PITTSBURGH’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER
VOL. 44 No. 6, June 2014
IN THIS ISSUE:
Protect Our Parks! We Have Just Begun to Fight! by Mel Packer On Tuesday, May 6, 2014, the first chapter in a living saga called “Protect Our Parks” ended, only to find that there are, indeed, more chapters yet to be acted out. This saga, demonstrating just how undemocratic Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and his loyal supporters on County Council can be, began many months ago when he proposed the use of Deer Lakes Park (DLP) for natural gas fracking. It must be noted here that Fitzgerald, during his campaign for office, sent nowpublic emails to the fracking industry
stating “I’m your guy” and “I need money and I need it fast.” This blatant appeal was met with tens of thousands of dollars in contributions, some of which came from the same company that hoped to frack Deer Lakes Park. Once the proposal to sell the gas rights under DLP was floated and Fitzgerald began his “private negotiations” outside of County Council review, many local groups and individuals quickly formed an ad-hoc coalition called Protect Our Parks (POP) and began to organize opposition to this blatant payback to the industry. POP eventually became about 50 strong,
Corporations vs. Democracy —Page 3
representing thousands of residents. Some council members, recognizing the dangers of fracking and alarmed at the clearly undemocratic process unfolding, began their own questioning of Fitzgerald’s proposal, but those very sincere efforts to explore the downside of fracking and weaknesses in the lease negotiated by Fitzgerald with Range Resources/Huntley, were blocked every time.
La Solidaridad No Tiene Fronteras —Page 4 Open Letter to Senator Toomey —Page 11 Update on Initiative to Abolish Nuclear Weapons —Page 12
(continued on page 10)
300,000 in PA’s Health Insurance Gap by Kayla Berkey Nursing student Britt Lawson is twentyfour years old and has $150,000 of crippling medical debt. She was injured in a motorcycle accident and did not have health insurance to cover the costs of the treatment she needed. She still has no health insurance. Stories like Britt’s are common, said Rev. Sally Jo Snyder at a press conference held at Consumer Health Coalition (CHC) in mid-May. Snyder, director of advocacy and consumer education at CHC, gathered community leaders and consumers at the press conference to advocate for Pennsylvania to expand coverage to people whose incomes are too low to afford any current health coverage options. Since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, the amount of uninsured adults in the U.S. has dropped to the lowest rate ever recorded since Gallup began tracking
this number in 2008. However, approximately 300,000 Pennsylvanians fall into a gap with no health coverage options due to Governor Tom Corbett’s refusal to expand Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. At the time of the press conference, Pennsylvania is awaiting a federal ruling on Gov. Corbett’s proposed Healthy PA plan. Opponents deem this plan an insufficient replacement for Medicaid Expansion because it would cause restrictive changes to the current Medicaid system and add difficult barriers for lowincome people to get health insurance. Pennsylvania has lost $4.8 million in revenue for every day we do not expand Medicaid, said State Representative Dan But at the very base of this,” says Frankel. He explains that expanding Frankel, “it’s about people. It’s about Medicaid in Pennsylvania would be taking care of uninsured people.” beneficial to state revenue and job growth.
On November 12, 2014 at the Sheraton Station Square, the Thomas Merton Award will go to
JEREMY SCAHILL, investigative journalist, National Security correspondent for The Nation magazine, and author of
Photo courtesy KUOW 94.9 Public Radio.
Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield
(continued on page 3)
Last June, healthcare activist AJ Marin was arrested for writing the above message in sidewalk chalk outside Tom Corbett’s Harrisburg mansion. Courtesy boldprogressives.org.
Who Was Thomas Merton? by Molly Rush Who was Thomas Merton? Why is the Thomas Merton Center named for him? The idea for naming a peace and justice center for a contemplative Trappist monk was the inspiration of Larry Kessler, co-founder and first director of the Thomas Merton Center. Merton had died suddenly in Bangkok at a conference on December 10, 1968, while at an interfaith monastic retreat. On that trip to Asia he’d met with the Dalai Lama, with whom he corresponded.
Earlier, in California, he had told a group of French revolutionary students that “A monk is essentially someone who takes up a critical attitude toward the world and its structures.” His thinking on faith, contemplation, and spirituality, expressed in much of his writing, had led him to deep reflection on the world outside the monastery in Gethsemane, Kentucky, where he lived for Thomas Merton (age 53) and the Dalai Lama (age 33) at 27 years. (continued on page 15)
Dharamsala, India, in November 1968, the month before Merton’s death. Photo courtesy of the other Thomas Merton Center — at Bellarmine University in Kentucky.
The Thomas Merton Center 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.
June 2014
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Table of Contents:
Bangladeshi Workers Protest for Safety Sectarian Violence in Central African Republic
monologue Fight For Lifers West Pittsburghers Sang Out for Awarded Grant Pete Page 10 B-PEP Jazz Encourages Civic Natural Gas Drilling Comic Participation
Page 6
Page 8
Page 5
Page 1 Protect Our Parks! PA’s Health Insurance Gap Who Was Thomas Merton?
