD WAR PILGRIMAGE 1986
I started my two mile trek through farmland with
a home made ladder spray painted black so as not
to reflect the light. A herd of cows came racing up
to me, look at me with curiosity, I whispered to
them, "I am doing this for you, too.‖ Realizing I
had no food for them, the cows ran away sound-
ing like thunder. I nervously looked up at the
guard tower and noticed the search light had
stopped strafing the field; the guard had fallen
asleep. I moved quickly now but steadily. I hit
the first fence, leaned up the ladder gently, and
felt like I flew up and over the fence and razor
wire. Once I hit the ground, the motion detectors
set off the alarms and the sleepy facility came to
life.
Out of nowhere came 36 Marines screaming, "Do
not move, just give me an excuse, boy!" Out of
the dark a voice ordered me to remove my coat, to
kneel down, to put my hands behind my back and
to cross my legs behind me. The last, an odd or-
der, caused a painful cramp in my leg and I fell
on my coat. The voice from the dark night
screamed, "Away from your coat, away from your
coat!" I scurried backwards like a hermit crab.
It was January 1, 1986; the Cold War seemed
endless, and I had trespassed on our nation‘s only
nuclear bomb factory, the Pantex nuclear bomb
factory in Amarillo, Texas. My punishment for
this intrusion was a year in prison, but I served 10
months. The cold war ended but a sense of future-
lessness did not...
1986 to 2011
Decades would go by, anti-nuclear resisters mi-
grated to anti-Iraq war and environmental activ-
ism. But nuclear weapons never sleep, nor do
they need an enemy. So under the START treaty
the "rehabbing" of aging nuclear weapons was
allowed. Read: the making of new weapons. The
new Pantex, the new nuclear bomb factory in
Kansas City, Missouri, did not come out of no-
where. Today this new Pantex is secretly prepar-
ing the produce new nuclear weapons.
It is part of decades of research about improving
nuclear weapons and their deliv-
ery systems. This includes un-
manned drones developed at
Carnegie Mellon University
here in Pittsburgh.
(As this goes to press several
new nuclear resisters have been
released. At their trial for cross-
ing the line at hell's new kitchen
the judge stated, ―I agree with
you, go and do more.‖)
The Kansas City Plant is re-
sponsible for the production and
assembly of approximately 85 percent of the non-
nuclear components of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
The plant is due to be relocated starting in 2012.
The National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA), a division of the U.S. Department of
Energy, has said the new facility will carry an
estimated price tag of $673 million for construc-
tion. The Kansas City Government has subsidized
the facility‘s construction With $815 million in
municipal bonds. Once completed, it is thought
the new Kansas City Plant will be the first nuclear
weapons complex in the world to be owned by a
city government.
The new Kansas City facility is one of several
where nuclear weapons projects are underway.
The new Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Re-
placement Project at Los Alamos, N.M., is also
under construction, and a new uranium processing
facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. is in the final stages
before approval.
Vincent Scotti Eirene is writing on behalf of
the Pittsburgh Catholic Worker Movement.
Summit Against Racism January 21, 2012
The 14th Annual Summit Against Racism will be held on Satur-
day, January 21st, 2012 at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church,
the Saturday after Martin Luther King Jr.Day, as has become
traditional. The Summit Against Racism was an important topic
of conversation at the BBQ COOKOUT FUNraiser, hosted by
the Black and White Reunion at Schenley Park on Saturday, July
9th 2011. The summit featured a magic show, food, politicians,
a remembrance of Dennis Brutus, and a lot more. It was an inte-
grated and intergenerational group of people, discussing how to
end racism and stop police brutality. The Reunion also raised
hundreds of dollars for the Alliance for Police Accountability
and the Jonny Gammage Scholarship Fund. Visit
www.justiceforjordanmiles.com for information on the Alliance
for Police Accountability.
Kenneth Miller, a member oif the editorial collective, re-
porting for Newpeople.
A Nuclear Generation ―Palindrome‖
The last building standing in Hiroshima after the
atomic bombing, aptly named The Peace Dome.
6 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
International
By Carlana Rhoten
Whether civilian or military, the people who
went to Haiti to rescue Haitians deserve the ap-
preciation of the rest of us who merely watched
reports on screen and donated a few dollars.
Although we know there is a continual pattern of
earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, floods, mud-
slides, fires, tsunamis and tornadoes in the
world, we always act surprised. We are never
fully prepared to deal with any of it.
The first few days and weeks leave MOST sur-
vivors without significant assistance. And as the
media‘s attention is diverted to other stories,
victims are forgotten.
In the case of Haiti, much of the military has
declared victory and moved out. The media has
abandoned the subject until after the rainy sea-
son hits, when hurricane season is in full force
bringing in great visuals reports.
THINK OF IT: If you are on any flat ground, it
is a floodplain where you can drown. If you try
to escape to higher ground, it is a mudslide to
fall and bury you. Where to go? There is no-
where safe to protect your family. This is Haiti
for the Haitians.
Major donors, governments, Red Cross, et al,
plan for a Haitian future. But while they are sit-
ting around their conference tables, people will
be drowning, will be buried by mud, or will be
blown away by hurricanes.
Where are the boats and helicopters for rescue
operations? Where is the shelter to keep people
dry and protected from hurricanes? Where is the
military equipment capable of moving over mud
and setting up temporary bridges to replace
those washed out?
The best plan of action would be to evacuate as
many people as possible from Haiti. Some could
come to the United States for education. Some
could relocate to French speaking places. Many
could be relocated to nearby countries, armed
with generous subsidies to make them welcome
as an economic plus.
As this form of assistance is not in the works,
we can expect a long list of tragedies as Haitians
drown at sea, in a futile attempt to escape their
deathtrap.
Carlana Rhoten is the producer of Progres-
sive Pittsburgh Notebook.
Deathtrap Haiti: Waiting for the Next Catastrophe
By Jordana Rosenfeld
Last month, I walked roughly a mile to the Crazy
Mocha in Bloomfield to speak with Himanshu
Kumar and Krishna Subramanian, two activists
who have taken action on the human rights viola-
tion of the brutally persecuted residents of Chhat-
tisgarh, India. Himanshu was visiting Pittsburgh
as part of his broader travelling to educate his fel-
low citizens of the world about the plight of the
indigenous people of Chhattisgarh, and Krishna is
the coordinator of the Pittsburgh Chhattisgarh
campaign. Upon listening to these two articulate
and dedicated men, I was struck by the compel-
ling and horrifying details of the situation in Cen-
tral India. The tribal people of Chhattisgarh have
come under attack by their own government in
conjunction with several corporations bent on
violating the human rights of Chhattisgarh natives
so that the precious minerals on top of which they
live can be extracted and sold.
