Remembering Our Peace & Justice Heroes
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PITTSBURGH’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER Published by the Thomas Merton Center
VOL. 42 No. 2 February, 2012
Including the OCCUPY
PITTSBURGH NOW insert
Produced by Occupy Pittsburgh
Issue No. 1, February, 2012
Stopping the War Juggernaut By Michael Drohan On Face the Nation (Jan 8, 2012) Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta obliquely admitted that the Iranians were telling the truth when he said ―Iran is developing a nuclear capability but not necessarily a nuclear weapon‖. He continues to say that building a nuclear weapon by the Iranians would be a ―red line‖ for the US. According to Panetta, crossing such a ―red line‖ ―would compel the US to act militarily‖. Instead of challenging Panetta’s threats of war on a peaceful nonaggressive country, the interviewer, Bob Shieffer, outdid the Secretary in bellicosity when he stated ―Some say tell Israel to go ahead and take out Iran‖. What this interview reveals is that the mainstream press is little more than an arm of the Pentagon. Just as with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the mainstream press is simply the stenographer of the imperial, immoral and illegal war plans of the Pentagon.
the US has now succeeded in placing a faithful ally in charge of the International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA), namely Yakiya Amano of Japan, this institution’s latest report maintains that Iran is abiding by its commitments to the UN and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and is not weaponizing its enriched uranium. Israel’s claims of Iran weaponizing enriched uranium supposedly based on soil samples collected near the enriching sites, carry about the same level of credibility as Dick Cheney’s allegation that Iraq was importing uranium ore in 2003. But evidence or no evidence, it would seem that the US and Israel are bent on leading this country and the world into a catastrophic war once more.
In early December, Defense Secretary Panetta made the statement that a war with Iran would be catastrophic. The pushback from Israel to this remark was enormous leading to a more belligerent stance with his recent statements of ―nothing is off the table‖ in dealing with Iran. In Just as with Iraq, all indications are that the truth all probability, the US is trying to stave off a lies with the Iranians and their claims to have no direct attack on Iran by Israel by appeasing and plans, present or future, to use nuclear enrichment assuring that the US will attack Iran militarily if it for nuclear bomb purposes. Despite the fact that crosses the so-called ―red line‖. One of the
problems with Israel is that it got out of the Iraq war all that it wanted, namely, the removal of Saddam Hussein and his regime without loss of a single Israeli life, soldier or civilian. Consequently, Israel has no problem in demanding another disastrous intervention by the US in Iran to remove their newest bete noir in the Middle East. A war with Iran, however, by the Untied States and Israel, would be far more catastrophic that that of Iraq. Iraq had been weakened incredibly by ten years of sanctions and the carpet bombing of Baghdad and other cities at the beginning of the war. Yet, despite all this the US had to withdraw from Iraq basically defeated. None of its strategic objectives of a permanent air base and control over its oil were achieved. If the US were to attack Iran, the Iranians have made it clear that they will not act like sitting ducks as happened with Iraq. Michael Chossudovsky estimates that such a war ―would engulf a region extending from the Mediterranean to the heartland of Central Asia. It would have devastating consequences, resulting in a massive loss of life. It would precipitate humanity into a (Continued on page 5)
A Merton Center Memory From Father Eugene Lauer By Fr. Eugene F. Lauer - Pastoral and Theological Ministries, Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh I have been a supporter of the Thomas Merton Center since its founding, and have been deeply impressed with its idealism and its unceasing commitment to social justice, especially in behalf of those who are at the bottom of our society. The staff members of the Center have shown great courage and assertiveness in their pursuit of their goals, even when it was unpopular to do so. I have always admired their careful attention to discovering the facts about controversial issues and expressing them exactly, and not simply making general statements. The Thomas Merton Center has indeed been a significant force in the movement for social justice in the city of Pittsburgh. I trust that the Center will continue its remarkable work for many years into the future.
Art McDonald Speaks on Thomas Merton By Art McDonald While enduring a personal crisis of vocation and faith during the Vietnam War in 1969, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon some of the writings of Dorothy Day, the co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. I was serving a six month tour of duty in the U.S. Army at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, and suddenly realized during a military training exercise in which we were instructed to simulate hand to hand combat with a "gook" from North
Vietnam, and while we were thrusting our bayonets into the enemy's chest, we were told to yell "kill" as loud as we could, that I could not mouth the words. That is, nothing came out. I was paralyzed. Later that day as I was pondering how I had gotten myself into this situation, I headed off to the base library and actually found a book by Dorothy, "The Long Loneliness." It changed my life. (Continued on page 10)
Thomas Merton
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. February, 2012
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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 Frank Carr, Nicole Coast, Rob Conroy, Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Corey Carrington, Kenneth Miller, Jordana Rosenfeld, Molly Rush TMC Staff, Volunteers and Interns Vivienne Shaffer, Thomas Merton Center Coordinator Jibran Mushtaq, Thomas Merton Center Community Organizer / IT Director 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 Corey Carrington, Public Ally Jordana Rosenfeld, NewPeople Intern TMC Board of Directors Nina Barbuto, JT Campbell, Casey Capitolo, Rob Conroy, Kathy Cunningham, Michael Drohan, Patrick Fenton, Carol Gonzalez, Mary Jo Guercio, Wanda Guthrie, Shawna Hammond, Edward Kinley, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Diane McMahon, Francine Porter, Molly Rush. TMC 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)
PROJECTS Anti-War Committee info@pittsburghendthewar.org www.pittsburghendthewar.org
In Sisterhood: The Women’s Movement in Pgh 412-621-3252, pmulbrich@yahoo.com Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance 412-867-9213
Book‘Em (books to prisoners) bookempgh@gmail.com www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem
Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW! 412-422-5377, sleator@cs.cmu.edu www.pcdn.org
CodePink (Women for Peace) codepinkpgh@aol.com, 412-389-3216 www.codepink4peace.org
Pittsburgh Works! (labor history documentaries) connections05@hotmail.com
Conscience 412-231-1581 www.consciencepgh.blogspot.com
Roots of Promise 724-327-2767, 412-596-0066 rootsofpromise@gmail.com (Network of Spiritual Progressives) spiritualprogressives.pgh@gmail.com
Demilitarize Pittsburgh: War-Profiteering Education & Action Network 412-361-3022, info@demilitarizepittsburgh.org www.demilitarizepittsburgh.org Diversity Footprint (art, justice, community) draw3rd@verizon.net East End Community Thrift Shop 412-361-6010, shawnapgh@aol.com
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition jumphook@gmail.com; www.pittsburghdarfur.org
General information ........ www.bit.ly/merton-contact Submissions ..................... www.bit.ly/submitnewpeople Events & Calendar Items www.bit.ly/merton-calendar
What You May Find at The East End Community Thrift Shop ANYTHING Shirley Gleditsch will let in the door, which is everything: A Coach Bag for $15.00, Laughter, Children’s clothes under 50 cents, someone who will listen, A Liz Claiborne suit for $10.00, a 3year old shopper, a 9 year old cashier in training? An ideal dresser for a college dorm room. Customers amazed at the prices. Over 40 volunteers happy to lend a helping hand, and an opportunity to volunteer! TMC AFFILIATES and FRIENDS The Africa Project 412-657-8513, peterokema@gmail.com www.africaproject.net Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office 412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org Amnesty International info@amnestypgh.org www.amnestypgh.org
Pgh. Palestine Solidarity Committee info@pittsburgh-psc.org www.pittsburgh-psc.org
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 amy@wfap.org Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, evolve@atlanticbb.net Haiti Solidarity Committee jrothermel@gpcfb.org 412-271-8414 www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs
Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi 412-761-4319
Food Not Bombs pittsburgh_fnb@yahoo.com http://fnb-pgh.2ya.com Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up (prisoner support and advocacy) 412-802-8575, hrcfedup@gmail.com www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup
February, 2012
The Palestine Film Festival Call 412-301-3022 for more info Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens Group Wanda Guthrie 724-327-2767 murrysvillemarcellus@gmail.com The Pittsburgh Totebag Project Sue Kerr, 412-228-0216 P.O. Box 99204 Pittsburgh, Pa 15233 www.tote4pgh.org
Pgh. North Anti-Racism Coalition 412-367-0383
Association of US Catholic Priests info4@uscatholicpriests.us
Urban Arts Project mbbpgh@yahoo.com Pittsburgh Progressive Notebook Call 412-301-3022 for more info
Pgh. Independent Media Center info@indypgh.org www.indypgh.org
Pgh. North People for Peace 412-367-1049
Three Rivers Area Medics (TRAM) 412-6419191 or thefunnysmith@yahoo.com
Fight for Lifers West 412-361-3022 to leave a message fightforliferswest@yahoo.com http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com
Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022, pghfreemumia@gmail.com Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition 412-563-1519 lisacubasi@aol.com
Association of Pittsburgh Priests Molly 412-343-3027 molly.rush@verizon.net
PA United for a Single-Payer Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 412-421-4242 2102 Murray Avenue Pgh, Pa 15217
Economic Justice Committee economicjustice@thomasmertoncenter.org
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Raging Grannies 412-963-7163, eva.havlicsek@gmail.com www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 ojomal@aol.com School of the Americas Watch of W. PA 412-371-9722, soapittsburgh@gmail.com United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org Urban Bikers urbanbikes@yahoo.com Veterans for Peace Icwheaties@aol.com Voices for Animals voicesforanimals@gmail.com 1-877-321-4VFA Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163 edith.bell4@verizon.net
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 / danfine@igc.org Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty 412-384-4310, osterdm@earthlink.net Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network 412-621-9230/office@piin.org
PRE-OCCUPIED with the homeless and the 99% by Diane McMahon
the local authorities for fear that local property values would drop.