Israel/Palestine: What is the Black & White Reunion Page 3 Summer BBQ Problem? Corporations vs. Democracy Tiananmen Massacre is not Remembering the Jordan Food Banks Seek Increase Miles Case, Part 2 history, it’s China today
Page 4 La Solidaridad No Tiene Fronteras 2 - NEWPEOPLE
Page 7 Grounded Drone
June 2014
Page 9
End the ‘Mis-Education’ Behind Bars
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Martha Connelly 412-361-7872, osterdm@earthlink.net
Nonviolent Life” My Reasons for Pessimism and Optimism
Page 14
Page 11
Open Letter to Senator Toomey
Congratulations, Thrifty! TMC Represented at Catholic Worker
Page 12
Page 15
Abolishing Nuclear Weapons
Page 13 John Dear on “The
October Retreat Inspired by the Spirit for Justice Housemate Wanted Correction
Representative Democracy Corporations vs. Democracy in Our State and Nation election campaigns, nor future jobs through the revolving door. 2) The other option is for 2/3 of the states to pass resolutions . Here is our strategy: We need two thirds of the states to pass resolutions demanding an amendment to the constitution that would resolve that corporations are not people and that money is not speech. Seventeen states have already passed such resolutions, and at the national level, several Congress members and Senators have submitted amendments. To get a resolution introduced in the PA legislature and to let Senators Casey and Toomey, as well as your Representatives, know that we want
adbusters.org
by Edith Bell Corporations vs. Democracy (affiliated with MoveToAmend.org) is an organization working to shrink the powers of corporations. Our reasons, aims and strategies will be discussed at the next TMC potluck on Tuesday, June 24, at 6 p.m. Corporations are more powerful than governments. They control our legislators through campaign contributions and revolving door promises which offer employment after leaving the government. We know how it works here in Pennsylvania with the gas and oil drillers; campaign contributions equal no tax on fracking. We can go with petitions to umpteen council meetings, and in the end they ignore us. They say "jobs." For whom? And at what expense to our environment?! That's what they say in West Virginia too, when they cut down the mountains. There used to be 250,000 men working in the WV coal mines, and coal became King. Now there are 25,000 heavy equipment workers employed by the coal industry, which still is King and makes the rules and literally buys its “elected" officials. Clean water and clean air legislation can't get passed, because it would cost the polluting corporations money. Our prison system keeps growing. Much of it is privatized. More people in jail, more money for the shareholders.
Single Payer healthcare never got "on the table." Insurance companies and their shareholders made sure to lobby their legislators, so as not to endanger their lucrative profit margins. Not to forget our wars for "freedom and democracy." Who pays for these wars in money and in sacrifice, and who benefits from these wars? Quoting Howard Zinn on the Iraq War: "They died for the greed of the oil cartels, for the expansion of the American empire, for the political ambitions of the President. They died to cover up the theft of the nation's wealth to pay for the machines of death." These are just some glaring examples. ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), the organization controlled by the Koch brothers, makes sure that business is at the table, when legislation is proposed. They mostly even write the legislation for "their" representative. Since the Supreme Court declared money equal to free speech, and that corporations have human rights, it is all legal, and our only recourse is to move to amend the constitution. It has been done 27 times and can be done again. There are two ways to pass an amendment: 1) Congress can do it; but most congressmen will not likely jeopardize their source of financing for their
Join us on Tuesday, June 24, at 6 p.m. at the Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Ave. to hear the latest news and find out how you or your organization can help. Please bring a potluck dish to share.
them to support an amendment, we need endorsements of organizations and signed petitions from individuals. Check out movetoamend.org and http://wilpf.org/CvDCmte Edith Bell is a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
300,000 in PA’s Health Insurance Gap (continued from page 1)
Some advocates have referred to Pennsylvania as an “island of the uninsured” because all of the surrounding states have chosen to expand Medicaid. While people in other states are covered, many fall in Pennsylvania's gap and continue to lack access to health care. “Not acting has a real cost,” says Rev. Randy Bush of East Liberty Presbyterian Church. “The longer we wait, the more lives are affected.”
Rev. Snyder and Consumer Health Coalition will continue leading rallies, meeting with legislators, and advocating for Medicaid Expansion in Pennsylvania. “I believe healthcare is the justice issue of our time,” says Snyder. “And we will be found faithful.” If you would like to get involved, please contact your state legislators and Governor Corbett to let them know you support the 300,000 people who fall in the health insurance gap. Kayla Berkey is a poet, a writer, and a counselor at Consumer Health Coalition.
Food Banks Seek Increase in the State Food Purchase Program by Joyce Rothermel The budget deadline for the 2014-15 state budget is upon our legislators and the governor. The fate of many people in need and of those who serve them in many instances is at stake in the outcomes of their negotiations. Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, from the very young to the elderly, rely on regional food banks and their networks of pantries to help them from skipping meals. Much of the food made available to people in need comes from a little known line item in the state budget: the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP). In Allegheny County and in most of the counties of southwestern Pennsylvania, funds from the State Food Purchase Program go to the Food Bank that purchases food and distributes it to local pantries to share with those they serve. Food prices rarely drop. Over the last 10 years certain basic food items, such as rice, spaghetti, and peanut butter, have gone up in price by as much as 68 percent. In order to more adequately address the need, you might expect our elected officials in the state capital to increase funds for the SFPP. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In 2006, the legislature earmarked $18.75 million for this program, and since then the funding has been cut to $17.38 million. If you take into consideration higher food costs over this period, the reduction in funding is far more significant with 24% less buying power.
In every one of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, volunteers and staff who work in our food banks and their network of pantries are asking that all of us take a few minutes to reach out to our state legislators. (The Governor did not increase funding for the SFPP in the budget he proposed in February.) So tell your state legislator:
“For the 2014-2015 budget year, which begins on July 1, the State Food Purchase Program should receive increased funding— to keep up with the increase in need and to help keep pace with higher food costs. I am asking you to support the SFPP in the amount of $21 million. This amount is still far short of what is really needed, but it will make a difference as we try to help our neighbors feed their families with our state revenues here in Pennsylvania.” After you take action, please ask others to do the same. Joyce Rothermel is co-chair of the SW PA Food Security Partnership. June 2014
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May Day Actions La Solidaridad No Tiene Fronteras by Amanda Gross The mood was festive and energized as a mixture of immigrants, labor unions, and faith-based groups gathered at the Smithfield United Church of Christ in downtown Pittsburgh last month. This May Day event was a celebration of immigrant and worker rights along with a protest of our current failed immigration system. Pittsburgh is a city built by immigrants. We live and work everyday with people who came to this country and this region to build a better life for their families. By doing so, they made our communities stronger. Right now lack of a fair and humane immigration system is threatening the very fabric that makes this country and this region so great and rich with history. The May 1 event began with an hour of programming, which included a clergy-led introduction to immigration issues and stories by recent immigrants and their family members. Linda Theophilus, a local Lutheran pastor emceed the program in which SpanishEnglish translation was provided. A recent Latina immigrant spoke about her experience of isolation and struggle as a non-English speaker finding work in the region. The second speaker, a spouse of a Mexican immigrant described how her
— Solidarity Has No Borders May 1 — Pittsburgh residents march against deportations. Photo credit One Pittsburgh.