The tribal people of Chhattisgarh are among the
poorest people in India. The state is home to
1,200 villages and only 50 medical centers; as a
result, the life expectancy of an indigenous person
living in Chhattisgarh is extremely low. However,
despite being severely underserved by their gov-
ernment, the natives of Chhattisgarh survive, cou-
rageously maintaining their traditional tribal life-
style. In stark contrast to the poverty of its in-
habitants, Chhattisgarh, the province of Bastar in
particular, is extremely rich in minerals – dia-
monds, tin, uranium, and coal comprise just a few
of the valuable minerals buried in the Central In-
dian soil. Since Chhattisgarh gained statehood on
November 1, 2000, its government has signed
multitudes of memoranda of understanding
(MoUs) with corporations pertaining to these
minerals. These MoUs function like contracts and
have given corporations the right to extract
Chhattisgarh‘s minerals and to use Chhattisgarh‘s
land at the expense of the tribal people living on
that land. After signing one such MOU with the
Tata Steel Corporation, a private militia called
Salwa Judum was raised to clear the lands which
the Government had signed away for billions of
dollars. The Chhattisgarh government violated the
constitution, as it did not consult the tribal people
before signing the MoUs with Tata Steel. The
private militia backed by the Chhattisgarh gov-
ernment burned 644 villages to the ground, dis-
placing 300,000 people to the surrounding forest,
states, or make-shift camps, and killing and rap-
ing thousands of innocent tribals and minor girls.
This grave human rights abuse was met with no
response from the government because acknowl-
edging the attack‘s survivors would be tanta-
mount to classifying them as refugees deserving
of aid.
Tribal people and peaceful Gandhian activists like
Himanshu who have raised questions against this
brutal eviction of tribals from their ancestral land
were branded as Naxalites (anti-social elements)
and their voices have been drowned by the gov-
ernment, which imprisons them under false
charges. Himanshu set up the Vanavasi Chetna
Ashram (VCA) in Chhattisgarh and worked there
peacefully supporting tribals for 17 years before
his ashram was destroyed.
Tensions in Chhattisgarh province have been high
ever since, with neither side backing down and
the human rights of Chhattisgarh natives continu-
ously being violated. This startling account of
greed raises important questions about the empha-
sis societies place on development and the way
they view both their natural resources and their
indigenous peoples. Yes, development; yes, ad-
vancement... but at what cost?
Those wishing for more information on the peo-
ple of Chhattisgarh or the Pittsburgh Chhattisgarh
campaign should contact Krishna Subramanian at
Jordana Rosenfeld is a human rights activist
and a high school student who is a summer
intern at The Thomas Merton Center. She for-
matted and helped to edit this edition of The
NewPeople.
Staffer Released by
Sudanese Govern-
ment
The members of the Pittsburgh Darfur
Emergency Coalition (PDEC)
welcomed the news on July 13 that
Hawaii Abdullah, a staff member of
the United Nations-African Union
Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) who
worked in the Abu Shouk displaced
persons camp in West Darfur, was re-
leased from detention by the Sudanese
government.
Ms. Abdullah had been arrested in
May and held without contact from the
outside; a picture of her in a govern-
ment-associated publication showed
evidence of mistreatment. Omar Is-
mail, a Pittsburgh area resident from
Darfur, heard about her situation
through his contacts and alerted PDEC
members. PDEC coordinator David
Rosenberg contacted Pittsburgh City
Council members, Congressman
Doyle, and Senator Casey, who ex-
pressed their concerns to the U.S.
State Department and were informed
when she was released. Niemat
Ahmadi, Darfur coordinator at Save
Darfur Coalition/Genocide Interven-
tion Network, credited these efforts
with helping to obtain Ms. Abdullah's
release.
LOCAL SOUTH SUDANESE CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE By Mary Dawn Edwards
While citizens celebrated the birth of their newly
independent nation in South Sudan on July 9,
2011, the Pittsburgh area South Sudanese com-
munity hosted a celebration in the South Hills. A
ceremony at the Whitehall Presbyterian Church
was attended by over 150 people, including U.S.
Congressman Tim Murphy and PA State Rep.
Chelsea Wagner. Other attendees included repre-
sentatives of the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency
Coalition (PDEC), Pittsburgh area residents from
Darfur, representatives of the Pittsburgh Global
Solutions Education Fund, and members of the
East Liberty Presbyterian Church Peace Commit-
tee. Continued on page 7
Crisis in Chhattisgarh
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 7
International
South Sudan (cont. from Page 6) The ceremony began with the presentation of the
new South Sudanese flag and the U.S. flag, car-
ried by youngsters and placed in the front of the
sanctuary. After the invocation by Rev. Lloyd
Sweden, Benedict Killang, former Pittsburgh
Sudanese Community President and current
President of the Union of African Communities
in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, presented a
history of South Sudan. There were welcomes in
song by a girls‘ group and by Pach Bior.
Congratulatory statements from U.S. Congress-
man Mike Doyle and PA Rep. Dan Frankel were
read. Congressman Murphy spoke about the im-
portance of continuing support for the new na-
tion as it faces its many challenges and the im-
portance of grassroots
organizations like PDEC
in advocating for all of
the people of Sudan.
Rep. Wagner stressed the
importance of children to
the future of the new na-
tion. Angelo Farouk
stressed the importance
of preserving the culture
of the country.
After the benediction, the group adjourned to the
Royal Palace to enjoy Sudanese food prepared
by community members.
The members of PDEC continue to advocate for
peace and freedom for the people of Sudan, espe-
cially as the Khartoum government continues
attacks on civilians in Darfur and in the border
regions of Abyei, South Kordofan, and Blue
Nile.
For further information, please visit our web site
atwww.pittsburghdarfur.org. or contact our coor-
dinator, David Rosenberg, at
Mary Dawn Edwards is a supporter and
member of the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency
Coalition.
By Becky Newlin
Four years had passed since I‘d spent my teaching
sabbatical in Fondwa, Haiti. In March 2011, I had
an opportunity to travel to Haiti to view the pro-
gress made by Partners in Progress on several
projects Deslandes and Fondwa. Partners in Pro-
gress is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fos-
tering sustainable community development in
rural Haiti. I arrived in Port au Prince on March
27th and traveled around the country until April
6th.
Upon my arrival in Port au Prince, Osprival
Descommes and Lord (the driver) showed up to
take me to Deslandes, located on the Artibonite
River. A word about Lord, our driver: His house
was destroyed by the 2010 earthquake and his
eight- year-old son was trapped under a huge pile
of cement. Even though Lord is a very strong
man, he was unable to remove the cement. He
spoke with his son and tried to comfort him.
Upon request, Lord got him a glass of water and
held his hand as he died. Osprival is a Haitian
Canadian and a member of Partners in Pro-
gress‘ (PIP) advisory board, who has helped to
spearhead the projects in Deslandes. On our way
to Deslandes we were stopped by UN soldiers
twice. This had never happened to me before but,
because of the political unrest (election run-offs
were to be held about a week later) security was
at a peak.
During our four-day stay in Deslandes, farmers
met to continue their work on their soil health
project. They are planning their experimental
plots for planting this season. Parents of the
school children met to discuss how they might
better help to pay the teachers by working to-
gether on collecting excess grain and selling it
during the dry season, and construction workers
met to learn how to run a diesel machine to be
used for constructing the second phase of their
new school in Deslandes. This little community is
alive and working hard to make life more sustain-
able.
On Friday we traveled to Leogane where Missy, a
woman with whom I volunteered in 2006-2007,
lives. On the way, we delivered supplies to Dr.
Delson, who works at Hopital Sainte Croix in
Leogane. Delson, his parents, and his uncle lost
their homes in the earthquake, so his family was
huddled in a little house on the edge of his earth-
quake-torn property. Despite that, Delson was
busy taking care of his menagerie of animals.