In the light of our new world order it is easy to see that occupied camps are needed now more With the coming of the Occupy Movement, many than ever before. Not just by those of us who are of us think that setting up tents in the middle of a Those who live in pre-occupy encampments are trying to make a point about the growing crowded city is an exciting new way to get a new called ―homeless.‖ And, it is not unusual for the economic divide between those ―who have‖ and radical transformation underway. residents of these camps to be portrayed by the those ―who have not‖ but also by those who need local media as undeserving of public support; physical and tangible supports as well as a good But is it the first time that it’s happened? Not type-casted as alcoholic, mentally ill, criminal, or tent to live in. really. just plain ―lazy bums.‖ And doesn’t an Occupy Camp offer more than ―Encampments‖ or ―tent cities‖ have been Yet, are the residents of these two occupied just shelter? increasing in recent years. Many of these makeencampments in some way different? shift settlements have been located under busy Yes! It provides food, community, friends, city bridges, along river fronts, or in public parks. Maybe not as much as we think they are. support, and a sense of belonging to something These occupants are ―without homes.‖ bigger than just your own problems. It is the Many may not know that the face of awakening of a social movement that just might Many may not know that before Occupy hit the homelessness is changing in America. Today, a reverse a long chain of deeply interconnected press, homeless encampments existed in almost growing number of those ―without homes‖ are historic injustices. every city, albeit unnoticed by the majority of us. adults with families, forty percent who have jobs Or, if detected, they were quickly dismantled by but can’t stretch their minimum income checks As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. framed it, ―Our far enough to pay for the bare necessities. It can goal is to create a beloved community and this easily be argued that these are the true working will require a qualitative change in our souls as poor who are among the authentic 99%. well as a quantitative change in our lives.‖ Certainly this is something that the Occupy In the new America (the one that doesn’t get Movement has the potential to become if is much publicity in the press) it is not unusual to grounded in nonviolent resistance to global see a family living in a motel room, van, or in a injustices. tent city in the middle of town. Where else can you live when rents are out of reach, the cost of Diane McMahon is the current President of heating a house has skyrocketed, and gas prices the Board of the Thomas Merton Center, and have tripled? an advocate for people experiencing homelessness. Tent City in Sacramento in 2009
Prescribed Justice for a Sick Economy By Joyce Rothermel 2012 Marks the 25th Anniversary of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter, "Economic Justice for All: A Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy". The Bishops proclaimed: "…every perspective on economic life that is human, moral and Christian must be shaped by three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does it do to people? And how do people participate in it?" The Bishops go on to say, "…the common good demands justice for all, the protection of the human rights of all." The words of the Bishops are just as relevant and needed today. They seem to align with the Occupy Movement and their demands. For the U.S. Bishops go on to say, "The time has come for a new American experiment…to implement economic rights, to broaden the sharing of economic power and to make economic decisions more accountable to the common." I encourage everyone to read or reread, "Economic Justice for All" and to seek ways to be in solidarity with Occupy wherever you live. We cannot let another 25 years pass without heeding the important message of the U.S. Bishops and the Occupy Movement! Joyce Rothermel is Convener of the St. James Social Justice and Peace Committee in Wilkinsburg.
Cartoon By Jon Jonik
Occupy the Health Care Industry: Healthcare for the 99% Rally and March - Saturday, February 11, 2012, 12:00 pm Gather at People's Park, Sixth and Grant Street, Downtown Come to challenge corporate greed, the corruption and disparity present in the US healthcare system and the nonprofit status of companies such as UPMC and Highmark. See www.occupypittsburgh.org/upcoming-events, www.wpasinglepayer.org and www.PUSH -hc4allpa.blogspot.com for details and information on true health care reform and how we can work together for change. Members of Occupy Pittsburgh have initiated a community-wide action to take on health care giants UPMC and Highmark. In a match that could have been fought in a Worldwide Wrestling Federation ring, these two health care insurers who happen to provide health care that they also insure to their own benefit, if not the public’s, they went toe-to-toe over Highmark’s purchase of West Penn Hospital. UPMC blinked, but only after extreme pressure on all sides forced them to back down from their threat to wall off people that carry Highmark insurance from their network. In a way, they did the public a favor by exposing their commitment to profit and power at the expense of the health and economic well-being of their ―consumers,‖ or should we say victims? They made a great case for a Medicare for All single payer system. February, 2012
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Isaac Beachy on Colombia By Dan Kovalik
peace community located in the highly conflicted area of the Northwest of Colombia near On January 19, 2012, the Thomas Merton Center Panama. For many years, San Jose de Apartado and the USW teamed up to host a talk by Isaac has held itself out as neutral in the armed Beachy of the Fellowship of Reconciliation conflict, making it clear that it rejects the (FOR) at the USW presence of the headquarters downtown. military, the Over 50 people turned out to military’s hear Isaac tell of his work in paramilitary Colombia and as an allies, and the accompanier of peaceful guerillas as groups and communities in well. The that war-torn country. citizens of this town have paid As many familiar with the dearly for its accompaniment movement neutrality, in Central America know in being targeted the 1980’s, this involved by all armed being present with Photo by Corey Carrington groups in individuals and groups under Colombia for Isaac Beachy explains the situation in Colombia threat by armed groups to help violence, but deter violence against them, to decrease their fear especially by the military and paramilitaries. In from such violence, and to thereby help them total, 130 community members have been killed increase the space they have in which to engage over the years. in social, human rights and political activity. Most recently, in 2005, the XVII Brigade of the Isaac spent two years doing this work in Colombian military brutally murdered eight Colombia, including with the town of San Jose de community members, including three children Apartado, and is planning to return to Colombia (ages 2, 6 and 11 years old). In response to this to continue this work. massacre, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe As Isaac explained, San Jose de Apartado is a said that the murder of these individuals was
appropriate because those killed (apparently even the children) were guerrillas However, as Isaac explained, since the FOR has been doing its accompaniment work in this peace community, there have been no killings, attesting to the effectiveness of the FOR’s work. Isaac, speaking largely to unionists at the USW, encouraged folks to think about engaging in accompaniment work to protect the lives of unionists in Colombia – the most dangerous country in the world to be a unionists, with around 2900 unionists killed in that country since 1986. As of the time of this writing (January 19), at least three unionists have been killed in Colombia – one from the peasant union known as FENSUAGRO who was tortured and killed by the military and another unionist with the oil union known as the USO. The second unionist was killed along with his wife, leaving their 5 children orphaned. Meanwhile, Colombia, which has received $ 8.5 billion from the U.S. government since 2000, remains one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid in the world. Dan Kovalik is an attorney with the United Steel Workers and has traveled to Colombia many times.
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition Announces Speaker Series on Sudan By Eliza Pugh The Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition recently launched its 2011-2012 Speaker Series. With the overarching theme ―It’s Not Over for Darfur,‖ the PDEC Speaker Series is designed to call attention to the violence in and around Darfur and to reinvigorate community members to fight for the cause.
stressed the dire need for sustained and comprehensive U.S. and international diplomatic efforts to address the Sudanese government’s marginalization of minority groups. The fighting in Sudan continues today. Recently there has been a rise in violence and casualties along the border of Sudan and South Sudan. In
Darfur is both empowering and difficult. PDEC works to engage community members in its work for peace and democracy in Darfur. PDEC hopes to gain momentum from the speaker series and move forward with plans to lobby elected officials for genocide prevention legislation, promote awareness, and support the Sudanese diaspora in Pittsburgh.
The next speaker will be John The first speaker was Daniel Solomon, Prendergast, Co-Founder of the Enough a junior at Georgetown University and Project, an organization that works to National Student Director of STAND. end crimes against humanity around the STAND is the student-led division of world through research and advocacy. the activist organization United to End Prendergast will be in Pittsburgh Genocide; STAND chapters in high February 8-17 as a guest of the Ford schools and universities in the U.S. Institute for Human Security, housed at work to fight mass atrocities the Graduate School of Public and throughout the world, including in International Affairs at the University Darfur. From December 8-10, of Pittsburgh. Abdalmageed Haroun, a Solomon spoke to STAND chapters at Darfuri activist based in New York, Taylor Allderdice High School and the will speak in March. He will be University of Pittsburgh as well as followed by Ambassador Dane Smith, youth and adult congregation members Senior Advisor for Darfur in the Office at Beth Shalom synagogue. With of the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Allderdice students, Solomon who will visit Pittsburgh in late March discussed the impact that violence on to discuss current U.S. policy in Sudan. the other side of the world can have. Lastly, Rebecca Hamilton, author of ―While these conflicts can seem Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and Photo (left to right): David Rosenberg, Coordinator of PDEC; Daniel detached from our communities,‖ he the Struggle to Stop Genocide, will Solomon, National Student Director of STAND; Eliza Pugh and said, ―we’re often intimately connected speak in April. Dates and venues will be Denise Monti, Co-Presidents of Allderdice STAND. to the types of crises that we see across posted on the PDEC website the world. There is an influx of ww.pittsburghdarfur.org and the Sudanese refugees in Pittsburgh. [These the wake of South Sudan’s independence in July, Thomas Merton Center calendar. conflicts] deeply affect people that live in our Sudanese government militias are fighting rebel communities, go to our schools, and are part of forces in Abyei (a border region rich in oil), the For more information contact PDEC Coord. our constituency.‖ Nuba Mountains, and the border states of Blue David Rosenberg at jumphook@gmail.com or Nile and South Kordofan. There have also been Eliza Pugh, Co-President, Allderdice STAND, at At an informal lunch at Congregation Beth reported clashes between South Sudanese ethnic 25eliza@gmail.com. Shalom, Solomon addressed questions ranging groups that, with the common goal of from the origin of the genocide to United States independence behind them, have resumed Eliza Pugh, a Senior at Allderdice High policy towards Sudan. He advocated for new fighting. School in Squirrel Hill, is the Co-President of roles for international peacekeeping forces and Allderdice STAND. She has been an active increased protection of civilians. He also As Solomon emphasized, the fight for peace in member in PDEC for the past five years. 4 - NEWPEOPLE
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Continued, Stopping the War Juggernaut (Continued from page 1)
World War III scenario‖. James Petras similarly agrees that an extraterritorial war turned against Iran would provoke a catastrophic conflagration which would far surpass the disastrous outcome of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Petras concludes that Iran ―has the military power, geographical
proximity and economic resources to demolish the weak and vulnerable peripheral US client states. Israel can start a war against the Islamic world, but it cannot win it‖.
emption. One cannot wait and hope for the best, namely no new war. Every stop must be pulled out to preempt yet another immoral and illegal attack on a country which never has attacked the US or indeed any other country for centuries.