in hand to the plaza outside of the Federal Building to protest harsh and unjust detention and deportation practices. Prayers in Spanish and English were offered and there was an animated call to action. This event was organized by a coalition of labor and faith-based organizations working on immigration reform in the Western PA region, which include AFSC PA Office, Casa San Jose, Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, 32BJ SEIU, One Pittsburgh, and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. In addition to events like May Day, this coalition is working closely with the Office of the Mayor to make Pittsburgh family was torn apart when her spouse freedom to cross the border into the U.S. a Welcoming City. The Welcoming City was deported after living as a “model has still been unable to find work. model is one that explicitly welcomes citizen” in Pittsburgh for 10 years. The event was attended by over 80 immigrants and strives to remove Before being deported, her spouse individuals including Corey O’Connor, barriers to health care, education, and worked for years to help build the City Council District 5, Deborah Gross, other services so that immigrants may Waterfront development. His deportation City Council District 7, and Betty Cruz, fully contribute to the vitality and displaced their entire family as they Mayoral Staff on Immigration. wellness of a city’s communities. moved and lived in several towns in Throughout the program attendees Mexico. Currently, the family lives on were invited to craft their own signs and Amanda Gross is the new PA Program the Mexican side of the border while she messages about their experiences and Director for the American Friends commutes daily to the U.S. for work. hopes for immigration reform. Finally Service Committee PA. She was the Her spouse who does not have the the group marched a half mile, banners Lead Artist for Knit the Bridge.
Bangladeshi Workers Protest for Safety by K. Briar Somerville In Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 1 of this year, the National Federation of Garment Workers of Bangladesh (NGWF), workers, activists, and student and youth solidarity groups, protested together, calling for labor reform on International Workers’ Day. Their demands include: “initiatives to ensure a safe workplace in the RMG [ReadyMade Garment] sector,” “free trade union rights and exercise, [an end to] union-busting, good and humane working conditions, a living wage as well as fair price of Bangladeshi RMG products,” and “compensation for all the dead and injured of Rana Plaza.” Last year in Savar, Bangladesh, close to the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka, Rana Plaza, an industrial park building with five clothing factories and some shops inside, collapsed because it was built on unstable ground with three extra floors beyond the specifications of the building permit. According to the NGWF, the Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,138 workers, mostly women. In 1911, a fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan killed 146 garment workers, mostly women, who were unable to escape because stairwell doors were locked to prevent breaks and theft. Worker organizing and public concern after the fire led to a shorter workweek, mandatory factory safety inspections, and the standard implementation of sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, and alarms. These improvements to worker safety were gained first in New York State, and subsequently the rest of the U.S. How was the Rana Plaza disaster, eleven times worse than Triangle Shirtwaist, allowed to happen? 1974 - 2004 — The Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) “expedited the exodus of apparel industry jobs in this country to places where they would meet a U.S. 4 - NEWPEOPLE June 2014
— and the Pittsburgh Pirates Aren’t Listening
May Day 2014 protest in Bangladesh. Photo courtesy of the National Garment Workers Federation.
foreign policy objective,” says Kenneth Miller of the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance and the Industrial Workers of the World. The MFA imposed quotas on textile exports from developing countries to developed countries, making exceptions for very poor countries like Bangladesh. With competition from other countries limited, and with a dense low-skilled population, Bangladesh was able to become a major player in the international garment industry — by paying its workers some of the lowest wages in the world, in some of the least regulated conditions. The Express Tribune reports: “Bangladesh’s government agreed last November to raise the minimum monthly wage for the country’s four million garment workers to $68, an increase of 77 percent, after protests and strikes in the crisis-hit industry. But almost 40 percent of factories surveyed in and around
Dhaka were still not paying the new amount” as of January. The National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh, founded in 1984, have been at the forefront of many of these protests. Kenneth Miller has been following the NGWF’s work for fifteen years: “They are one of five signatories to the Bangladesh Safety Accord. Their level of organization and their case history in Bangladeshi labor law is by far the most exciting, and there’s no chance of them becoming a mouthpiece of any U.S. interest when it comes to making demands or articulating what trade policy should be.” (continued on page 5)
International Solidarity Lessons Learned? Sectarian Violence in Central African Republic by Andrew Karl In 1994, the world bore witness to the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide. In the aftermath of the violence that claimed some 800,000 lives, the global community was left to reflect on the inhumanity of their paralysis, once again promising “never again.” Twenty years later, Africa continues to be plagued by the most egregious crimes against humanity as Central African Republic (CAR) descends into violence. The crisis began in March 2013, when the Seleka, a coalition of predominantly Muslim rebel groups, ousted President Francois Bozize with the aid of Chadian mercenaries. After seizing power, Seleka leader Michel Djotodia suspended the constitution, dissolved the parliament, and began to demolish any remnants of the Bozize government. As the country erupted in chaos, the Seleka were reportedly engaged in extrajudicial executions, torture, and the destruction of public records. Once having consolidated their authority in the capital, reports of widespread looting, rape, massacres, and the mass destruction of Christian villages began to pour out of CAR. After nearly six months of chaos, Seleka leader Michel Djotodia was sworn in as president, but did little to stem the outbreak in ethnosectarian violence. His inaction