Early on Saturday, we traveled by tap-tap to
Fondwa, Haiti, near the epicenter of the earth-
quake. I had intended to stay in Fondwa for sev-
eral days, but was advised to return to Port au
Prince by Sunday evening because the results of
the runoff elections were to be announced on
Monday. They did not know what to expect, but
thought there might be unrest on the streets. Thus,
my stay in Fondwa was a very brief two days.
I was shocked by what I saw. All the building
structures that I was so familiar with were gone:
the guest house where I stayed while I was there
four years ago, the school where I taught, the
clinic, the orphanage, were not there anymore.
Over twenty years of development was destroyed
in 35 seconds. The sisters there have so much
courage. They have survived and are thriving in
spite of the great loss.
It was raining so hard while I was in Fondwa that
I couldn‘t really get around much. I did see some
of the orphans and all of the sisters. The living
conditions there are not the best. They do have a
water purification system which was donated by
the Little Brothers of St. Theresa. The sisters
share the clean water with many of their
neighbors in Fondwa. The orphans and sisters are
living in temporary wooden structures. The Sis-
ters were moving their beds around to escape the
rain leaking through the roof. What I worried
about the most, was the absence of adequate sani-
tation. I also noticed that there was not much
food.
In spite of everything, life goes on in Fondwa.
The sisters were playing card games in the eve-
ning. (Sister Carmelle, their spiritual director,
stated that since there are so many stresses, she
now encourages the sisters to exercise in the
morning, and to relax in the evening.)
The new orphanage is almost finished and
groundbreaking for the new school structure will
begin this fall. I left Fondwa feeling a bit more
hopeful than when I first arrived.
I traveled back to Port au Prince and stayed at
Norwich Mission House for two days. There were
two French women staying at Norwich. They
were art therapists who came to work with the
children in one of the tent cities. They said that
they were not prepared to hear what they heard.
The children had seen so much devastation and
experienced so much loss through the earthquake
and after, they live in fear and suffer from post
traumatic stress syndrome. It is not safe living in
the tent city. Many women and children have
been raped and further traumatized. The children
tried to express all of this through art work. The
women thought that it helped the children to talk
about what they drew. I admired these women for
this important work. I wish that all of the children
in Haiti could get this special attention and help.
The election runoff announcement took place on
Monday as expected, and the people were danc-
ing in the streets because Michel Martelly, the
popular favorite, won the election.
It was time for me to leave Haiti on April 6th and I
did so with a sad heart. It took me almost a month
before I was able to begin to process the experi-
ence. I feel so grateful for my work with Partners
in Progress because it allows me to participate in
the projects of Deslandes and the rebuilding of
Fondwa. Many of the readers of this newspaper
are contributors to PIP. Our board of directors and
our collaborators in Haiti are grateful for your
generous donations. If any others wish to join in
with PIP‘s mission: to promote and support sus-
tainable community development in rural Haiti,
please do so. Our web site is www.piphaiti.org .
Becky Newlin is currently on the staff of Part-
ners in Progress (PIP). She worked in educa-
tion for over forty years. In the summer of
2005 Becky went on a reverse mission trip to
Haiti with PIP. She returned to Haiti to work
in the Fondwa Community as an English
teacher at St. Antoine School in 2006-07. After
serving as a board member of Partners in Pro-
gress, Becky took her current part-time posi-
tion in PIP‘s office in Ligonier.
Return to Haiti: March 27th
to April 6, 2011
Children (left) performing at the celebration of South Sudan‘s
independence on July 9.
Photo by Mary Dawn Edwards
8 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
Local Coffee Party Brewing Ideas for ―Better Government‖ By Frank Kirkwood
The Coffee Party? Really? Sort of the opposite of
the Tea Party? Well, not exactly. The Coffee
Party, like the Tea Party, is a gathering of people
who think that there is something seriously
wrong with the way our government and our
media work and that the people in Washington,
left alone, will never fix it. We, the citizens, are
going to have to fix it. But, Coffee Party
members aren‘t against ―government‖, we think
it‘s the way the government works that needs to
be fixed.
We want to engage the country in a civil
conversation about some very practical
changes that will help us get our democracy
to work for us again. Ideas like getting
corporations out of our elections, breaking
the dependant relationship that Congress has
with those who buy influence by writing
checks to politicians‘ campaigns and by
getting the people and corporations, who
used to pay the taxes to keep the country
healthy and strong, to start paying their fair
share again.
The Coffee Party got its start when Annabel
Park of Silver Spring, MD posted a comment
on her Facebook page in early 2010: "let's
start a coffee party... smoothie party. red bull
party. anything but tea....Let's get
together...and have real political dialogue
with substance and compassion." Her rant hit
a nerve. She created the Join the Coffee Party
Movement fan page on Facebook which quickly
went viral. The page now has over 384,000
―fans‖.
Park called for an end to the politics of
obstructionism and a new recognition of the need
for our government to work cooperatively toward
solutions. The response to Annabel‘s call for a
Coffee Party was strong, with over 500 meetings
occurring across the country, including
Pittsburgh. Lynda Park (sister of Annabel) and I
co-chair the local meetings. We have been
reaching out to the community and organizing to
do the hard work of making real change. We
acknowledge the David vs. Goliath nature of our
struggle. The ability of corporations and the
super-wealthy to grant or withhold payments to
our politicians‘ election campaigns had long ago
created a situation where a tiny percentage of the
population gained a dominance over the actions
of our Congress. Since the Citizens United
Supreme Court decision, which gave
corporations the right to spend unlimited
amounts of money to influence the outcome of
elections, the fragile health of our democracy has
taken a serious turn for the worse. Today a
lobbyist can walk into our Senator‘s office and
say, ―My company is going to spend five million
dollars in Pennsylvania‘s Senate race next year.
I‘m here to discuss with you whether we‘re
going to spend it for you or against you.‖
That‘s the situation we are in right now.
Whatever our hopes are for a better future, be it a
peaceful world, health care for everyone, an end
to poverty and its sorrows, a planet that can
continue to support human life or maybe just the
right not to have fracking fluid in your drinking
water, we need to recognize that the possibilities
for these futures have been diminished. If our
political system remains dominated by those who
are indifferent or even opposed to the future we
hope for, we may never get to those better
futures. The Coffee Party Movement is working,
in Pittsburgh and across the country, to fix the
money-in-politics problem and to strengthen our
democracy. It is the change that makes all others
possible. Please join us. www.coffeepartypa.org
http://www.facebook.com/coffeepartypgh or
email us at [email protected]. See our
made-in-Pittsburgh video, ―16 Corporations or
We the People?‖, on YouTube.
Frank Kirkwood is a member of the Coffee
Party and a long-time Pittsburgh activist.
Local News
By Francine Porter
CODEPINK Women for Peace and The
Women‘s International League for Peace and
Freedom sent out a call to action for activists in
the Pittsburgh area to come out and protest
President Obama‘s visit to Carnegie Mellon‘s
National Robotics Engineering Center on Fri-
day, June 24th.
Even though security was very tight, many ac-
tivists from different groups lined the route from
Oakland to the Robotics Center located in Law-
renceville at Butler Street and the 40th Street
Bridge. Climate Justice, Anti War Activists,
displaced workers, labor leaders and fair trade
advocates protesting unemployment in commu-
nities across Pennsylvania should the Korea Free
Trade Agreement and other pending trade deals
championed by the President move forward,
came out to give Obama a warm welcome.