In the face of a very possible if not probable disastrous intervention by the US in yet another country in the Middle East, the stance Michael Drohan is currently serving on of the anti-war movement must be prethe TMC Board.
Not Proven: Iran has a Nuclear Weapons Program By Robert Naiman, Sarah Burns, Chelsea Mozen and Megan Iorio Just Foreign Policy Public-financed media PBS and NPR have recently promoted as if they were known fact claims that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, even though no proof has been advanced that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Even Defense Secretary Panetta says, "Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon?‖ As Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting has noted, on January 9, PBS News Hour deceptively edited Panetta's comments on Sunday's Face the Nation to exclude his
statement that Iran is not trying to develop a nuclear weapon. News Hour then used his comments to try to suggest the opposite: that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. On NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, reporter Tom Gjelten said, "The goal for the U.S. and its allies … [is] to convince Iran to give up a nuclear weapons program," thereby implying that Iran already has a nuclear weapons program, which is not a known fact.
Washington Post Ombudsman Patrick Pexton wrote in his column that he agreed with the readers' complaints. On Tuesday, New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane wrote that he agreed with reader complaints about a New York Times report that spoke of "a recent assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran’s nuclear program has a military objective," and he wrote that the New York Times should run a correction.
Complaints to the Washington Post and the New York Times have had an effect. The Washington Post corrected a headline that said, "Iran's quest to possess nuclear weapons,‖ and
The War on Iran: The Deployment of Thousands of US Troops to Israel with Integration of US-Israeli Command Structures By Michel Chossudovsky Global Research (January 4, 2012) The Islamic Republic of Iran has been threatened with military action by the US and its allies for the last eight years. Iran has been involved in war games in the Persian Gulf. The US Navy is deployed. Iran's naval exercises which commenced on December 24th were conducted in an area which is patrolled by the US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. Meanwhile, a new round of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran has been unleashed, largely targeting Iran's Central Bank, leading to a dramatic plunge of Iran's currency. Reacting to US threats, Iran declared that it would consider blocking the shipment of oil through the Strait of Hormuz: "Roughly 40 percent of the world's oil tanker shipments transit the strait daily, carrying 15.5 million barrels of Saudi, Iraqi, Iranian, Kuwaiti, Bahraini, Qatari and United Arab Emirates crude oil, leading the United States Energy
Information Administration to label the Strait of Hormuz "the world's most important oil chokepoint." (See John C.K. Daly, War Imminent in Strait of Hormuz? $200 a Barrel Oil? Global Research, January 3, 2012) The Globalization of War and the Demise of the American Republic There is a symbiotic relationship between War and the Economic Crisis. The planning of the Iran war is being carried out at the crossroads of a worldwide economic depression, which is conducive to widening social inequalities, mass unemployment and the impoverishment of large sectors of the world population. Crushing social movements on the domestic front --including all forms of resistance to America's military agenda and its neoliberal economic policies-- is an integral part of the United States' hegemonic role Worldwide. Does Constitutional Government in the eyes of the Obama Administration
constitute an encroachment to "The Globalization of War"? History tells us that an Empire cannot be built on the political foundations of a Republic. In this regard, it should come as no surprise that the new Iran sanctions regime adopted by the US Congress became law on New Year's Eve, December 31st, on the same day Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 2012), which suspends civil liberties and allows for the "Indefinite Detention of Americans". (See Michel Chossudovsky, The Inauguration of Police State USA 2012. Obama Signs the ―National Defense Authorization Act ", Global Research, January 1, 2012) The Obama administration is intent upon crushing both social dissent as well as antiwar protest. The American Republic is incompatible with America's "long war". What is required is the instatement of a "democratic dictatorship", a de facto military rule in civilian cloths.
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Haiti By Miller Schulman Some call the Haitian capital chaotic, dirty, dangerous, messy, and vibrant. Others are just at a loss for words when describing Port-au Prince. The city of over 2 million is so unlike any other city in the world, that the only word that truly sums it up was muttered to me by my friend ten minutes before our plane landed in the heart of it. Impossible. Port-au-Prince is impossible. From the destitute slum of Cite Solei to the ultra-wealthy suburb of Petionville, to the now-collapsed presidential palace, the capital is so massive, sprawling, incomprehensible, and so decrepit that it is impossible to comprehend its existence, its cohesion, how it continues to exist. Since its independence, Haiti has never enjoyed the virtues of political and financial stability. Weighed down by a 200 year debt to France and widespread corruption, Haiti did not develop a decent infrastructure or economy, especially evident in Port-au-Prince, which has become the worst example of ―urban sprawl‖. In the 1950s, enterprising Port-au-Prince developers built miles and miles of concrete tenement housing for the growing population who came to Port-au -Prince to find work. No building code had been
written, so the corner-cutting developers could build however cheaply and dangerously as they pleased. Cheap, concrete, and brightly painted (to mask the structural deficiencies) became Port -au-Prince’s architectural style, or lack thereof. When the massive earthquake struck on January 12th, 2010, Port-au-Prince crumbled to the ground. Its concrete slums grotesquely collapsed onto one another, rolling into the shantytown valleys below. Buildings turned to rocks and powder in a matter of minutes, crushing a quarter of a million people. Such an atrocity merited a global aid response as impressive as that of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. World governments sent massive amounts of money, aid, and food to the calamity-struck capital. Lady Gaga, Sean Penn, and Wyclef Jean became some of the celebrity faces promoting charitable donations to the Haitian people. The aid helped the people of Port-au-Prince, there’s no doubt, but when I flew to Haiti twice since the earthquake, the globally promised ―rebuilding‖ of the capital seemed like it was progressing at a crawling pace; Port-au-Prince and its needs were being ignored for other issues considered more en vogue. Outside the airport was (and still is) one of the largest refugee tent camps in the city. Emblazoned atop almost every tent is a USAID or a UNAID. Two months after the earthquake, the people in these tents were awaiting their promised temporary housing. A year later, these tents were now their homes. The tent camp became a city, complete with barbershops, brothels, and restaurants. When I saw the same tent city a year later, it became clear to me that to the world, Haiti was no longer in style. Like 6 - NEWPEOPLE
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fashion, global issues are constantly in and out of style. The Japanese earthquake had drawn all the media away from the struggling Caribbean nation, and taken further from the skeleton crew of peacekeepers, doctors, and builders. Interest in Haiti is quickly fading, maybe because of how extremely challenging the task of rebuilding an entire city, then country, actually is. Spending her first day in Port-au-Prince, my mother decided to take a walk from her squalid apartment (rats, sewage, mosquitoes) to explore the city. Being five months after the earthquake, most of the rubble had been cleared away. After some time she came to a lookout point on a road to wealthy Petionville. She stood for some time, gazing at what remained of part of the concrete Delmas 33 slum. Delmas was built into a hill of soft dirt to accommodate the growing population during the Duvalier era. When the earthquake occurred, many of the buildings folded and tumbled from their perches to the valley below. In this valley, mangled metal and rock remains of these fallen buildings were still visible. As my mother took in the horrific scene, she noticed an elderly woman carrying a basket of eggplant ascending the hill below. She was dressed modestly, with a long denim skirt making her climb difficult. Finally reaching the road, she turned poised at my mother. She bellowed, ―Gen peyi mwen tonbe”, and gestured toward the rubble. Gen peyi mwen tonbe! And she walked away, basket of eggplant balanced on her head. My mother scribbled this phrase down, knowing little to no Creole, and asked for its translation from her friend at the apartment. ―My country has fallen‖. Her friend sighed, ― it’s common to hear now.‖ Haiti had fallen, but where are the helpful arms to bring it to its feet? Long before the earthquake Haiti was in desperate need of aid. Money has been given, but much of it has been lost in the overcomplicated and corrupt bureaucracy that is the Haitian government. Before the earthquake, direct food donations given by the UN were placed in government warehouses where they languished in the heat and expired due to their lack of correct permits. However, it is learned that nothing shipped to Haiti has the right permits. The lack of interest by the government concerning humanitarian issues made earthquake recovery all the more difficult. When the grandiose Presidential Palace collapsed, the French government offered to rebuild the entire structure, as well as several other building around the city. The reeling Haitian government was wary with their reply, fearing colonial strings may be attached to the offer. The French soon lost interest in the indecisiveness of the Haitians, and turned their humanitarian affairs toward another project. Like the French, many countries and organizations began downsizing their relief efforts after they found negotiating their efforts in Port-au-Prince ―impossible‖. The differences I saw between March 2010 and March 2011 at the L’Ourveture Airport in Port-au-Prince were disheartening. In 2010, two months after the earthquake, the airport was alive with UN soldiers, helicopters, doctors, optimistic volunteers, and everyone and thing associated with global aid and relief. The following year, the most prominent demographic at the airport were church groups. Not to say church groups do not assist in any way, however, this was what
the airport was like before the earthquake. And what Haiti was receiving before the earthquake compared to what Haiti needs now is immeasurable. How can this tiny, poverty and disaster struck nation appeal to the hearts of the world after its
time in the limelight is passed? ―We rely on pity,‖ said a worker at the Hangar Prosthetics Clinic in Deschapelles, Haiti. Hangar provides free prosthetics services to any amputee patient from Port-au-Prince. For Hangar, support is giving from grants and donations. Not really pity, but goodwill. The worker, however, was speaking for his entire nation. Pity is what got millions of Haitians their tents and rice bags, but pity can only take Haiti so far. What would justify massive humanitarian aid to Port-auPrince from governments of the world? Very little. Haiti has no oil, money, or power. The only thing that would justify aid is goodwill, which is rare in global politics. Powered by one of the most resilient peoples on earth, Haiti is still growing, living, and surviving. However, just barely. Global neglect, or denial, is hampering the once optimistic plans of rebuilding. An unspoken second cholera epidemic is wreaking havoc on the extremely
frail Haitian health system. The massive tent cities are decaying in the height of the rainy season. Suffering was and still is a daily occurrence. Haiti is at the disposal of the world. It had a chance to change the country forever, but treated it like a fleeting style. Haitians are being rejected now more than ever. Their country was founded on the values of strength and unity, but struggle and turmoil have made Haiti a weak and unforgiving place. So the world is faced with the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding a nation beyond repair. The Haitians have a proverb; an empty sack cannot stand up. Since the earthquake, Haiti cannot stand on its own. When the right aid and relief comes, its people will stand and be the strong and independent Haitians they yearn to be. Miller Schulman is an 11th grade student at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts— Grades 6-12—studying visual art.