are now said to be the most peaceful parts of this country in turmoil. In January, the UN declared a human rights state of emergency in CAR. Unfortunately, observers in the country report the situation is only worsening. Amnesty International reports that antibalaka attacks have resulted in a “Muslim exodus of historic populations.” Estimates suggest that more than 800,000 people, roughly a quarter of the country’s population, have fled their homes. Many of these refugees are under attack, including more than 100,000 people besieged at Bangui’s airport, and are only still alive because of an ill-equipped African Union January 2014 — Refugees of the fighting in CAR observe Rwandan soldiers being peacekeeping force. dropped off at Bangui M'Poko International Airport. As the conflict drags on, the situation U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane. becomes more and more dire for these prompted the deployment of African balaka was targeting all Muslim refugees. As the rainy season begins, Union peacekeepers in October, leading communities and Chadian expatriates, waterborne illnesses are expected to to the withdrawal of Seleka forces. repeatedly demanding that all Muslims become increasingly prevalent as a result However, as the Seleka released their flee the country. of poor sanitation. These rains also hold upon the capital of Bangui in The killings in CAR have been too threaten the safety of thousands of October, international forces allowed frenzied and widespread for an accurate refugees who are currently camped in predominantly Christian militias known death toll. Observers are only willing to flood prone regions. With the conflict as the anti-balaka to fill the power speculate there to be “thousands” or now impeding a second farming season, vacuum left by the retreating rebels. The increasingly “tens of thousands” of severe food shortages loom ahead. anti-balaka, which translates to “machete victims in the ongoing ethnic cleansing. In response to the escalating crisis, the proof,” reportedly picked up where the The eastern provinces of CAR, recently international community has cited the rebels left off, countering Seleka abuses brought into the headlines as the current need for international peacekeepers and with attacks on their accused home of the Joseph Kony and the emergency aid. More than six months accomplices. Before long, the antidestabilizing Lord’s Resistance Army, after the violence broke out, the UN Security Council voted to send 6,000 African Union peacekeepers, whom the U.S. transported to CAR. Later, in 2013, the French government — and the Pittsburgh Pirates Aren’t Listening December sent an additional 2,000 troops. Despite this deployment, reports indicate the (continued from page 4) violence has continued unabated. In Shahid Khan, a social worker who immigrated from response, the Security Council voted in Pakistan, writes: April 2014 to send 12,000 UN “[Third world] countries are still going peacekeepers, but has delayed their through changes and have not deployment until September. The stabilized yet; this keeps the people peacekeeping mission has received involved in politics. Also the A free PDF of the May Day 2014 Major League Sweatshop Digest is criticism for delays and understaffing, governments and media are not as available at www.thomasmertoncenter.org/2014-sweatshop-digest but has likely reduced the scale of the If you and your family, or your athletic club, or your school or your strong and experienced as United atrocities. Less progress has been made church or your union are visiting PNC Park this summer... you can stop States’ and are not completely towards reaching the 2.5 million people successful in controlling their people’s sweatshops too. Turn that sweatshop Pirates Gear to good use by wearing in need of aid assistance. At the it AND demanding human rights for workers in the education, finances, and ideas.” beginning of this year, the UN assessed global apparel industry. Kenneth Miller of the Pittsburgh Antithe need for international aid, requesting The May Day 2014 Major League Sweatshop Sweatshop Community Alliance does not $129 million in emergency funds. Digest is designed to sit under your remote believe that boycotting Bangladeshi goods Despite UN Secretary-General Ban Kicontrol where you watch baseball games would help Bangladeshi workers; rather, they moon’s repeated appeals, not one penny or share in your break room at work. need our political support. of emergency funds had reached CAR There will be no authentic At the May Day rally, the NGWF “urged all by the end of March. appreciation of the 2014 baseball the brands sourcing from Bangladesh to At a recent ceremony in remembrance season without a Major League contribute for the ensuring of fair of the victims of the Rwandan genocide, Sweatshop Digest nearby. compensations.” Miller has chosen to focus on This May Day 2014 Edition Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the Pittsburgh Pirates: “There are five or six of the Major League implored, “We must not be left to utter layers of lawyers between the Pittsburgh Pirates Sweatshop Digest includes the words ‘never again,’ again and reprints of important articles and the workers who sew their garments. . . . again.” His words beg the question, have from the New People and The Pittsburgh Pirates should show as great a we learned the lessons of Rwanda? the Industrial Worker. It concern for human rights as they do the Objectively, the international community also includes examples of protection of their copyright.” has been more active in responding to letters to our Sports and “We also have the incredible benefit here in this crisis than in Rwanda and these Exhibition Authority Pittsburgh of four or five colleges who have actions have saved lives. However, and union organizing joined the Worker Rights Consortium and can critics who point to a delayed and material from the provide a responsible example to the Pittsburgh understaffed peacekeeping force contend National Garment Pirates of how to respect human rights,” says it has been too little, too late. As reports Workers Miller. The Worker Rights Consortium of towns burned, children decapitated, or Federation of investigates “factories producing for major the 13 people burned alive this weekend Bangladesh. brands; and aids workers at these factories in continue to pour out of CAR, it is a Human rights activists their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their question that needs to be asked. Roberto Clemente and Mohandas Ghandi workplace rights.” Students interested in helping Bangladeshi Andrew Karl recently returned from workers can petition their university to join the Worker West Africa, where he worked in Rights Consortium if it has not already done so. conflict resolution. He has a degree in Donations to the National Federation of Garment International Political Science with a Workers of Bangladesh may be made through the Industrial K. Briar Somerville is a member of the editorial collective. concentration in African Studies. Workers of the World by calling 412-894-0558. June 2014 NEWPEOPLE - 5
Bangladeshi Workers Protest for Safety
World History Israel/Palestine: What is the Problem?