The National Robotics Engineering Center has
played a large role in robotic warfare. Riding on
the heels of Obama‘s announcement that he will
withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan next
year, his visit conjures up the possibilities of
withdrawing human troops and escalating drone
warfare in the region since our government re-
gards them as effective in winning the war on
terror.
As the president‘s motorcade came down 40th
Street, a large banner reading ―Bring Our War
Dollars Home‖ was unfurled. While many are
unemployed and under employed, are living
without healthcare, are unable to feed their fami-
lies, with social
programs being cut,
roads and bridges
are crum- bling, and
education is getting
harder for many to
provide, our gov-
ernment is spending
well over 54% of
the federal budget on
war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Libya.
They provide Israel with 3 billion dollars a year
in military aid to continue the slaughter of civil-
ians in Gaza. Many progressives are still appre-
hensive to come out and oppose Obama‘s failed
policies, or the continuation of George W.
Bush‘s policies.
We see, as time goes on, it wasn‘t enough to
vote a Democratic "Hope and Change" agent
into the White House. The man awarded a
Nobel Peace Prize has given us nothing but
more war.
Why have so many abandoned the peace move-
ment? Possibly due to the economic crunch so
many middle class and lower class people are
busy working not just one but two jobs, they
don't have time to come out on the streets. If
you live paycheck to paycheck, it is hard to find
the funds for a trip to Washington DC for a na-
tional protest. War has also become part of the
normal fabric of life here in the U.S. after almost
a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many that
once took to the streets now no longer see the
power of protesting effective against the military
-industrial complex.
If U.S. foreign policy is ever to change, it won't
be due to the efforts of any elected politician,
but to the efforts of direct action and organizing
- the type that brought about civil rights, gay
rights, and women‘s rights. Just as the recent
uprising changed Egypt and inspired other Arab
countries to rise up against their autocratic lead-
ers, it's only from the power of the people that
there is truly any hope for a peaceful future.
Francine Porter is the Coordinator of CO-
DEPINK Pittsburgh Women for Peace.
CODEPINK Protests Obama at Robotics Center
YOUR AD
HERE!
To inquire about advertis-
ing space in next month‘s
issue, email [email protected]
www.thomasmertoncenter.org
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 9
It takes a tremendous amount of logistics and
coordination to bring off this event and it took
over six months to organize. Different buses
travelled through 13 routes visiting various cities
and communities in the US and gathering 100
tons of humanitarian aid consisting of medicinal,
mechanical and computer
goods among others.
The National leader of
IFCO is now Rev. Tom
Smith of Monumental
Baptist Church,
Pittsburgh. He replaces
the former leader, Rev.
Lucius Walker who died
approximately one year
ago. Lucius Walker had
been leading these
Caravans to Nicaragua,
Guatemala, Cuba,
Chiapas, Honduras and El
Salvador since 1988
when he was wounded by
a US bullet in Nicaragua as he visited the Meskite
Indians on the Atlantic coast.. He became a
symbol of solidarity with peoples around the
world whom the US government was punishing
either militarily, economically or politically. In
addition to Tom Smith and myself from
Pittsburgh, Lisa Valanti is also a part of the
Caravan, as she has been for every one of the 21
Caravans that have taken place so far. There are
few militants to compare with Lisa in
commitment to the people of Cuba and to the
fight against the embargo.
As we go to the US-Mexico border
on July 20, it is a leap into the
unknown. Officially the foreign
policy towards Cuba has changed
but little. The objective is still to
destroy the Cuban economy and its
social system.
Michael Drohan is a political
economist specializing in
analysis of Third World
economies and a member of The
Thomas Merton Center‘s Board
of Directors.
End the Embargo Campaign (continued from page 1)
Local News
Hi Everyone, Just got word from Michael Drohan who is with the Pastors for Peace Caravan with Humanitarian Aid to Cuba. The caravan just passed from McAllen, Texas across the border into Mexico. At the border, U.S. Customs arbitrarily confiscated seven computers that were meant to go to schools and hospitals in Cuba. Although the group of over 100 participants protested the confiscation, the computers were not returned. The Pastors for Peace Caravan is continuing on its journey, but asking all of us to contact our U.S. Repre-sentatives asking them to look into the situation with the demand for the return of the 7 computers to Pas-tors for Peace. Here are the numbers to call: Rep. Mike Doyle: 202-225-2135 Rep. Tim Murphy: 202-225-2301 Rep. Jason Altmire: 202-225-2565 Rep. Mark Critz: 202-225-2065 Rep. Mike Kelly: 202-225-5406 As you know, the Pastors are against the harmful embargo on Cuba that has lasted over 50 years bringing suffering and poverty to many of the Cuban people and crippling their ability to prosper. Despite that, however, their literacy rate is high and their health care universal. Please call today! It is our way to be in solidarity with those on the caravan. Gratefully, Joyce Rothmerel
A Message from the Pastors for Peace Caravan
The Pastors for Peace Caravan, loaded with aid bound for Cuba, as it gets ready to depart
Seven computers meant for Cuban schools and hospitals were
seized from the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba. The Caravan
asks that its supporters contact their Representatives and ask for an
investigation.
Moshe Sherman
Photo by Pastors for Peace
Photo by Pastors for Peace
10 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
Local News
Pittsburgh Community Television seen on COMCAST Channel 21 and VERIZON FIOS Channel 47 inside the Pittsburgh city limits.
―POISONED BY MARCELLUS SHALE GAS WELL FRACKING ―
Featuring Charles McCollester, author of THE POINT OF PITTSBURGH ;
Senator Jim Ferlo, author of Marcellus Shale Moratorium Legislation; Alex Lotorto and James Bonner of Marcellus Protest.org; and mu-
sic by Mike Stout ―The Tale of Marcellus Shale‖
1st week: Monday the 1st at 9 PM
Wed the 3rd at 7 PM
Thur the 4th at 7 AM
Friday the 5th at 5 PM
2nd week Mon the 8th at 9 PM
Tues the 9th at 3 AM
Wed the 10th at 10 PM
Thur the 11th at 10 AM
Fri the 12th at 4 PM
3rd week Mon the 15th at 11 PM
Thur the 18th at 7 AM
Thur the 18th at 10 AM
Sometimes you can get it live stream at www.pctv21.org
...................................................................................
Send listing information or corrections to: Carlana Rhoten 412-363-7472 tvnote-
\\
August Schedule for Progressive Pittsburgh Note-
book TV Programs
By Molly Rush
―Who are we as men to say that the call of
women is invalid?...At the core of the issue is
sexism. Sexism, like racism, is a sin.‖
- Father Roy Bourgeois
Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the
Americas Watch, has been jailed many times for
protests at the School of the Americas in Fort
Benning, Georgia.
But now he faces a life sentence. That is, the
Vatican has declared the Maryknoll priest ex-
communicated from the Roman Catholic Church
because of his support for the ordination of
women. He was celebrant and homilist at the or-
dination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a longtime
peace activist.
He was in Pittsburgh on July 25th to receive the
21st Century Prophet Award from Call to Action
-Pennsylvania. Three days earlier, in an unprece-
dented move, 157 Catholic priests, including
some local priests, signed on to an open letter in
support of their fellow embattled priest.
The CTA event opened with a Mass on the Feast
of St. Mary of Magdala celebrated by Bishop
Joan Houk, who was ordained on the Mon River
in 2006 by Roman Catholic Womenpriests. She
is not recognized by Rome and was declared
automatically excommunicated.