The Iraq War Is Over -- Sort Of By Tom Cornell Captain James, the son of the Bellameys in the "Upstairs Downstairs" BBC series comes home from World War I disillusioned. He knows the war is a massive criminal waste. He is at his wits’ end to process his bitterness. But when dear Rose, the upstairs maid, loses her fiancé and her only hope for a life of her own to the war, Captain James feels constrained to comfort her with the ancient lie. She can be proud; her beloved died a hero’s death for king and country. He can not tell her the truth. It’s too hard for her to hear. Imagine President Obama addressing the troops at Fort Bragg as US combat forces withdraw from Iraq. Could he have told the truth: the invasion was the most grievous criminal act in international law, a crime against peace itself? Can he tell more than four thousand families that buried a son or daughter or spouse or parent it was all in vain, and worse, a criminal plot to control the natural resources of another country? Or the tens of thousands of families torn apart by PTSD suffering veterans? And what of the Iraqi victims? NPR and Reuters count the Iraqi dead in the tens of thousands. For shame! Multiply that by tens! Hundreds of thousands Iraqi dead, more than a million if excess morbidity is factored in. Between five and six million Iraqis have been driven into exile, many of them impoverished, unemployed in neighboring countries. For them the war is not over. The Christian community, Chaldean Catholics in the majority, a church that traces its origins back to St. Thomas, has been drastically reduced.
Iraqis were the best educated people in the Arab world. The education and the health care systems, once among the finest (and free), are in shambles. Professionals have fled in such proportion as to constitute a brain-drain. Baghdad is in ruin, with neighborhoods cordoned off from each other
by road-block and razor wire. After the 1991 bombing, Saddam Hussein was able to get the electric grid up and running in six months. After eight years, the US leaves Baghdad with six hours electricity a day. Basra, Haditha, Fallujah will not soon forget the crimes committed against their civilian populations, nor quickly forgive. For them the war is not over.
It has been the Catholic Worker tradition to contrast the corporal works of mercy with the works of war: to feed the hungry as opposed to destroying farms and foodstuffs, to shelter the homeless as opposed to destroying cities, towns and villages, and so on. Consider the spiritual works of mercy as well, again opposed to the works of war. Instruct the ignorant? No! Lie, deceive them! The first casualty of war is always truth. Counsel the doubtful? No! Draft them, in the present instance through an ―economic draft.‖ Comfort mourners? Only those on ―our‖ side. Reproach sinners, the perpetrators? You might be fired, or even jailed if you put your body where your mouth is. Bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses? Hardly! Revenge! And pray for the living and the dead victims of ―our brave fighting men and women‖? Not to mention them! If you must, pray for them but quietly, not out loud, not in the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass. The Church thus becomes complicit. Imagine President Obama making a clean breast of it all and calling for reparations and national repentance! Imagine our bishops taking the Holy Father at his word and doing the same. Meanwhile, the Afghan war goes on and the warlords now take aim at Iran. Fast and pray! Tom Cornell is an editor of The Catholic Worker and a deacon serving at St Mary's Catholic Church in Marlboro, NY. He and Jim Forest co-founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship in 1965.
Remembering Thomas Merton Center in the 90’s
By Tom Webb My experience with the Thomas Merton Center especially while living in Pittsburgh in the early 1990's was of great solace and strength. Rooted in a vibrant and colorful Catholic, ecumenical and interfaith spirituality the Merton Center offered creative responses to the challenges of an economy going global, international conflict and local issues, especially racism, in the greater Pittsburgh area.
The Center, rooted in a life of spirituality and resistance, offered Pittsburgh a unique way of approaching the various questions and social issues which confronted the region over the last forty years. Differing in approach from the more staid responses of the hierarchical church, the Merton Center has spawned innumerable movements and institutions over these forty years. It was my involvement with the Tri-State Conference on Steel (Manufacturing ) that introduced me to the Merton Center and it's a connection I've treasured and maintained since I left Pittsburgh in the mid-1990's.
When I Pray for Peace ―I pray not only that the enemies of my own country may cease to want war, but above all that my own country will cease to do the things that make war inevitable.‖ -Thomas Merton
I am currently living and working in a L'Arche community in Spokane, WA. I am also involved in a variety of justice and peace projects including the Iraqi Student Project (links Iraqi students with U.S. colleges and universities).
February, 2012
NEWPEOPLE - 7
The Occupy Movement
Helen Gerhardt of Occupy Pittsburgh Story By Bette McDevitt When some of us who help out with the New People sat down to plan this issue, we decided to do a section called Faces of Occupy Pittsburgh, to get a deeper understanding of these courageous souls who sleep in tents at People’s Park, for the rest of us. I volunteered to talk to Helen Gerhardt, whom I did not know, but had seen many times at the Occupy site. Lucky for me, Helen, a fine writer, had written an essay about her experience with Occupy Pittsburgh, which is printed below my background information about Helen. Helen spent 13 months in Iraq, in 2003 and 2004, as a member of the Missouri National Guard, driving large trucks in convoys and she observed a lot of abuse of Iraqi civilians. Being in the service herself, she had some understanding. ―During the deployment there were unbelievable stresses on the soldiers, due to family issues, the extended commitment, the
work and obligations left behind. The anger could not go up the chain-of command, so it was taken out on the Iraqi people.‖ Helen mentioned that Fox News was on at all times, in the dining hall, and you were not allowed to adjust the volume or change the channel. (Enough to send you over the edge!) Helen said, ―There was an escalating pattern of abuse of civilians, including crashing trucks into civilians and using weapons to terrorize civilians. I reported the incidents all the way up the chain of command, and nothing was done.‖ In some small way, things improved. Her own commanding officer, another woman, was supportive, and did accompany Helen on the convoys, so in those cases, violence abated. But in other areas, it only increased, with horrific results. Members of her company told Helen of the abuse at Abu Ghraib, and she acknowledged that it was more than she could bear to hear. ―I didn’t want to know. I was not willing to accept the consequence, which would be the loss of
comradeship, a very powerful thing in the armed services. That was March, and the news broke to all the world, with devastating photos, in April. I was complicit.‖ Helen came to Pittsburgh in 2006, to get her Master’s Degree in non-fiction writing, at the University of Pittsburgh. She had a degree in English, but she wanted the tools needed to write a book telling the truth about her time in Iraq. The book is completed, but not yet published, to protect some of the people still in danger in Iraq. When she came here, she became engaged in all the activist groups, thanks to ScillaWahrhaftig, whom she met through the Veteran’s Listening Project. Helen regards Scilla as her mentor; ―To see how she organizes her life around actions for peace and justice has been regenerating for me.‖ And the work Helen does has set her free; ―The cure for my depression and post traumatic stress disorder was activism, to speak the truth and live up to my responsibility.‖ So read on, and meet Helen.
Helen Gerhardt of Occupy Pittsburgh By Helen Gerhardt At midnight, I stand outside the tall chain link fence that encircles the square fountain stones at the center of the park we used to call Mellon Green. December mist drifts down across the bright windows of Bank of New York Mellon, rows of light stacked so high I must crane backwards to see the top floors. The mist glows with cold cubicle fluorescence. All around me the thin skins of tents shiver in the reflected light of the bank, low domes buttressed with arched plastic poles, mudstained blue, green, brown, turquoise, and yellow domes of nylon, flimsy, motley molehills ranged against the tall, clean, silver lines of skyscraper. Thanks to a generous donor, wood chips have been scattered between many of the tents at the top of the camp after our first reconstruction day on December 11th, but many muddy patches remain, brown puddles gathering along bedraggled edges of tarps. Much work remains to be done to carry through on our plans for winterization. Much planning and work must be done to carry through on our intention to ―resist and abolish the political, social, and economic injustices that confront us and our communities…claiming a space for public dialogue and the practice of direct democracy for the purpose of generating and implementing solutions accessible to everyone.‖ I shiver with the tents beside me. It often got this cold and wet in the wide deserts of southern Iraq in winter, our Army National Guard tents flapping and billowing in the rainy winds along the roads we traveled to deliver supplies to coalition forces across the country. But we were usually far more poorly
Photo By Tom Jefferson supplied with the basic necessities to stay warm and dry. I pull on the warm coat given to me by a fellow Pittsburgher and remember the helplessness and anger I felt watching the gleaming, armored trucks of Kellogg, Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton Corporation. I remember how I envied the far more warmly dressed private contractors, their down coats and their brand new, heated vehicles, paid for with tax dollars that were not used to fix my own beaten up old truck. Many times my transportation company broke down in cities whose inhabitants were enraged by the thefts, abuses and murders inflicted on them, both by our military and the mercenaries the American People paid billions of dollars to terrorize. Many times I looked out over the barrel of my rifle at stony faces of civilians who I knew had good reason to wish me and my fellow soldiers
dead. Members of my own company delivered water to Abu Ghraib, only one of many army prisons at which innocent men, women, and children were tortured and humiliated by teams both of soldiers and private contractors employed by such corporations as Titan Corporation and CACI. I came back from Iraq determined to make reparation for my participation in that war by bearing witness to the damage we had done to peoples who had earned no such abuse. Also, I wanted to draw attention to the takeover of our democratic system by greedy, cold-hearted corporate elites that have used war to fatten their own pockets at the expense of our own roads, schools, healthcare, living wage jobs and basic security in a world that had come to fear and hate us as a far crueler and more destructive (Continued on page 9)
IN THIS EDITION THOMAS MERTON CENTER has partnered with OCCUPY PITTSBURGH’s Communication Work Group to support their production of a four page insert . The opinions expressed in the Occupy Insert are those of the individuals who wrote them and are neither endorsed, approved or censored by the Merton Center . 8 - NEWPEOPLE
February, 2012
The Occupy Movement
Continued, A Reflection (Continued from page 8)
terror than the force we were supposedly fighting when we invaded Iraq. Our most basic civil liberties of free speech, assembly and due process of law have been forthrightly attacked, our economy devastated, and our most crucial ethical foundations corrupted by a system which values corporate rights over human rights, the bottom line over flesh and bone, the almighty dollar over hearts and minds.