Book Review:
element that they add to their critique of the
Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide ideology underlying Zionism is that of
interpreting religious books such as the Bible as historical documents which confer property rights over other peoples and tribes. Religious by Michael Drohan documents are interpreted as political historical In January, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) tracts. produced a booklet, Zionism Unsettled, which is The guide also traces historical stages in the meant to be a study guide for its congregations. founding of the State of Israel and the fate of the The booklet is a collection of essays that examine indigenous people, the Palestinians. They point the various expressions of Zionism such as out that in 1947, Arabs owned 93 percent of the Christian, Jewish, political and cultural Zionism. land west of the Jordan River while Jews owned The objective of the study is to help throw some seven percent, but the UN arrogated to itself the light on the conflict in Israel/Palestine and be a power to partition the land such that the Jewish guide for peacemaking in that corner of the world. population got 55 percent of the land whereas the The study guide goes to great pains to point out Arabs were allocated 45 percent. The Palestinians that the historical roots of the problem lay in rejected this arrangement and disposition of the Christian anti-Semitism down through the land. But it was soon to get worse. A war ensued centuries. In its fourth chapter, the study guide in 1948 as a result of which the new state of Israel traces the theological origins of anti-Semitism took over 78 percent of the land leaving a mere 22 back to the early centuries of the Common Era percent to the Palestinians. Today, all that is left to (CE). It quotes from such great Christian the Palestinians is 12 percent of the land divided theologians as Justin Martyr and John Chrysostom into separated Bantustans which make a viable and their Adversus Judaeos literature of the state impossible. The decisions to establish more second to the fourth century. They point out with settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem great detail that anti-Semitism was not a creature indicate that the objective is to make a state for of the 20th century and Nazism but has a much Palestinians impossible. longer ancestry. Zionism, they assert, emerged as Another contribution that the study guide offers a reaction to the intolerance and is an understanding of the pact persecution of Jews by Christian between Christian Churches and churches and political regimes Zionists. In reckoning with the since the time of Constantine. Churches’ complicity in the “Zionism emerged as a European destruction of European Jewry, movement because it was there that Churches have agreed to be mute in Christianity evolved over the the face of the mistreatment of course of 2000 years from the Palestinians. Marc Ellis, a Jewish belief system of a marginal theologian, has called this the persecuted minority to an “interfaith ecumenical deal,” which institution invested with state includes acceptance that criticism of power, dominating a continent.” Israel equates with anti-Semitism. The analysis in the study guide There are many other historical, Marc Ellis, author of Toward a also directs our attention further theological, moral and ideological Jewish Theology of Liberation back than the establishment of the aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian State of Israel to the age of colonialism. It sees a situation addressed in the Presbyterian Study parallel between the Puritan pilgrims from Guide. On the whole, the guide is a brave and England and their ideology in the 1600s and the scholarly attempt to come to grips with one of the early Zionists. Both saw themselves as chosen major political challenges of our time. It does not people on divine missions as they set out to dwell shy away from going to the roots of the problem in and eventually take over lands that were and exercising self-criticism of the Churches and occupied and belonged to other peoples. Behind mainline Christianity in the genesis of the these enterprises and many similar colonial problem. It identifies Zionism as a problem adventures is the ideology of exceptionalism or created by Jews and Christians alike. seeing one’s own tribe or group as special and chosen by God who helps them conquer lands and Michael Drohan is a member of the board of the nations. The linking of this ideology of Thomas Merton Center and co-chair of the specialness with political power over other people editorial collective. and their lands is what has given rise to colonialism, slavery, Zionism and other ills in our The Thomas Merton Center is organizing a series of world today. Perhaps its greatest manifestation study sessions on Zionism Unsettled in September. today is in the U.S. with its ideology of being The first session is Wednesday, September 3, at 7 exceptional and unique among the nations. The authors identify these fundamental underpinnings p.m. at TMC (5129 Penn Avenue 15224). To register, call the Thomas Merton Center at 412-361-3022. of the situation in Israel/Palestine. Another 6 - NEWPEOPLE June 2014 by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Tiananmen Massacre is not history— It is what China is today by Joyce Rothermel and Nima Liu Xiaobo (Noble Peace Prize winner), Ai Weiwei, Chen Guangcheng, Xu Zhiyong, Tibetans, Uighurs, and many more were imprisoned, tortured or disappeared 25 years ago in China. After the 1989 massacre in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, it would be wrong and naïve to think that China changed. To these courageous advocates of democracy and human rights, China's successful GDP (gross national product) cannot justify the Communist regime's dictatorial brutality. For the sake of those who suffered and died, and those who continue to suffer bravely for their nonviolent actions in China, please take a few minutes to learn their stories. Americans can help. This month people around the world are remembering the courageous acts of a huge number of students and other protesters who took to the streets in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China calling for democracy and an end to dictatorial rule in China 25 years ago. Recorded and shown across the globe was “Tank Man,” one person brave enough to stand before a column of tanks rolling through Beijing.
Tank Man. 1989.
Several hundred unarmed citizens were killed that day, June 4, 1989. Today, the Tiananmen crackdown remains one of the biggest taboos in modern China. Its occurrence is not recorded in Chinese history books. The Chinese government has been attempting to expunge the collective memory of its people through the distraction of a soaring economy. But this most traumatic of memories has never truly faded. It continues to live, despite the government’s efforts to suppress its history.
Cartoon credit TaiwanEase.com
The government may have condemned the participants as “criminals,” but the students considered it a glorious moment. It was a great honor for them to demonstrate their connection with the democracy movement. Their vision for China lives on. Written by Joyce Rothermel with help from Chinese human rights activist, Nima, who spoke at a TMC potluck about China, current human rights activists, and the actions at Tiananmen Square this spring. Joyce visited Tiananmen Square in 2006.
Arts and Culture Grounded : Forget everything you think you know about monologues! by Andrew Karl City Theatre has recently wrapped up its production of Grounded, George Brant’s timely story of a drone operator who succumbs to the stresses of a remote-controlled war. In this onewoman show, Kelly McAndrew plays a brash, unsympathetic F-16 fighter pilot in love with the vast, open sky that is her office, or as she puts it, “the blue.” However, after becoming pregnant, the unnamed heroine trades in Tiger, her affectionately titled F-16, for a daughter, husband, and “all that true corn, true cheese.” Before long, she is itching to get back into “the blue,” but is crestfallen upon learning that she is assigned as a drone operator –“the chair force,” as she puts it. On a base outside of Las Vegas, she quickly adjusts to flying a drone, and begins patrolling the skies in search of military aged males fitting the criteria for a “signature strike.” This is her job, staring at a grey screen for twelve hours a day, seven days a week. While learning to operate the drone was an easy adjustment, she struggles with the rest of the transition. Gone is the emotional detachment of firing her
missiles and disappearing into the horizon. As a drone operator, she now must circle overhead, in wait for a “double-tap strike” targeting anyone attempting to aid the victims. Highresolution cameras capture this carnage in graphic detail. She watches as body parts are sent flying through the air. “Guilty body parts,” she rationalizes. Already grappling with her loss of identity as a fighter pilot, she struggles to reconcile the seemingly contradictory roles of being a warrior by day, and wife and mother by night. “It would be a different book, The Odyssey, if Odysseus came home every day,” she says, preparing herself to greet her husband and daughter. As the stresses of the job mount, our protagonist finds herself unable to leave her family out of her work and keep her work from family. All of this comes to a head, making for a gripping portrait of post-traumatic stress disorder. George Brant raises more questions than he gives answers to in this timely work of theatre. While speaking to contentious issues of signature strikes, double-tap targeting, and acceptable civilian casualties, Brant leaves the
audience to draw their own conclusions. If Grounded has any overt lesson, it is that killing always comes at a cost. Drones shield American servicemen only from physical harm, but war will always inflict psychological trauma on its combatants. Kelly McAndrew was, in a word, outstanding. She is both convincing in her emotionally charged portrayal and, with apparent ease, keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. If you did not have a chance to see the play in Pittsburgh, productions of Grounded will open in Chicago and Washington D.C. this month. Andrew Karl is a member of the Pittsburgh AntiDrone Coalition and an intern at the Thomas Merton Center.