The Vatican has forbidden even discussion of
women‘s ordination, claiming infallibility on the
issue.
Fr. Roy noted that trying to stop it is ―like trying
to stop women‘s suffrage or the abolitionist
movement.‖
In March his superior ordered him to recant or he
would be dismissed from Maryknoll. In April he
replied in a letter that ―I believe that our
Church‘s teaching that excludes women from the
priesthood defies both faith and reason… [and]
implies that men are superior to women.‖
He cited a 1976 report by the Pontifical Biblical
Commission, the Vatican‘s top Scripture schol-
ars, who concluded that there is no valid case to
be made against the ordination of women from
the Scriptures. Rather, ―There is neither male nor
female. In Christ Jesus you are one.‖ –Galatians
3:28. Continued on page 14
Fr. Roy Bourgeois of SOA Watch Honored Here
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 11
Building Change Film Festival October 13-15, 2011
The mission of the Building Change Film Festival is to open the viewer’s eyes to the injustices that we see in the world by screening films that will celebrate struggle, shed light on these injustices, and show us possibilities for a better future. We are looking for feature length, mid, and short films themed around social justice issues, preferably those relevant to southwestern Pennsylvania. This is open to a full range of issues including; environment, poverty, LGBTQ issues, racial and gender equality, food justice, and human rights issues. Ideal films will demonstrate the power of filmmaking as a vehicle for exploration of social justice issues and moti-vate viewers to promote change.
Films will be screened at several venues across Pittsburgh during this 5-day film festival. It is a component of Building Change: A Conver-gence for Social Justice. For more information, visit www.buildingchangewpa.org. The Thomas Merton is a co-sponsor of this event. Late deadline: August 10th
Local News
"What we would like to do is change the world--make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.
And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute--the rights of the worthy and the
unworthy poor, in other words--we can, to a certain extent, change the world
— Dorothy Day
The Thomas Merton Center, Pax Christi Pgh., the Association of Pgh Priests and co-sponsors CLC-Pgh (Ignatian Christian Life Community),
FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve), the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, Sis-
ters of Divine Providence, St. James Wilkinsburg and St. Thomas More Peace & Justice Committees invite
you to attend:
Public lecture: Dorothy Day: a Saint for Our Times
Author Jim Forest will sign his new book, All is Grace
Friday, October 14th — 7:30 p.m.
St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral
Boulevard of the Allies and Dawson St., Oakland
Donation requested: $5/scholarships available
Retreat Day: The Intersection of Spirituality and Social Justice
Saturday the 15th — 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Holy Family of Nazareth Retreat Center
Near Perrysville exit, Route 279
$30 includes lunch
Arrangements are underway for a session with high school and college students on Friday afternoon.
Jim Forest, secretary of the International Orthodox Peace Fellowship, is author of All is Grace, the widely acclaimed new and comprehen-
sive biography of Dorothy Day who founded the Catholic Worker Hospitality House in New York City. Its publisher is Orbis Books
www.orbisbooks.com .
Jim worked closely with Dorothy Day for 20 years and was managing editor of The Catholic Worker. One of the Milwaukee 14, arrested in 1968 for
burning draft files, he helped start the Catholic Peace Fellowship, Former Secretary General for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation he lives in
Aalkmaar, the Netherlands.
Jim had a long-term friendship with Thomas Merton, who dedicated a book to him. A journalist and writer, Jim‘s books include Praying with Icons,
Ladder of the Beatitudes, The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life, & biographies of Merton and Day, to name a few.
He met Dorothy Day (1897-1980) in 1960. His affection for and knowledge of her life and work inform All Is Grace, which significantly revises and
expands his 1986 biography, Love Is the Measure.
Jim writes of Dorothy: (She) was a person of contradictions: activist and contemplative, political radical and a theological conservative. Intending
to found a newspaper, The Catholic Worker, she ended up founding a movement..
Today there are over 200 Catholic Worker communities. They provide shelter for the homeless, feed the hungry and participate in nonviolent acts of re-
sistance to war, injustice and nuclear weapons.
Space is limited for the Retreat Day, so sign up as soon as possible. Contact Carol Gonzalez [email protected]; 412.322.2189, Mimi Darragh
[email protected], or Molly Rush [email protected] to reserve a space or for more information.
If you are able to support Jim‘s visit with a donation for travel and honoraria or scholarships, we will be most grateful. Please write a check to ―The
Thomas Merton Center‖ earmarked ―Jim Forest and send it to Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Thank you.
From reviews of All is Grace:
Drawing from Day’s recently published letters and many other sources, this expanded edition with copious photos and illustrations chronicles in rich
detail the life and mission of a social reformer, peace activist and ardent campaigner for social justice……a compelling window into the mind, heart and
soul of a woman whose life was indeed grace-filled. – Catholic Book Club Selection, May 2011, America magazine
With All Is Grace, Jim Forest has given us the real Dorothy Day, sensual, confused, hungering, intelligent, radical, and wonderfully graced. – Ed
McCartan
Forest is an accomplished writer and his fluent prose is a pleasure to read…. The accumulation of details and insights in All Is Grace that accrue from
Forest’s carefully chosen and illustrative anecdotes weaves a seamless portrait of Day that mirrors her profound international sensibility. Excerpts from
her writings reveal the almost palpable delight she took in the physical, sensual world, qualities that infused her distinctive prose style with warmth and
clarity. - Rachelle Linnner, Catholic News Service
Dorothy Day Biographer Jim Forest Here October 14-15
Jim Forest, Dorothy Day Biographer
12 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
Economic Justice
The U.S. Political Economy: the Trajectory From Democracy
to Plutocracy
By Michael Drohan
Although the United States‘ history as a true
democracy has been fraught with its share of
difficulties, the U.S. arguably achieved its
democratic apogee in the 1960s when it finally
extended democratic rights to a large swathe of
disenfranchised African-Americans in the South.
Our nation began its life of independence as a
slave-ocracy. At the time that our nation was
founded, only property owners possessed the right
to vote, and most of the leaders of the new
Republic were not only property owners, but were
slave owners. Women, slaves and non-property
owning whites--i.e., the majority of the our
fledgling nation‘s population--were excluded
from voting and other democratic rights.
Gradually, the exclusions from democratic rights
were removed and in the 1960s--well nigh two
hundred years after the birth of the nation--such
rights became universal.
As democratic rights were extended to most (if
not all) citizens, so were economic rights, leading
to the formation of what is now commonly called
the ―middle class.‖ Principally through the
reforms of the New Deal in the 1930s and the
introduction of the Social Security and Medicare
programs, income inequality was greatly reduced
and the so-called middle class was firmly
established by the 1960s. However, over the past
30 years, the U.S. government has determinedly
rolled back the democratic achievements of the
previous four to five decades.
With the advent of Ronald Reagan‘s presidency,
the U.S. system began its transition from a
democracy to a plutocracy. At present, there
appears to be a tacitly bipartisan agreement to
steadily institutionalize the new plutocratic
regime, although it should be added that the
Republican Party provides most of the
noteworthy warriors in the plutocratic army. In
2010, the conservative majority of the U.S.