Many times I have been thanked for my service in Iraq. Many times I have had to explain why I think I did far more damage to my homeland than if I had stayed at home. Many times I have had to bear witness to my shame over the cruelties we have savagely inflicted on other peoples. Here in the tiny tent city of Occupy Pittsburgh I finally feel I am starting to serve my country. Here in this urban open space, open to sky and mist and
rain and snow, I assemble with my fellow citizens to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Here I stand my ground with people who choose to live in mud and shiver in tents as a sign of the rejection of a system which values wealth over heart or conscience or consideration of our common good.
defend the Constitution. I have committed myself to stand by those stones at the center of the fountain in the space we have renamed the People’s Park, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, our flawed and vulnerable flesh and minds and hearts standing small, muddy, shivering, but determined, against the cold, clean lines of skyscrapers.
Here I begin to practice what it means to fulfill the soldier’s oath that I swore to support and
Occupy 2.0 Reclaiming the Commons: A Polemic By Jo Tavener This article will be presented in two parts. Part 1 speaks to the issue of reclaiming public spaces as central to Occupy’s future. Part 2 looks at the role of the Church in supporting such transformative social movements. It all begins with the land. Over the past 230 years, most of this country's land has been parceled out and bought up as private property. What remained as public property is often treated as if it were private. How else could local officials have gotten away with evicting Occupy from public spaces as they did? The 1% knows the power that private property is, the foundation of wealth creation and its justification. It enables them to treat the police, a public institution, as their own Pinkerton guards and public officials as personal secretaries. The Occupy movement stands in opposition to this privatized way of doing things. The backlash was inevitable. Those supporting the status quo, including landowners, developers and local officials, could not allow a peaceful experiment in participatory democracy to exist unmolested in the heart of the city for everyone to see, to take pictures of and then YouTube. Showing the naked face of power with its violent response to peaceful democratic dissent, they stripped away the protective illusion of our national collective mythos. We have indeed become the dispossessed -dispossessed of our homes, our public spaces, our environment, and our rights.
How do the dispossessed fight back? We refuse such dispossession. We stand our ground. Thomas Jefferson once dreamed of a nation based on an agrarian form of collective individualism -- independent landed farmers coming together on the village green to cultivate the common good and enact the collective will. The land we now hope to re-till -- in the form of new social and economic relations -- must be repossessed. And once again, it has started with a Commons. There is an idea circulating among the Occupy dispossessed that the Occupy camp had a primarily strategic importance that has outlived its usefulness. It had, in fact, consumed time, energy and resources that might be best used elsewhere. I have heard similar words spoken at Occupy Pittsburgh. To paraphrase, most people in our working groups don't live in the camp nor do we necessarily need the camp to continue our work. I'm not so sure. In "The Fracturing of Occupy Wall Street," J.A. Myerson argues that "the fracturing of Occupy Wall Street from its camp has created two distinct populations: the activists --planning for the future -- and the occupiers -- confronting the current reality" of nowhere to sleep, no food or medical care or money to reach shelters and soup kitchens. "The people who don't drink tea in a comfy office but stand out in the rain‖, says Chris, 50, of Long Island ―ARE being excluded...And then this General Assembly starts and this facilitation team shows up with an agenda already planned out. Who are these
people? Where did they come from?" Indicative of the mounting tensions are the smaller and smaller general assemblies that get bogged down as occupiers refuse to take a back seat to planning actions. Though efforts have been made by Occupy Wall Street (OWS) to find temporary housing solutions, the fundamental problem remains. Without an occupation, with nothing to occupy, all that is left is a small group of devoted activists who will sooner or later be reabsorbed by ongoing activist’s organizations and a much larger group of poor and discouraged occupiers who will feel their dispossession and their powerlessness even more forcefully. Perhaps the real question is, what is the meaning of Occupy? Why was it able to do what many wonderful, hard-working non-profit activist organizations were unable to do – that is, create a public spectacles of protest which pointed to the possibility of a different society and a more encompassing culture -- where everyone would be welcomed , fed and have one’s voice heard. Occupy is an invitation to do things differently. It is not just about getting stuff done! We have so much help in that regard. Let activist organizations use Occupy as a platform! Occupy is a social movement attempting to change our way of seeing -- to make what seems impossible, possible and to make what appears possible, actual. We know this by the way the term 'Occupy' seems to reach out in every direction -- from Occupy Our Homes to Occupy Washington to every corner of our culture. As the wonderful political philosopher and activist, Antonio Gramsci, noted, revolution is a long march through the institutions to change not just our government but our culture and social mores. It starts on the ground where we live, in our reoccupied communities and on our repossessed public spaces. It is not yet clear how we can repossess our public spaces. In courts across the nation, Occupy legal teams argue that public space is land set aside for common use, one of which is the public gathering for the redress of grievances. Linking public space to the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, lawyers are asking judges to reject evictions that refuse to honor either. This is an important teaching moment: the inability of most Occupy movements to find public or 'privately owned public space,' owned by the 1% or controlled through its local governmental proxies, is proof of our common dispossession. Jo Tavener taught film production studies at New York University Film School before retiring as Assistant Professor of Critical Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. February, 2012
NEWPEOPLE - 9
Continued, Art McDonald Speaks on Thomas Merton (Continued from page 1)
Upon returning home from active duty, I immersed myself in the writings of Dorothy and Jesuit priest, Daniel Berrigan. And it was through these two lenses, Dorothy and Dan, who were many years later referred to as two of the key figureheads of what some later referred to as the "Catholic Left," that I was exposed to the life and writings of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk. I never met Merton, as he died in a tragic accident in 1968, but I have had the privilege of meeting Dorothy and Dan. And it was through the writings and influence of these three, including the reading of Merton's autobiography, "Seven Storey Mountain," as well as several great activist priests in inner city Boston, and a college mentor, that I entered a semi-monastic religious order, the Dominicans, in 1972. It was there I learned something of the monastic life, a life centered on contemplation. And ten years later, in 1982, shortly after leaving the Dominicans, Melanie (soon to be my spouse) and I had the good fortune of moving to Pittsburgh and I started working at the Merton Center. I thought then, as I still do today, what a brilliant idea to name a center of peace and social justice after a modern day contemplative, who not only understood better than most the importance of contemplation, prayer and reflection as essential to the active life, but who became the unofficial chaplain of a new, radical and prophetic movement, the Catholic Left. Merton first attracted the attention of Dan Berrigan through an article he wrote for the Catholic Worker newspaper on the threat of nuclear war in 1960. Dorothy Day and Merton had already had a lively correspondence over the years on matters spiritual, as well as on issues of war, peace and activism. Upon writing to Merton after reading the article, Berrigan received an
invitation to visit Merton at his monastery in Kentucky. Thus began this profound dialogue on contemplation and action, on faith, protest and non-violence, culminating in a workshop Merton offered to peace activists at Gethsemane in 1964, entitled "A Theology of Protest." Berrigan and others visited Merton at the monastery every year from 1960 until Merton's untimely death in 1968. Merton could be tough, relates Berrigan. He
Rev. Art McDonald, PhD
had misgivings about the draft board raids and the pouring of napalm on the files; he also challenged the activists not to use the truth they discovered in an arrogant way, in a way that might belittle the opponent. Merton preached a very self-critical form of non-violence. As Anthony Padavano, a wonderful interpreter of Merton, suggests: Non-violence "...begins as an act of conscience, a spiritual search, a committed way of life. The enemy is not the other but the tendency in all of us to make the other different and to declare ourselves the norm and the center of human behavior." But, continues Padavano, non-violence is the opposite of passivity. Rather, "non-violence is a contemporary and political form of contemplation, a modern mysticism that has broad social consequences...the non-violent person has an obligation to be active on behalf of justice."
But Merton also warned activists about the dangers of excessive activity. To him over activity could be viewed as a subtle form of violence. Writes Padavano: "...the acceptance of demands and commitments beyond the limits of our endurance, the desire to assist everyone in everything, is a capitulation to the philosophy of violence." Finally, writes Padavano, reflecting on Merton's views, "...non-violence seeks dialogue, not victory...true non-violence requires spiritual discipline and a deep love for people." Ultimately, the monastic prophet and radical "...belongs to the world, but the world also belongs to him, in so far as he has dedicated him or her self totally to liberation from it in order to liberate it," wrote Merton in "The Asian Journal." This is the paradox of monasticism as Merton viewed it and lived it. It is a protest against greed, violence and materialism. Ironically enough, Merton's last lecture given on his Asian journey is entitled "Marxism and Monastic Perspectives." Much like the Marxist dialectic of praxis, action and reflection, Merton believed deeply in the dialectic of action and contemplation, the latter in his mind "...the highest expression of the human person's intellectual and spiritual (and active) life." (taken from "New Seeds of Contemplation."). Surely this man and his ideas are as relevant today as 40 years ago when a committed group of Pittsburgh Catholic activists honored his legacy by dedicating a center in his name. He still serves mightily as an inspiration to anyone (Christian, Buddhist, non-believer, even a Unitarian Universalist from Catholic and Dominican roots(!)) committed to peace, social justice, and loving and active nonviolence in the service of Truth. Art McDonald is a Unitarian Universalist Minister in Essex, MA. He was a TMC staff member from 1982-85 and the TMC Board from 1985-87.