Kelly McAndrew stars as The Pilot. Photo by Kristi Jan Hoover.
Pittsburghers Sang Out for Pete by Bette McDevitt and Paul Ginny Hildebrand Wahrhaftig, On Saturday May 3, washtub bass. 2014, there was a Nelson Harrison, glorious "sing out for horn. Joe Guthrie, Pete" in Pittsburgh. On banjo. what would have been Art Gazdik, fiddle. Photo by Pete Seeger's 95th Diane birthday, nearly 400 Mike Stout, McMahon. enthusiasts crowded guitar and vocals. into the First Unitarian Church, which seats only 300, to Photo by Diane honor this great American artist. McMahon. “I stood through the whole concert,” said Kipp Dawson, a middle school teacher in the city. “This was not because I was not offered chairs many times. It was not even because my humble height made it impossible to see otherwise. I was mesmerized from the start, and stood to feel even more strongly the presence of my Rosie-the-Riveter-Pete-Seeger-sister-inthe-struggle mom, and her generation of activists whose by Kenneth Miller and David Tessitor This was the ninth annual B-PEP Jazz, held on spirits joined us in that amazing room, along with Pete The Black Political Empowerment Project's (BEaster Monday. himself. What a beautifully crafted, inclusive, oh-soPEP's) only annual fundraiser, a marathon celebration B-PEP invites everyone to register to vote and to be Pete event the organizers put together. As my own of Pittsburgh jazz music, featured six hours of jazz and a part of our quarterly meetings with Mayor Peduto memories of the 50s and 60s and all that followed nearly 70 jazz musicians playing music and and Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Call the Black flooded me in the form of visions of those with whom encouraging African Americans to vote in each and Political Empowerment Project at 412-758-7898. I've had the honor to share organizing and jail cells and (continued on page 8) coal mines and picket lines and huge and tiny every election. demonstrations, and Pete's words and music pulled them all together, one word kept filling that room for Judi Figel, me: Presente! Presente! Presente!” vocals. The primary organizers for the event were activists in the Thomas Merton Center and American Friends David Pellow, Service Committee, as well as Mike Stout and Anne bass. Feeney who emceed the concert. The broad array of Pittsburgh musicians from Ronnie Wingfield, guitar. professional guitar artists to gardeners turned neighborhood folk group performed and led singKenny Blake, alongs of many songs that Pete Seeger wrote or sax. performed world-wide. “It was not we who were singing and clapping and radiating joy - we were all Don DePaolis, under a spell cast by Pete,” said Gerard Rohlf, a keyboard. musician with the NewLanders. Among those pictured are:
B-PEP Report
Photo by Tené Croom.
(continued on page 14)
June 2014
NEWPEOPLE - 7
Pittsburghers Against Racism Black & White Reunion Summer BBQ Set for August 23 by Tris Ozark The Black & White Reunion (BWR) will host its annual Summer Barbecue on Saturday, August 23, 2014, noon to 4 p.m. at the Overlook Shelter in Schenley Park. All are welcome, and everyone who is interested in opposing racism is encouraged to come. The event is free. Donations will be accepted. Food, drink, music, friendship, and maybe a little brainstorming are anticipated. BWR’s motto is “Building Bridges to End Racism in Pittsburgh.” The group’s main activities besides the BBQ are the annual Summit Against Racism, and the Jonny Gammage Memorial Scholarship Essay Competition and Awards. This past January’s Summit, held as usual at East Liberty Presbyterian Church on the Saturday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, was an immense success. The group is proud to have raised enough money to continue, in concert with NEED (Negro Educational Emergency Drive), to offer thousands of dollars in scholarships for the law student winners of the essay competition. Founded in the wake of the police murder of Jonny Gammage in 1995, the group supports the Citizen Police Review Board (CPRB) and takes an active role in demanding police accountability and an end to police brutality. It is also committed to trying to preserve the August Wilson Center. Along with B-PEP (the Black Political Empowerment Project) and APA (the Alliance for Police Accountability), the Black & White Reunion has been a steadfast ally of Jordan Miles in his over four-year battle against the Pittsburgh
seats on the CPRB, for a new FOP contract that does not protect police crime and misconduct, and for a new police chief who understands, accepts, and is committed to the idea that mutual respect between the community and its police, not fear of police violence, is the key to genuine public safety. Art and education police who falsely arrested him and beat him. The events that bring together the diverse communities of group was instrumental in negotiating the four police the Pittsburgh region for peace and justice are other reform laws that came out of the Jordan Miles efforts that the BWR is proud to support. disgrace. For more information about the Black & White The Black & White Reunion Summer Barbecue is an Reunion, the Barbecue, and to volunteer to help with opportunity for new friends and old to connect and the event, see blackandwhitereunion.org. collaborate to build the many urgently needed bridges to end racism in Pittsburgh. Planning for the next Tris Ozark is a freelance writer and a member of the Summit Against Racism, to be held on Saturday, Black & White Reunion. January 24, 2015, and for future Jonny Gammage 2012— Black & White Reunion members engage with Memorial Scholarship Essay Contests will begin soon. Allegheny County Council about police brutality and Continuing lobbying is needed for filling the vacant receive a proclamation.
Remembering the Jordan Miles Case, Part 2
B-PEP Report
In Part One, which was printed in last month’s issue of The New People, Mark Ozark summarized the action that preceded Jordan Miles’ civil lawsuit against three Pittsburgh officers for excessive use of force during a March 2010 incident. A civil trial that concluded this past March found the officers guilty of making a false arrest and awarded $120,000 for damages from the beating Mr. Miles received.