Supreme Court issued its decision in the Citizens
United vs Federal Elections Commission Act case
(558 U.S. 08-205). In that case, the Supreme
Court granted corporations and unions the right to
donate unlimited amounts of money to candidates
for elected office. In a very real sense, this Act
gives corporations an unprecedented level of
control over the election of government officials
and disenfranchises the population at large.
The most recent move toward a total U.S.
plutocracy is the present battle over the raising of
the U.S. federal debt ceiling. For the first time in
U.S. history, the raising of the debt limit is being
used as a battering ram to demolish the final
ramparts of the US safety net system for poorer
and working class Americans. All forms of social
spending , including sacred institutions like the
aforementioned Social Security and Medicare
programs, are under attack. Such a craven use of
the debt limit as a political tool is, of course, rank
hypocrisy. History has repeatedly shown that the
Republican Party (or, to perhaps a lesser extent,
the Democratic Party) cares not a whittle about
the debt, as the raising of said debt ceiling five
times under President George W. Bush with nary
a whimper from either party clearly shows.
Although there are many measures of equality or
inequality in the U.S. and other countries, one of
the most common measures is the share of total
national income that goes to successive fifths of
the population (called quintiles) from the lowest
income receivers to the highest. The U.S. Census
Bureau provides these figures and in 2009, the
most recent year for which figures are available,
the lowest fifth got 3.9% of total national income
while the top fifth received 48.2%. The
percentage of national income attributed to the
lowest fifth is the lowest percentage since the
Great Depression. For the highest fifth, the record
high was 48.5% in 2005, and this figure has been
trending upward since the 1980s. In contrast,
from the 1940s to the 1980s, the income
percentage of the top quintile hovered around
40%.
Another measure of income inequality can be
gleaned from a look at the change in income of
top corporate officials as compared with
production workers. In that regard, the CEO of
Wal-Mart now earns approximately 900 times the
income of a shop floor employee. By contrast, the
1968 income of the General Motors CEO was 66
times that of an automobile production worker.
In this respect, the U.S. is more like a Third
World nation than it has ever been, since a typical
Third World nation has a tiny elite siphoning
most of the income and wealth with the vast
majority of the remaining population hovering
around subsistence level. The present struggle
over the national debt limit is only the latest
manifestation of the Republican Party‘s plan to
decimate what is left of our dwindling ―middle
class‖ by removing nearly all of the safety nets
available to lower income individuals. Social
Security and Medicare constitute the bulwark of
lower income security.
Before the institution of those programs in 1936,
poverty was rampant among the elderly
population; Social Security was established as a
national trust fund with its own income stream
from which benefits are paid. Since its inception
in 1936, the Social Security trust has accumulated
a $2.6 trillion surplus. Despite the fact that these
funds are by law not part of the national budget
(these surpluses cannot be used for any purposes
other than Social Security payments), this does
not deter Congressional plutocrats from asserting
that benefits must be decreased in order to
―balance the budget.‖ Although there are a few
politicians (such as Bernie Sanders of Vermont )
vocally defending Social Security and Medicare
from those who would rob these entitlements in
order to grant more tax cuts to the already
wealthy, signs are that President Obama is at least
nominally giving in to the ―budget balancers‘‖
illegal demands.
It is beyond time to fight back against all of the
attacks aimed at the swath of the population that
only too recently emerged from poverty and
misery.
Michael Drohan is a political economist
specializing in analysis of Third World
economies and a member of The Thomas
Merton Center‘s Board of Directors.
By Carlana Rhoten
One of the more famous truisms: ―A capitalist
will sell you the rope you need to hang him.‖
In 1972, when Richard Nixon and Henry
Kissinger came up with their brilliant ―China pol-
icy,‖ the Chinese people were busy destroying
their society and whatever culture they had left
under communism. Knuckleheaded youths were
recruited into the Red Guard and set loose to tor-
ture their teachers and to trash the homes and ca-
reers of anyone they deemed ―counter-
revolutionary,‖ or ‖revisionists.‖
In the midst of this suicidal chaos came Nixon
and Kissinger bearing gifts. These two Americans
chuckled at pulling a fast one over on the Soviet
Union, while at the same time opening up the
Chinese market to American made goods. They
salivated at the vision of increased American jobs
at home and future American profits in Asia.
The Chinese may be crazy but they are not stupid.
Their leaders were so astounded by the audacity
of the Nixon/Kissinger team that they stopped
their own furious self-destruction. Being good
communists, they would have remembered the
rope quote, and would have instantly recognized
the opportunity being offered to them.
One can only imagine with what difficulty the
Chinese kept a straight face. They refrained from
rolling their eyes or laughing out loud as waves of
American politicians, diplomats (such as George
H.W. Bush) and businessmen came to kowtow
before them.
Prior to 1972, the Chinese nation was not project-
ing itself on the world stage. The leadership was
obsessed with their own affairs and defending
themselves against the American sponsored Tai-
wan traitors and any form of dissent or revision-
ism.
Within four short years, the Chinese got over their
shock at the Nixon/Kissinger initiative to declare
that ―to grow rich is glorious.‖ For the past 35
years they have been buying every inch of rope
any capitalist has brought to them.
The peculiar thing about American capitalism is
that we have legally codified the short-term profit
motive. That is to say, the courts have declared
that the first fiduciary obligation of a corporation
is to maximize the profits paid to the shareholders
in the next quarter.
In effect, it transforms the drive for maximum
profit into a juggernaut that cannot be stopped or
diverted. It has no steering wheel or brake, put-
ting decision-making in both business and gov-
ernment policies on automatic pilot. The
brainlessness of this precludes any long range
planning and prevents any investments based on Continued on page 13
Profit Isn‘t Everything, It‘s the Only Thing:
the Secret Cannibals of Capitalism
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 13
Another year goes by, and the crimes of graduates
and instructors of the School of the Americas/
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Coopera-
tion (SOA/WHINSEC) continue to strengthen our
resolve to shut down the SOA, a combat training
school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort
Benning, Georgia. This December will mark the
30th anniversary of the massacre of close to 800 in-
digenous villagers in the El Mozote region of El Sal-
vador. Still, graduates of the SOA are leading the
repression, killing hundreds and displacing thou-
sands of Hondurans. Mexicans and immigrants pass-
ing through Mexico are the target of drug cartels and
death squads like the "Zetas" - another product of
SOA training. In the midst of the continuing war in
Colombia, fueled by SOA violence, union killings
touched 51 in 2010. Visit www.soawatch.org for
more information
Commemorate the Martyrs, Cele-
brate the Resistance: Close the SOA!
November 18-20, 2011:
SOA Watch Vigil
Gates of Fort Benning, Georgia
2011 Thomas Merton
Award Dinner Honoring Dr. Vandana Shiva
November 3, 2011
Sheraton Station Square
Register at www.thomasmertoncenter.org
Economic Justice
humane considerations, the social good, en-
vironmental consequences or even patriotic
nationalism.
The energy factor provides several examples
of how target fixation on short- term profits
led our own business and political leaders to
commit treason:
(1) Since the oil embargo of 1973, we
have known that we are at the edge
of an energy crisis of one type or
another. And yet, all the efforts of
our businesses and government
policies have been to push for
global trade that increases energy
use exponentially. Genuine home-
land security is to be able to survive
and function with its own agricul-
ture and manufacturing assets,
should there be a loss of imports.