We Are Singing Here, Also By Bill Headley, CSSp ―The Center has re-invented itself throughout our history, taking on new projects.‖ (Molly Rush) In the mid-1990s, I was recycled as a Spiritan – a priest member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit – back to Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. I had recently come from an assignment at the Spiritan general headquarters in Rome, where I served as the Community’s Justice and Peace Coordinator. Toward the end of my ministry in Rome, the concerns coming from Spiritans in the field, particularly Africa, were increasing about conflict and violence. Intra-state and identity conflicts were occurring with increasing frequency and would later take tragic expression in the Burundi and Rwanda genocides.
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February, 2012
My task at Duquesne was to set up a concentration in conflict resolution within an already established Master’s program. It was clear that this initiative would not survive, if it was locked away in an academic ivory tower. I knew that I needed practical peace builders as partners. I found them at the Thomas Merton Center. The Merton Center in a loose but very real sense adopted our academic program as a ―project.‖ The MA students and I were welcomed at Merton Center’s meeting. We learned and grew from individual Mertonians and their justice and peace activities. Haiti was a hot issue at the time and we worked on it together. When we wanted to host the Dalai Lama in Pittsburgh or invite African bishop peace builders to campus, Molly Rush was there to lend her good sense of what works and what doesn’t. It was a great and formative time for me and those associated with the program at
Duquesne. The Merton Center and its supporters were a real assist. I feel privileged to sing ―Happy Birthday‖ on the occasion of your 40th birthday. Keep the flame of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation burning brightly. I and others take strength, courage and hope from you.
*Fr. Bill Headley, CSSp left Duquesne (2000) to serve with the Catholic Relief Services’ executive team with responsibilities in policy and peace building. In 2007, Bill became the founding Dean of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego. He joined colleagues of the Catholic Peace building Network recently (2010) in the publication of Peacebuilding: Catholic Theology, Ethics, and Praxis.
Celebrating Black History Month WITNESS OF BLACK VOICES FOR PEACE —by Gail Austin The photo on the left is one of my FAVORITE photos from our regular Saturday vigils. The woman in the photo is one of our staunchest members, Dr. Aisha White. This is from Saturday February 6, 2010 I believe Up until that day, Black Voices had NEVER missed a Saturday vigil since we started the regular vigil in 2003. However, on this particular Saturday, there was a massive blizzard in Pittsburgh and most of us could not get out our homes, let alone make it to East Liberty for the vigil. So we held a conference call and agreed for the first time ever, we would not hold the vigil. However, a couple of hours later, we received this emailed picture from Aisha, taken by her
An Opportunity Found on the North Shore By Margaret Laske Recently, I drove to the North Shore with a carload of folks eager to hear about the programs of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, a free after school program for High Schoolers, and the Bidwell Training Center, again free, which prepares students and guarantees them good jobs. We attended one of the introductory lectures and tours held every Monday and Wednesday at 9 AM and learned that the age range of students at Bidwell was 15 to 77. The 10 programs students can choose include Culinary Arts, Horticulture Technology, Office Technology, Medical Claims Processor, Chemical Laboratory Technician,Medical Coder, Pharmacy Technician, etc., plus training for the GED. Students train Monday through Friday, 8:15 AM through 2:15 PM and all kinds of folks
daughter Jamilla Rice (who is a school teacher). Aisha lives in East Liberty and couldn't bear the thought of us missing our vigil for the first time. She decided to walk to the corner and her daughter couldn't bear the thought of her mother going alone. So she walked with her; they stayed about ten minutes or so, just to put in an appearance to make sure our record held up. Don't you just love it!
Gail Austin is a local activist and a member of Black Voices for Peace weekly vigil in East Liberty outside East Liberty Presbyterian Church.
are welcome: homeless, folks with disabilities, retirees and folks who just haven't found their calling yet, -the only qualifier is that the student has a PA address of some kind. People in our group were hot and excited about what we were hearing since we all knew somebody who might welcome such an attractive and supportive program. And we were mighty impressed with the training facilities which have state of the art equipment and wonderful art work. What an impressive campus! Heck, what an impressive program! Margaret Laske is a social worker who retired from Westmoreland Hospice and now enjoys photography.
2012 Spirit of King Awardees Recognized Fr. Dorsey and June Dowdy accept awards on behalf of Msgr. Rice and Dr. McKenzie recognized at the 2012 Spirit of King Ceremony at the Kingsley Center.
Photo by Fred Kenderson
Msgr. Charles Owen Rice Honored On January 12, 2012 The Kingsley Association presented its annual Spirit of King Award to the late Charles Owen Rice, Pittsburgh’s labor priest, an early opponent of the Vietnam War, whose columns in the Pittsburgh Catholic educated generations of Catholics about workers and prisoners rights, poverty and racism. He didn’t mince words. Former Thomas Merton Center board member Charles McCollester, editor of Fighter With a Heart, a collection of Rice’s writings, read from this column, which appeared in The Catholic on August 1, 1938: Catholic Contempt of the Negro Must End A writer...remarked that the attitude of the average Catholic toward the Negro is one of indifference. He is wrong. The attitude of the average Catholic toward the Negro is one of hostility which is often so pronounced that it is hatred… It is safe to say that the majority of the Catholics in the United States is of Irish descent. Irish Catholics have tasted the bitterest dregs of persecution... They of all people should be friends of the underdog. But they are not. They have borrowed the race prejudice of the AngloSaxon and made it their own. The contemptuous dislike in the Irish-American hearts, the godless expression of hatred on Irish American lips must cause Erin’s saints and martyrs to hide their
faces for very shame in the high court of heaven. Let us end this disgrace. Before we Irish Catholics say “Back to the gutter, you black___” let us recollect that once in New York and Boston there were signs “No Irish need apply.” Before any Catholic says, “The Negro must keep his place,” let him find out what right he or any other lump of the slime of the earth has to assign any race to an inferior place. Christ has something to say about those who pick the highest place for themselves and leave the lower places for others. They end up in the lowest place. In God’s Providence, we shall see black faces shining high above us in Heaven, if we haters of men manage to get there.
The 2012 Spirit of King Award Ceremony By Corey Carrington On January 12th, 2012, about 120 people attended the Spirit of King Award Ceremony sponsored by Port Authority, the Kingsley Association, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Pittsburgh Courier to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by honoring the lives of two important Pittsburgh natives who dedicated their lives to social justice, Dr. Edna B McKenzie and Monsignor Charles Owen Rice. The ceremony was attended by many influential people including the Center’s own Molly Rush, former president of the NAACP, Tim Stevens, and Allegheny County Executive, Rich Fitzgerald. The invocation was given by Rev. Margaret Tyson of Trinity A.M.E Church while CEO of Port Authority, Stephen G. Bland, gave opening remarks. On behalf of Rice, former TMC board member and author/activist Charles McCollester spoke of Rice’s legacy in Pittsburgh as a religious figure who was able to bridge the gap between race relations, stood behind unions, supported labor issues, and was a major advocate for peace and anti-war. An Irish Catholic at heart, Rice was able to support many different people and causes due to his overall quest for justice for all people. Tim Stevens, now Chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project, spoke on behalf of Dr. Edna B. McKenzie, a long time educator at CCAC, first female writer for the Pittsburgh Courier, and served on the board of PHEAA, personally invited by Pennsylvania’s first black speaker of the House of Rep., K. Leroy Irvis. She also was the first AfricanAmerican woman to earn a PhD in history at Pitt. Stevens and McKenzie were church family, both attending Trinity AME Church, so he sang a hymn in remembrance of her. Overall the ceremony was a bridge between the past and present, keeping Dr. King’s legacy alive by recognizing our own local heroes. Corey Carrington is the Volunteer Coordinator at the TMC February, 2012
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In Memory of Our Peace & Justice Heroes Sad News… Rick Peduzzi passed away On January 18th, after a massive stroke followed by a heart attack. He was hired shortly after the United Electrical (UE) Worker’s Union moved to Pittsburgh in 1987. Many people around the country and the world know the face of the UE through our web site; that was Rick's work. Here in our national office, and out in the field, he did far more, keeping our office computers functioning and dealing with a myriad of technological challenges and other issues. Rick was our friend and comrade. He was also a committed progressive activist who has made invaluable contributions to building a movement here in Pittsburgh. --Robin Alexander is the International Coordinator of the UE and a Pittsburgh Activist
Rick Peduzzi
In Memory of David Montgomery, Labor Studies Giant By Al Hart David Montgomery, a founder of the ―New Labor History‖ in the United States, who inspired a generation of activists and historians, died December 2nd. He taught labor history at the University of Pittsburgh from 1963-79 when he was named Farnam Professor of History at Yale. He was author of Beyond Equality (1967) and The Fall of the House of Labor (1987). In 2009 David spoke at the Working Class Studies Association conference at Pitt on ―Imperial Power and the U.S. Working Class: Reflections on the Last Hundred Years.‖ A former professor in the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh, he was actively involved in the civil rights and antiwar movements and was a friend of the Merton Center.
David Montgomery was not only America's most outstanding labor historian, but a lifelong activist and fighter for working people. He was a shop worker and member of UE in New York City in the early 1950s, and later a member of the IAM and the Teamsters. He taught at Pitt in the 1970s (where he trained many of the presentday U.S. labor historians) and later at Yale. In New Haven he provided important support to the struggles of Yale workers, including the famous 1984-85 strike by the clerical and technical workers, organized in HERE. He spoke at four UE national conventions between 1966 and 2009 and was one of our delegates' favorite guest speakers. Al Hart is the editor of UE's newsletter UE News. Also he is a member of the TMC Economic Justice Committee.