(continued from page 7)
B-PEP hosts monthly Planning Council Meetings at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the Hill House in Conference Room B. Come and get to know the B-PEP Planning Council, and let's demand that our politicians respond to incidences of police brutality and address the racial disparities in education and income with more urgency. Come for updates on how to save the August Wilson Center and be a part of our non partisan voter registration drive. Tim Stevens and the Whole B-PEP Planning Council op-ed by Mark Ozark gives out roof-rattling applause to all of the musicians First, Mr. Miles should not have been selected and that came out for B-PEP Jazz this year. Your voices and victimized. He deserves to be compensated. horns are ringing out, and the whole world can hear. It Second, by refusing to indict the police, the law was a B-PEP Moment. enforcement establishment reduced Mr. Miles' cause Jordan Miles hospitalized in January 2010 after three to a monetary civil trial. Kenneth Miller and David Tessitor are both members plainclothes police officers unlawfully arrested and beat Third, Mr. Miles' stand represented not only of B-PEP and the Black & White Reunion. himself but every person who might be victimized by him. Photo courtesy JusticeforJordanMiles.com. unfettered police, a neglectful law enforcement Public scrutiny of the police has gained hierarchy, and a public that averts its gaze. credibility through media coverage, general Fourth, Jordan Miles got results: public and expert testimony, and the logic of City Council has taken steps to improve Jordan Miles' complaint. community/police relations. Councilman Rev. The Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network Ricky Burgess introduced five bills originally was for a time allowed input into police titled The Jordan Miles Public Safety Reform hiring. Agenda. Four of the bills have passed into A working group formed to examine law. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of automatically removing the legal the fourth bill passed is the codification of the responsibility for investigating police conduct operational aspects of the 1997 Federal complaints and crimes from local jurisdictions Consent Decree originally imposed on the because of the obvious conflicts of interest Bureau of Police following the local police involved. murders of Jonny Gammage and Jerry Allegheny County Councilman Robinson Jackson. A second important bill directs the and others brought up the idea of an expanded Bureau to achieve accreditation, a requirement Citizen Police Review Board that would cover that has been in place for over fifteen years, the county as well as the City of Pittsburgh. but had been almost ignored until Jordan Above, left to right: Mayor Bill Peduto has appointed two Miles spoke out. Both aim to reverse the Marcella Lee, B-PEP alumnae of Citizen Police Review Board police recidivism of the last decade or so. Jazz Working service, Deborah Walker and Lourdes Group; Charlie The Alliance for Police Accountability was Sanchez-Ridge, to positions that can affect Batch, Honorary established. It publicizes police abuses. police accountability. Chair of B-PEP Jazz; A riveting new play, The Gammage The Mayor has called for a mechanism to William Jack Project, highlighting the injustice of the discipline police officers who have been Simmons, Chair of Establishment response to the homicide by convicted in civil court, even though other B-PEP Jazz Working police of an innocent man, was to be official channels may have declined to act. Group. Photo by incorporated into police training. (continued on page 9) Tené Croom.
8 - NEWPEOPLE
June 2014
Police and Prisoners Prisoner Pen Pals Needed! Please write to these individuals: Jason Grisby #KD-8463 1600 Walters Mill Rd. Somerset, PA 15510 Demetrius Bailey #CP-7819 1 Kelley Drive Coal Township, PA 17866 Ryan Berger #KQ-0945 P.O. Box 99991 Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Shane Eddowes #AS-2134 P.O. Box A Bellefonte, PA 16823
Steven Shawe #JJ-6277 P.O. Box 945 Marienville, PA 16239 Joseph Ray #JZ-8219 10745 Route 18 Allison, PA 16475 Donald Slackman #GJ-1536 SCI Benner 301 Institution Drive Bellefonte, PA 16823 Carmelo Gonzalez #JF-2059 Box 9999 LaBelle, PA 15450
End the ‘Mis-Education’ Behind Bars op-ed by Muwsa Green #HV-5362 In that 1933 classic The MisEducation of the Negro, authored by historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Woodson observed that the “greatest indictment” of the education blacks receive is that “they have learned little as to make a living . . ..” Pennsylvania prison data shows that at the end of 2012, 80.6 percent of male inmates in the system “were unskilled or possessed no skills” when they entered prison. Pennsylvania’s prison system officially considers Black history books as inflammatory (radically and racially), deeming them inappropriate for inmates to read despite the books’ intent to inspire elevation through education. Officials have barred some inmates from receiving medical dictionaries and law books, using Pennsylvania Department
sends free educational books and quality reading material to prisoners in Pennsylvania. You can donate books for prisoners at the Thomas Merton Center (5129 Penn Avenue) Monday-Friday 10-4, Saturday 12-4, or bring them during Book’Em volunteer hours: 4-6pm on the first two Sundays of the month.
Books We Need (paperbacks preferred): paperback dictionaries James Patterson novels basic math and science novels with African-American male protagonists We Do NOT Need: Wicca/astrology/paranormal/UFOS/Free general fiction Masons books with writing, underlining, Native American nonfiction or spiral binding (prisons will carpentry not accept these) mythology; prehistory stained or moldy books American history; the Constitution books heavier than 3 lbs. WWII philosophy Donate: self-help, alcoholism, and drug Make checks payable dependency to Book’Em. Mail to: yoga 5129 Penn Ave basic grammar and reading skills Pittsburgh, PA 15224 textbooks under 3 lbs.