(2) The vast marketing effort to sell gas
guzzlers to China has created a gi-
ant competitor in the oil market. By
itself, this will raise the price of
gasoline for every American and
thereby the cost of doing business
inside our own country. This conse-
quence is coming down the road
and soon to hit us.
In 1972, the United States was the world‘s
biggest importer of raw materials, the big-
gest manufacturer of finished goods, and the
creditor for nations needing a loan of capi-
tal. The dollar was strong and we were a
model of prosperity. Poverty was mainly
the problem of African-Americans and other
minorities along with Appalachian whites.
Today, after 35 years of American led
global trade policies, the United States ex-
ports raw materials, imports practically
every item we need to purchase, and has
become the world‘s biggest debtor, with our
dollar sinking fast to worthless. We have
hocked our present and future to feed our
addiction to short-term profit. Foreigners
flock to the fire sale of whatever we have
left of value.
Given our relative weakness and loss of
status, the Chinese no longer have to sup-
press their joy at their own preeminence, or
their contempt and displeasure when Ameri-
cans annoy them. On the world stage, our
universities and military weaponry are about
the only things left to attract foreign admira-
tion. Nations still send their students while
our own students drop out for lack of funds.
We still enjoy (for the time being) a brisk
business in selling military weapons and
surveillance equipment to dictatorships and
democracies alike.
American foreign policy has become so
incoherent that the world population has
identified the ―world‘s only superpower‖ as
potentially the greatest threat to their own
freedoms, peace and security. Many also
feel injured by our trade policies that have
forced much of the world‘s economy to fol-
low our slavish devotion to the short-term
profit.
Normally, when people feel sufficiently
threatened by an armed lunatic, they will
take action to put him down. At the interna-
tional level, we are being perceived as the
armed lunatic; rather than the vision we hold
of ourselves as a stable leader who can be
depended upon.
America‘s role in the world since WWII has
been a mixed bag of good deeds and horren-
dously bad actions scrambled together over
the years. While we were prosperous, it was
easier to be forgiven. But sooner or later,
chickens do come home to roost. The
wealthiest capitalists among us are moving
to Dubai.
Carlana Rhoten is the producer of Pro-
gressive Pittsburgh Notebook.
Profit (cont from page 12)
Stand up for Dignity, Justice,
Solidarity, and Self-
Determination!
14 - NEWPEOPLE August, 2011
Further, he wrote, that Vatican II, ―in The Church in the Modern World states: ‗Every type of discrimination… based on sex… is to be overcome
and eradicated as contrary to God‘s intent.‘
―The Church is in a crisis today because of the sexual
abuse scandal and the closing of hundreds of churches
because of a shortage of priests…we need the wisdom,
experience and voices of women in the priesthood.
―As Catholics we believe in the primacy and sacredness
of conscience…And it is my conscience that compels me
to say that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is
a grave injustice against women, against our Church and
against our God who calls both men and women to the
priesthood.‖
He noted a 1968 statement by the present Pope Benedict
XVI: ―Over the Pope… there still stands one‘s own con-
science before all else, if necessary, even against the re-
quirement of ecclesiastical authority.‖
Roy‘s letter continues, ―What you are requiring of me is
not possible without betraying my conscience. In essence,
you are telling me to lie and say that I do not believe that
God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I
cannot do, therefore I will not recant.‖
He has not as yet received a reply from the Maryknoll
Superior General, Rev. Edward Dougherty, MM.
Molly Rush is a member of the Thomas Merton Cen-
ter‘s Board of Directors.
By Michael Drohan
There are few histories of wars that can match
Adam Hochschild‘s history of World War I (1914
-1918) in terms of sheer readability. Unlike most
books on this subject, Hochschild‘s tome not only
provides an insightful account of this futile war‘s
events but also covers the vibrant anti-war move-
ments in each of the countries involved in the
conflict. The fact that World War I stands as one
of history‘s most senseless spasms of carnage—
one which, quite frankly, defies rational explana-
tion--is amply laid out by Hochschild. The toll of
the war for that time was quite incredible, as
somewhere between 8.5 and 10 million soldiers
from the combatant countries lost their lives in
the conflict and additional civilian deaths through
shelling and air raids are estimated to be between
the 12 and 13 million mark. However, according
to Hochschild, the casualties do not end there, as
he asserts that the world flu pandemic of 1918
was basically spread from the United States to the
rest of the world through the war. The flu started
at an army base in Kansas and war carried it to
Europe that spring, leaving approximately 50 mil-
lion dead in its wake.
As Hoschschild notes, most of the pretexts of-
fered by the participating countries do not bear
examination, and Hochschild maintains that Brit-
ain‘s entry into the war was perhaps the most
baseless. The British offered the ―defense of
small countries‖ rationale for declaring war on
Germany (using Germany‘s takeover of Belgium
in its thrust against France as its case in point),
conveniently ignoring the fact Britain itself was
then occupying many small countries around the
globe. On the home front, the entry of the U.S.
into the war in early 1917 was almost certainly
based upon simple opportunism—a ploy to re-
ceive its share of the spoils of war. Perhaps the
best explanation of the Allies motivation for the
war is spelled out within the terms of the Ver-
sailles Agreement that concluded the war. In this
―agreement‖, the Allies gained the coveted colo-
nies of the German and Ottoman Empires in Af-
rica, Asia and the Middle East, thus exposing the
blatant imperialism lay at the heart of the war for
their side. But perhaps the most damning feature
of World War I was that it laid the groundwork
for the more ferocious war of World War II. At
Versailles, the British and the French not only
took over the former colonies of the vanquished,
but the crippling indemnities and reparations the
Allies imposed upon Germany undoubtedly laid
the foundation for the rise of fascism fewer than
20 years later.
Hochschild‘s coverage of the anti-war movements
in each of the participating companies is also ex-
emplary. Prior to the outbreak of war, the socialist
movements in the European countries had made a
resolution that they would not participate in any
ensuing military conflict. In their analysis, such a
war would pit the working classes of the various
countries against one another in fighting the war
of the ruling classes. In Britain, one of the great-
est voices against the war was the future Nobel
Laureate Bertrand Russell, who was ultimately
imprisoned for his efforts. Sylvia Pankhurst, the
legendary suffragette, was also an ardent resistor.
Keir Hardie, a Member of Parliament from Scot-
land led a tireless battle against the war. In Ger-
many, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg to-
gether with a very militant socialist cadre opposed
the war tooth and nail. The story of the struggles
and defeats of the war resistors is woven into
Hochschild‘s account in a very creative and re-
warding fashion.
For antiwar activists, Hochschild‘s book is truly
worth studying and reading. The irrationality, ly-
ing and dissembling that characterized that war
have changed little over the course of future mili-
tary actions. The ability of the ruling classes to
draft millions of working class and poor young
men and women is as strong as ever, with a
largely jingoistic press disseminating pro-war
propaganda then and now. There are, however,
significant differences. Today, at least, we have
the alternative press in all of its incarnations (the
Wikileaks phenomenon, for instance, helped to
uncover the lies and horrors of the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan) and antiwar voices today have
not been silenced through imprisonment as they
were in the days of World War I. And so the pros-
pects and hope are on our side in a way that did
not exist at the time that Hochschild covers in this
fine, fine book.
Michael Drohan is a political economist spe-
cializing in analysis of Third World economies
and a member of the Thomas Merton Center‘s
Board of Directors.