In Remembrance of Edith Wilson By Mike Stout For 5 years, 1998-2002, I along with dozens of others from Pittsburgh, accompanied Edith Wilson on bus trips to protest the School of the Americas (SOA) in November down at Fort Benning, Georgia, getting arrested with her 2 years in a row back in 1998-99. Edith was the quintessential organizer behind the scenes. Along with Pete Shell, she would secure the buses, find us a hotel to stay in (no easy task with 15,000 protesters descending on such a small town and rural area), get everyone to and from the buses, and watch over us all like the movement mother she was.
She was a quiet but active warrior against war, imperialism, and the ever-terrorizing empire, as evidenced by the SOA and its trained assassins. The peace and justice movement has lost another soldier. To her daughters and family: The movement to shut down the SOA will miss her, love her and remember her always. Shut down the SOA! Mike Stout is a popular musician activist who owns and operates Steel Valley Printers in Homestead, PA.
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Beth Kinney Reflects on the Thomas Merton Center of the 80’s By Beth Kinney I worked for the Thomas Merton Center intermittently for three years in the early '80s. I look back at my experiences there with much fondness, appreciation, and even nostalgia. I had been introduced to the idea that the US was the ONLY nation that had ever used a nuclear weapon in a homily given in Boulder, Colorado. I had reflected on it and found it troubling. But never had I been exposed to the myriad ideas of societal systemic "sin" that the Merton Center articulated so lucidly. I gradually came to understand what Dorothy Day meant when she referred to "the filthy, rotten system." The Merton Center did not just radicalize my political views. The people that I had such a privilege to work with embodied many wonderful personal traits--from caring about others to living simply. I have never worked in such a supportive, understanding, and open work environment. The Center very much treated its own with the justice, forgiveness, and
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fairness that it has long advocated to be the pillars of foreign and domestic policy. I think the continued existence of the Center, through good economic times and bad, attests to the stability such an approach gives an organization. I have not been an active part of the Center for years, although I have made economic donations. Nonetheless, its work and very existence give me hope even though Pittsburgh is thousands of miles from my home. Organizations like the Merton Center, in their persistent cry for justice and peace, give voice to the values and beliefs that all good people everywhere find crucial for living loving, meaningful lives. The Merton Center changed my life permanently for the better. For that I will always be grateful. Beth is a medical doctor and works with a deprived community in Alamosa, CO. She moved to Colorado after her years at Merton Center and Medical School in Hershey, PA.
Obama Denies Keystone XL Permit but Allows TransCanada to Apply for a Different Pipeline Route By Brian Walker / Nation of Change
January 18, 2012
Environmental activists and grassroots efforts have put up a tremendous effort against the Keystone XL proposal, even going as far as surrounding the White House, are pushing to get the project cancelled outright, and the opening for a consideration of an alternate route will not be well-received. The Obama administration will not grant a permit to TransCanada to go through with the Keystone XL pipeline.While this is good news for activists fighting against the construction of the pipeline, it is not a cancellation of the project and TransCanada will be allowed to reapply with a new route following suggestions by the administration. The new route would be directed through Nebraska. The announcement came shortly after a 60 day deadline for a decision was set by the Republican controlled Congress.
Criticizing the deadline, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday, "It's a fallacy to suggest that the president should sign into law something when there isn't even an alternate route identified in Nebraska and when the review process is" unfinished, and "There was an attempt to short-circuit the review process in a way that does not allow the kind of careful consideration of all the competing criteria here that needs to be done." Proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline argue that independence from foreign oil is an essential US interest, and that the jobs created as well as other benefits from working together with Canada economically supersedes environmental concerns. Environmental activists and grassroots efforts have put up a tremendous effort against the Keystone XL proposal, even going as far as surrounding the White House in protest, are pushing to get the project cancelled outright, and the opening for a consideration of an alternate route will not be well-received. They argue that tar sand oil extraction and refinement is tremendously destructive to the surrounding environment.
CAIR Responds To Indefinite Detention Legislation The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] issued the following statement after President Obama signed legislation to permit indefinite detentions of American citizens suspected of terrorism: "It is deeply troubling that the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) became law with the detention provisions intact. We believe it is unconstitutional for our military to become a police force that would hold American citizens indefinitely without the right to trial or even to hear the charges brought against them. "Permitting indefinite detention of American citizens without trial shatters a cornerstone of our democracy -- the right of the individual to due process. Every elected official who participated in the formation and passage of this law has violated their oath to support and defend the Constitution. "As the president noted in his signing statement, such unconstitutional detentions would 'do nothing to improve the security of the United States.'
"While it is encouraging to hear that the current administration will interpret the detention provisions 'in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law,' we have no assurances that future administrations will act in a similar manner. "This ill-conceived and un-American legislation will forever be seen as a stain on our nation's history -- one that will ultimately be viewed with embarrassment and shame.� In signing the legislation, President Obama said: "I want to clarify that my administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a nation." From: CAIR-Pittsburgh, 801 N. Negley Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (412) 606 3601 Email: cair.pittsburgh@gmail.com - Website: http://pa.cair.com/pitt/
February, 2012
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The Obama Presidency: Dead-End Or Worth Repeating? By Paul Le Blanc The fourth forum in the First Thursday Forum series was held at the Friends Meeting House on the evening of January 5, with a panel discussion on ―Evaluating the Obama Presidency.‖ Drawing over 30 participants, the forum considered the positives and negatives of the Obama Presidency, the discrepancies between what many Americans expected if Barack Obama won the 2008 election and what actually happened, and the upcoming Presidential election. The series is sponsored by the International Socialist Organization (ISO) of Pittsburgh. Panelists included: Jessica Benner, a student activist and member of the Pittsburgh ISO; Katrina Brabham, Chair of Green Party of Allegheny County; Al Hart, editor of UE News published by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE); and Charles McCollester, a veteran labor educator, and recent Board Member of Thomas Merton Center. Brief presentations launched a rich discussion in which various perspectives were presented. There was general agreement that the Obama administration – when judged against the promises and expectations associated with his 2008 election campaign – is incredibly disappointing. A primary problem, according to McCollester, has been Obama’s preference for compromise and his reluctance to actually fight the good fight for what he had called for in his 2008 campaign speeches. Hart focused on the President’s inclination to support corporate bail -outs more strongly than the rights and needs of the working-class majority. Benner emphasized the devastation of cutbacks in U.S. education funding, and the toll this has had on students, with many going into debt for tens of thousands of dollars each, with diminishing
employment opportunities to look forward to. Brabham also took aim at the economic injustice and inequality that Obama policies maintain, especially impacting people of color but increasingly undermining the population as a whole. Others during the discussion hit hard on other issues, such as the Obama administration’s failure even to consider single-payer health care, which would provide decent health care to all as a matter of right. Another target for some in the discussion was Obama’s hawkish foreign policy. One example – his continuation of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. It was argued that the much hyped ―pull-out‖ from Iraq veils the reality, U.S. occupational presence in the Middle East, designed to continue the longstanding defense of U.S. corporate interests throughout the region. Another point of general agreement was that progressives, socialists, and others favoring the interests of the majority of the people (some using the term ―the 99 percent‖ and others ―the working class‖ – with many using the term interchangeably) cannot simply rely on any President of the United States to meet their needs. Instead they must mobilize sustained and independent mass pressure on all politicians, on representatives of ―the 1 percent,‖ for peace and economic justice, equal rights for all, taxing the rich, providing decent health care and education and housing for everyone, etc. Some even argued that ultimately the power of the majority should be used to place in the hands of the people actual control of our political and economic life – which is how some would define the terms democracy and socialism. Differences emerged over what should be done in regard to the Presidential election of 2012. McCollester suggested that despite his deficiencies, it would be better to have Obama
as President than his Republican alternative. Branham emphasized the need for the kind of progressive, independent politics represented by the Green Party. Hart noted that his union, while not endorsing or campaigning for any candidate, believed that there were important differences between the Democrats and Republicans – but also emphasized the centrality for the working class of building their own independent and class-conscious struggles. Benner stressed the point that regardless of what one does or does not do in the voting booth for several minutes in November, it is crucial for all of us to unite in the streets around uncompromising struggles for peace, full human rights, and economic justice. Reference was made in the discussion to the global insurgencies against existing power structures, including the Occupy movement in the United States. Some participants highlighted the importance of Occupy Pittsburgh, for which there was considerable support in the discussion. There was general agreement that this forum discussion was only part of a much larger and ongoing discussion among those of us in the 99 percent – and the forum chairperson promised that the evening’s discussion would be continued at the next First Thursday Forum, in response to a presentation on ―Rising Struggle in the United States‖ by ISO regional organizer Ashley Smith February 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Avenue. [Some Pittsburgh activists may remember Smith for his opening remarks at the downtown rally of the massive People’s March when the G20 Summit met in Pittsburgh in 2009 – see his speech at www.bit.ly/paul-obama-presidency] Paul LeBlanc is a professor at LaRoche College, a member of the Anti-War and Economic Justice Committees and a Sustaining Member of the Merton Center.
Russ Fedorka Explains Cartoons By Russ Fedorka Okay… So I was at the register paying for copies of this month’s cartoon. I gave the clerk a copy, as I sometimes do. Then I asked him what he thought of the cartoon and if he had ever heard of the ―School of the Americas.‖ Well, he kind of rolled back, raised his eyes, and somewhat apologized because he didn’t understand. So I thought to myself, ―Geez, maybe I should do an explanation with this cartoon.‖ Then when I got to the Thomas Merton Center, Molly was verbalizing what I was thinking. Most of you already had your laugh and can move on but for those of you like the clerk, here it is (the short version, of course). The ―School of the Americas‖ or ―W.H.I.N.S.E.C.‖ is a school of the U.S. Army for the expansion of the steely grip of American corporate imperialism at the expense of the working class, the poor, and the indigenous cultures of the Americas. At W.H.I.N.S.E.C. they are taught the fine arts of union busting, marginalization, disorganization, discrediting, disrupting, and destroying any and 14 - NEWPEOPLE
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all forces that oppose their imperialistic domination. ―Chiquita‖ is an excellent example of a corporation willing to do almost anything to protect their competitive edge and corporate profits for their stockholders. This is at the cost of everything and everyone else. They have a long history of just that, as do so many other military/industrial corporations. Rick Santorum was inserted to expose the ―blinders on‖ and ―can do no wrong‖ American exceptionalism sickness. Santorum would be the last person to inform the public of the goings on at W.H.I.N.S.E.C. You can research for yourself the Santorum history of special privilege, bizarre homophobic hatred, mixed in with some religious platitudes. Boy, do us artists have some great material to work with! It’s like having 1,500 Nixon/ Agnew’s to draw. Read your history (Howard Zinn’s ―A People’s History‖ is a great source) and get on board with the people of Pittsburgh and elsewhere
who are fighting for a future for our children’s children and a safe and happy planet. Join us and have some laughs along the way. Peace. --Russell Fedorka has been in construction, activism, and cartooning for over 45 years. A follower of Jesus Christ, he is a member of the Thomas Merton Center's Anti-War Committee and Economic Justice Committee as well as the International Socialist Organization of Pittsburgh.