Ending All Wars
Book Review: To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild
The most recent Peaceful Gathering of Hands. More than 500 people descended on Schenley Park to work
for and celebrate peace. See calendar listings on page 16 for information about the next gathering.
Photo by Linda
Honoring Fr. Roy Bourgeois (cont from page 10)
August, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 15
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PCTV21 (COMCAST Channel 21/ VERIZON FIOS Channel 47) PROGRESSIVE PGH NOTEBOOK (check www.pctv21.org for
schedule) Internet=( www.progressivepghnotebook.blip.tv ) DEMOCRACY NOW= 8 AM: AJ STREAM=9 AM ; FAULTLI-
NES=9:30 AM CITY COUNCIL (COMCAST Channel 13 / Verizon FIOS Chan-
nel 44) Tuesdays Council Meetings; Wednesdays Standing Commit-
tees 10 AM Repeated at 7 PM / Repeated Sat & Sundays 10 AM and 7 PM (www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/council Legislative Info Center PA “SENATE JOURNAL” & HOUSE “ I ON PA” = Tuesdays 7 –
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Channel 9415/ FREE SPEECH TV)
~ INTERNET RADIO ~ ITUNES click ―Radio‖, Double Click ―News/ Talk‖ , and Click ―KPTK 1090 PROGRESSIVE TALK= THOM HARTMANN NOON – 3 PM (Check other programs on KPTK and ITUNES) LYNN CULLEN MON-FRI= 10 AM www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws
~ LOCAL RADIO ~
Information provided by Carlana Rhoten; graphics by Mana Aliabadi
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S O C I A L A C T I O N C A L E N D A R
SUNDAYS __________________________ Anti-War Committee meeting Every other Sunday 2:00pm - 3:30pm Merton Center, 5129 Penn Ave., Garfield Book 'Em Packing Day Meets every Sunday 4:00pm - 7:00pm Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue Join others sending requested books to pris-
oners. Bring a group. For more info call the Thomas Merton Center, 412.361.3022
Human Rights Letter-writing Salon Meets every Sunday 4:00pm - 6:00pm Kiva Han, 420 S Craig St Write letters to combat human rights abuses!
Meet local Amnesty International activists and other human rights enthusiasts, change the world, and have a grand old time.
MONDAYS _______________________ Weekly North Hills Weekly Peace Vigil 4:30pm-5:00pm In front of the Divine Providence Motherhouse, 9000 Babcock Blvd., Allison Park
Sponsored by the Pittsburgh North People for Peace & the Srs. of Divine Providence
WEDNESDAYS ______________________ Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition Meets the 1st Wednesday of every month 5:30pm - 7:00pm Squirrel Hill Carnegie Library 5801 Forbes Avenue Meeting Room B Write On! Letters for Prisoner's rights Meets every Wednesday 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue, Garfield We need help answering our 60 letters a
month from people in prison dealing with abuse and neglect. Come and meet new peo-ple, learn about people in prison while advo-cating for their rights from the outside! Please bring food to share! Info 412-361-3022
PUSH [Pennsylvanian United for Single Payer Healthcare] Meets monthly on the second Wednesday 6:15 pm Health Care 4 All PA office, 2101 Murray Av nue, Squirrel Hill
All welcome Info: [email protected]
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (PADP) meeting Monthly on the first Wednesday 7:00pm - 8pm First Unitarian Church (Ellsworth/Morewood, Shadyside) For more information, call 412-384-4310. THURSDAYS _________________________ Green Party meeting First Thursday of the month 7:00pm - 9pm Citizen Power's offices, 2121 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, second floor FRIDAYS ____________________________
Peaceburgh Drumming Circle 7pm-8:00pm, Weekly Grandview Park in Mt. Washington Raise the Vibration for peace every Friday....
Consciously raise the vibration for peace!! FREE family friendly event. Bring drums, flutes, rattles, a didge (we REALLY need a didge) singing voices, dancing feet, and happy hearts!! Bring some food to share at
the potluck!! We need plates, ice, forks, cups, napkins, and drinks too. BRING A CAMERA — THE VIEW IS AWESOME!!
SATURDAYS ________________________
Project to End Human Trafficking Volunteer signup 2nd Saturday of each month 10:00am - 12:00pm Campus of Carlow University Project to End Human Trafficking (PEHT)
offers FREE public volunteer/information. Please pre-register by the Wednesday be-fore via [email protected].
For more information check out our website www.endhumantrafficking.org
PEHT Information and Training Seminars Second Saturday of every month 12:00pm - 1:00pm Carlow University, Antonian Room #502,
RSVP by the Wednesday before to [email protected]
Open to the public. Peace Vigils to End the War Every Saturday, following locations & times
Regent Square Peace Vigil Corner of Forbes and Braddock 12:00pm - 1pm
*Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest Corner of Penn & Highland in East Liberty 1:00pm - 2:00 pm
Beaver County Peace Links Peace Vigil Beaver County Courthouse, 3rd Street
(Beaver) 1:00pm - 2pm
Recurring Meetings and Meet Ups
~ August ~ Friday, August 5th _____________
The TMC at Penn Avenue‘s Unblurred Gallery Crawl
6:00 to 9:00 PM
Penn Avenue in Garfield
Visit the Thomas Merton Center, Assemble, and The East End Community Thrift
Shop as you browse art galleries on Penn Avenue at this monthly event.
Saturday, August 6th
Community Forum - What you should know about the war against Libya?
2:00 PM
East Liberty Library
130 South Whitfield Street, 15206
Join the Party for Socialism and Liberation for a community forum to discuss : -
What the media isn't telling you about the war against Libya - U.S. imperialist
objectives in Africa - What we can do to fight back against imperialism
Event contact email: [email protected]
Saturday, August 6th
Just Harvest Summer Family Picnic
3:00 to 8:00 PM
West End-Elliot Overlook
599 Fairview Ave., 15220
off of Chartiers Ave.
Games, Children's Activities, Prizes, Music: DJ Adam McGregor. 50/50 Raffle.
Hot dogs, veggie burgers, beverages provided. Bring a covered dish. Great view of
the City. Suggested donation $5/$15 family.
Event contact email: [email protected]
Saturday, August 6th and 13th ______________________
Make Your Mark with Penn Avenue Pavers
12:00 to 4:00 PM
Assemble
5125 Penn Ave, 15224
A mosaic making workshop:
Create a mosaic tile that will be part of the Green + Screen sites on Penn Ave!
For Kids of ALL ages; Snacks and Drinks!
This is in part with the Eco- Designers Guild
Sunday, August 14th
The 2nd Peaceful Gathering of Hands - Global Peace Day
2:00 to 7:00 PM
Schenley Oval Meadow, next to the Skating Rink
Approach from Blvd of the Allies, exit beside Schenley Swimming Pool
15217
The Peaceful Gathering of Hands is a free and collaborative event to
unite diverse groups and individuals who are working for a peaceful and healthy
Pittsburgh and Planet.
A giant circle of holding hands every-hour-on-the-hour
Bring instruments, outdoor games, food to share, items to share, a
blanket or tent, eating implements, plus your talents and your visions for Peace
(open mic!)
Groups encouraged to bring their information for networking
At least 500+ at the last event. Come join us!
Wednesday, August 17th ___________________
Back2Books Party
4:00 to 7:00 pm
Assemble
5125 Penn Ave, 15224
6 to 16-year olds welcome!
Come make awesome things out of books!