Russ Fedorka
Let Your Voice Be Heard! Please submit your stories, letters, poems, essays, cartoons, and photos to the NEWPEOPLE or they may never find an audience! The average submission is about 600 words. Photos or art should be sent as JPEG or PDF. Articles may be emailed to newpeople@thomasmertoncenter.org, http://thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/submit-article/ or mailed to The Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS THE 15TH OF EACH MONTH Manuscripts will not be returned. All submissions will become the property of the NEWPEOPLE, a publication of the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh, and may be edited. ADVERTISING IS AVAILABLE BY CONTACTING - NEWPEOPLE@THOMASMERTONCENTER.ORG
Wanted: Spirited Women The Raging Grannies of Pittsburgh need some more women to sing in solidarity with the progressive movement, and catch the attention of the uncommitted. All that is needed is a willingness to gather on corners and makeshift stages, walk in rallies and parades, attend rehearsals twice a month, and show up for performances. Carrying a tune is nice, but can be learned. Having progeny is not required; caring about the future is. To join with us: Call Bette at 412.321.3233 or Edith at 412.661.7149
Meet Carol Gonzalez: New TMC Board Member Carol Gonzalez was raised in a large family on a farm in western New York where working hard, loving deeply, and doing one’s best became Carol Gonzalez formative habits of being. A passion to learn, to travel, and to connect with ―the other‖ took root early on in Carol’s heart and mind, and became a guiding force in her diverse professional and personal life. She has learned the most important lessons in life from children and young people, the homeless, handicapped, and marginalized people that she has known and loved in her community development work and as a lay leader in the Church. As a resident of Pittsburgh’s Northside community of Manchester for the last thirty-six years, Carol’s interests and talents include renovating an abandoned one hundred and twenty-seven year-old home, organizing a neighborhood food coop, providing emergency housing in the spirit of the Catholic Worker movement, working with men and women in prison, protesting with Christian Peacemakers, teaching childbirth/parenting classes, coordinating a monthly community jazz service, as well as serving in her current position as program director with UP 4 Reading, UP for Life, a literacy program for at-risk children. She taught nine years in the history department at Shady Side She has been long involved with Pax Christi, Network of Spiritual Progressives,
PIIN and a number of other interfaith groups, and most recently with Occupy Pittsburgh. She says that amazing people of all ages that she’s been privileged to work with --whether Russian teenagers or Mayan children, whether in Chiapas, Mexico, Bruges, Belgium, Fox Chapel, or inner-city Pittsburgh-- have been her “teachers,” for it is her conviction that a teacher must also be a life-long learner. Active in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Carol is also a member and leader of CLC-USA, an international, lay, Ignatian community of contemplative activists. She is married to Henry Gonzalez, a high-school Spanish teacher. Carol is immensely grateful for the creative and diverse community of the Thomas Merton Center. Her recent work in bringing Jim Forest to Pittsburgh around the Dorothy Day events was a positive experience in exploring afresh the spiritual roots of the TMC.
January March Protesting Corporate Personhood
The Comical Nature of Corporate Personhood A group of about 100 people gathered at Market Square on Friday, January 20, to commemorate the second anniversary of Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision equalizing money and free speech, allowing corporations as persons to shower tons of money into political campaigns. Edith Bell of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom expressed her desire to get wealthy, in order to funnel more money into the peace and justice movement. ―I was thinking, I’ll marry a rich person, so I approached New York Mellon Bank to marry me; but that person was not interested in marrying me. Then I figured, I’d try Exxon; but that person would not have me either. It was nothing personal though. I found out corporations can only marry corporations, and they call it mergers, unless it’s a shotgun wedding, then it’s called a hostile takeover. Edith came to the conclusion that corporations are not persons. Then the group walked to EQT and the Bank of New York Mellon to get proof of their personhood. A ―judge‖ in black robe and white wig posted requests for a birth certificate. The group ended at the Federal court building to ‖Occupy the Courts.‖
Photo by Philomena Day
Edith Bell, Coordinator of WILPF Pittsburgh. February, 2012
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S O C IAL ACTI ON CALE N DAR F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 2 See Calendar on TMC Website for more details about events. www.thomasmertoncenter.com/calendar/
1 Multi-Day Events
Darfur Coalition Meeting 5:30pm in Meeting Room C of Carnegie Library, Squirrel Hill
Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan Gallery at 937 Liberty Ave (second floor) January 27 – February 12, 2012
5th Annual Human Rights Film Series 7pm in Room 105 of College Hall, Duquesne PA Against the Death Penalty 7pm at First Unitarian Church (Morewood)
5 Anti-War Meeting 2pm at the Thomas Merton Center Amnesty International Letter-Writing Salon 2pm at Kiva Han on South Craig Street, Oakland Book’Em Packing Day 4pm at the Thomas Merton Center
6 TMC’s 40th Anniversary Event with speaker Helen Gerhardt from Occupy Pittsburgh 6:30pm Potluck followed by brainstorming for content of TMC solidarity statement with Occupy
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Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly 7pm at the People’s Park occupypittsburgh.org
Consensus Organizing: Building Communities of Mutual Self-Interest 12pm at the School of Social Work Conference Center
Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) Meeting 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
2 Green Party Meeting 7pm on 2nd floor of Citizen Power’s Offices, 2121 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill http://www.gpoac.org/
3 First Friday Action on Unermployment Comp. 1:30pm at the Post Office, Grant and 7th Avenue, Downtown Contact Tony at 412.462.9962
The Rise in Struggle in the United States 7:30pm at the Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave
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4 Occupy Pittsburgh Teach-In 12pm at Community Empowerment Association Training & Culture Center, 7120 Kelly St., Homewood
Women and War: Women and Peace 6pm at Gallery 937 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh
Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest Weekly 1-2 pm Penn and Highland in East Liberty
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11 Healthcare for 99% Rally & March
5th Annual Human Rights Film Series 7pm in Room 105 of College Hall at Duquesne’s campus
12pm at People’s Park
Black Voices for Peace Vigil weekly 1-2pm
Memorial for David Montgomery
PUSH Meeting 6pm at the Health Care for All PA Office, 2101 Murray Avenue, Squirrel Hill
3pm. Frick Fine Arts Aud.
Lessons From Iraq 3pm at Gallery 937 Liberty Avenue
Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly 4pm at the People’s Park
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Amnesty International Letter-Writing Salon 2pm at Kiva Han on South Craig Street, Oakland
14 Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly 7pm at the Occupy Site occupypittsburgh.org Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) Meeting 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
Economic Justice Meeting 3:30pm at the Thomas Merton Center
15 Darfur Coalition Meeting 5:30pm in Meeting Room C of Carnegie Library, Squirrel Hill
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5th Annual Human Rights Film Series 7pm in Room 105 of College Hall, Duquesne
18 Fight for Lifers West Meeting 10am at 325 N. Highland
Regional Haiti Solidarity Committee 10am at the Thomas Merton Center
Write-On! Letters for Prisoner Rights 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest 1-2pm, Penn and Highland
Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly
Book’Em Packing Day 4pm at the Thomas Merton Center
4pm at the People’s Park
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Anti-War Meeting 2pm at the Thomas Merton Center
TMC Board Meeting 6:00 to 7:00 Potluck 7:00 to 9:00 Meeting
Amnesty International Letter-Writing Salon 2pm at Kiva Han on South Craig Street, Oakland
Association of Pittsburgh Priests 7pm Meeting at Epiphany Church Rectory
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Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly 7pm at the Occupy Site occupypittsburgh.org
Write-On! Letters for Prisoner Rights 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest 1pm at the corner of Penn and Highland
Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) Meeting 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
5th Annual Human Rights Film Series 7pm in Room 105 of College Hall, Duquesne
Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly 4pm at the People’s Park occupypittsburgh.org
Book’Em Packing Day 4pm at the Thomas Merton Center
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Amnesty International Letter-Writing Salon 2pm at Kiva Han on South Craig Street, Oakland Economic Justice Meeting 3:30pm at the Thomas Merton Center
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Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly 7pm at the Occupy Site occupypittsburgh.org
Write-On! Letters for Prisoner Rights 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) Meeting 7pm at the Thomas Merton Center
5th Annual Human Rights Film Series 7pm in Room 105 of College Hall, Duquesne
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Book’Em Packing Day 4pm at the Thomas Merton Center
This year give PEACE a chance. Become a Member of the Thomas Merton Center! Become a MEMBER today, and together, we can create a peaceful and just world. Already a member? Now is the time to renew your membership! 2012 marks the Center’s 40th Anniversary! With you, we will carry on our mission: to instill a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions involved with war, racism, poverty and oppression. Our members are people from diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. Since the Center's beginning thousands of people have joined with us to work together on this important mission and goal. Through protests, as well as ongoing projects, the active involvement of our members has been the backbone of our success. Over twenty organizing campaigns and projects are supported by the Center. Our monthly newspaper, The New People, is a key source of information for peace and justice activists interested in participating in campaigns, and justice-oriented advocacy events.
Go to http://thomasmertoncenter.org/join-donate/ or call the Center at (412) 301-3022. 16 - NEWPEOPLE
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