of Corrections (DOC) directives to ban books containing little-known information that will aid prisoners’ health, safety, and criminal cases. The prison system is not designed to rehabilitate prisoners because it’s a business, and the only way to profit is if inmates keep returning back to prison. The State Correctional Institution at Graterford will lock a prisoner up in the RHU (Restrictive Housing Unit) if he tries to actually educate the inmate. The DOC is against anything that deals with reforming a prisoner (such as groups and programs run by prisoners). Lack of education is obviously a problem within Pennsylvania state
Remembering the Jordan Miles Case, Part 2
Learn More: Visit www.bookempgh.org
prisons since over 41 percent of male inmates have less than a 12th grade education, on average reading at slightly less than an 8th grade level. Lack of education drives prisoner-on-prisoner combat and misconceptions about the real role of men and women and the real role of a father. Lack of education may be one of the many reasons why the crime rate is so high, why inmates keep
coming back to prison, and why some young men refuse to take care of their children. We need to set up programs in society for offenders to help them get jobs and food stamps. And the most important thing is to re-educate them. Muwsa Green is an inmate at SCI Fayette and a regular contributor to The New People. You can reach him by writing to: Muwsa Green #HV-5362 SCI Fayette Box 9999 LaBelle, PA 15450
Fight For Lifers West Awarded Grant
by Donna Hill Fight For Lifers West, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was awarded $3,000 this past (continued from fiscal year by RESIST, Inc., a national page 8) progressive foundation located in Somerville, Sadly, it is Massachusetts. also important to Fight For Lifers West is the only group in think about what Western Pennsylvania that seeks to establish the police may minimum sentences for lifers in Pennsylvania, have learned and we also advocate for both from the law lifers and their families. We enforcement received the funding from establishment Left to right: Officers Michael Saldutte, David Sisak RESIST to advocate for more during the course and Richard Ewing on their way into the courthouse humane and effective laws for of the Jordan during the civil trial. Image credit WTAE-TV. prisoners serving life sentences Miles case. in Pennsylvania. We are very The officers who beat Jordan Miles pay them, exactly the Miles were never suspended from reverse of what the jury decided. honored to have received this grant from RESIST. the force and lost no wages or Friends in high places are not RESIST began in 1967 in overtime. They are indemnified by everything—they are the only support of draft resistance and the city and so are immune from thing. Good people must elect in opposition to the Vietnam financial responsibility for their officials who care enough about War. As the funder of first actions. They are subject only to public safety to institute policies resort for hundreds of criminal prosecution or internal that enforce mutual respect organizations, RESIST discipline, which by contract goes between the community and the provides small but timely grants and loans to to arbitration. The police are police. That's what works. The grassroots groups engaged in activist immune from any effective public must insist that appointed organizing and educational work for social criticism and can act with officials are held to the same high change. RESIST defines organizing as impunity. standards. collective action to challenge the status quo, With continued attacks on Mr. Miles, police representatives have Mark Ozark is a member of the demand changes in policy and practice, and educate communities about root causes and just flatly rejected the mayor's call for Black & White Reunion. solutions. RESIST recognizes that there is a healing after the verdict. They are variety of stages and strategies that lead to asking the court to make Jordan
community organizing. Therefore, they support strategies that build community, encourage collaborations with other organizations, increase skills and/or access to resources, and produce leadership from the constituency being most directly affected. In 2013, RESIST supported 134 groups in 40 different states and gave more money than ever before in their history. Each year, RESIST funds groups like Fight For Lifers West, because their mission is to support people who take a stand about the issues that matter today, whether it’s to resist corporate globalization, to promote a woman’s right to choose, or to develop activist leaders. They also believe that it’s especially important to help grassroots organizations that might be too small or too local – or too radical – for mainstream foundations. For more information, contact Fight For Lifers West at: P.O. Box 4683 Pittsburgh, PA 15206
or email fightforliferswest@yahoo.com Donna Hill is the President of Fight For Lifers West, a project of the Thomas Merton Center. June 2014
NEWPEOPLE - 9
Fracking Deer Lakes Protect Our Parks! We Have Just Begun to Fight! (continued from page 1)
Once Fitzgerald claimed he had a lease finalized, a simple ordinance which did not include the lease was given to Council and quickly assigned to the Parks Committee. That body is headed up by Nick Futules, a Fitzgerald loyalist and owner of his own gas leases with Range/Huntley. When POP quickly publicized this obvious conflict and demanded Futules recuse himself, he refused to do so and POP has now filed a State Ethics Commission complaint with results pending. The Parks Committee hearings, while supposedly duty-bound to examine ALL of the facts about fracking and the lease, whether pro or con, became an absurdist comedy. Even though the recent PA Supreme Court decision overturning Act 13 made it clear that municipalities have a legal obligation to perform “due diligence”, Fitzgerald instead engineered “dutiful ignorance.” Futules, with help from Council President John DeFazio, refused to allow testimony from anyone not from or related to the industry except for political appointees of Fitzgerald’s. Even Karen Hacker, newly appointed Health Department Director, showed her loyalty to Fitzgerald when she said in a hearing that she knew of no definitive studies showing health effects of fracking. One of the three hearings was devoted almost entirely to a sales pitch by Range Resources in which John Applegath, Range Sr. VP, was asked by a Council member, “How many jobs will we get from fracking DLP?” Applegath replied (even though part of the sales pitch from Fitzgerald was “jobs”) that no jobs would be gained. Amazingly, the next question from a Fitzgerald loyalist was, “And how many of those jobs will be union and local people?” Clearly, the party line was set and nothing, not even denials from industry, could change that line. Along with the smaller hearings, literally hundreds of residents attended sequential Council meetings to argue against the use of public land for a private industrial process; while Fitzgerald pulled out every loyalist he could find, from the labor “leadership” still mired in dreams of reindustrializing Pittsburgh, to now-failed environmentalists who hope for a political future with Fitzgerald. Virtually everyone who was profracking would gain financially, while the opposition had nothing to gain but our children’s futures. The final vote was 9-5, giving Fitzgerald only one more vote than needed to pass 10 - NEWPEOPLE
June 2014
his deal with the frackers. The vote came down along racial and gender lines with every female and both minority council members voting “No” or abstaining. The vote avoided party loyalty as two Dems and three (out of five) GOP members voted “No” and a third Dem appropriately recused herself due to her family’s peripheral relationship with fracking concerns. Is this a defeat for POP and the residents of Allegheny County? We think not as every poll shows that about 70% of state and local residents are opposed to fracking public lands. And over the last few months, POP has clearly energized mass opposition to Fitzgerald’s giveaways and exposed the incredibly undemocratic nature of County Council and Fitzgerald’s allegiance to his corporate backers over
the rights of residents. What’s next? POP is not going away. There are eight more County Parks that we should assume Fitzgerald would like to see fracked and he must be and can be stopped. Are there legal actions yet to be taken? POP is currently engaged in discussions with attorneys but has no intent of rushing into court without proper preparation. We expect that we will have significant legal costs in the coming period, however. POP extends thanks to those Council members who voted “No,” including Daly-Danko, Green-Hawkins, Heidelbaugh, Means, Robinson, and Rea. Councilmen supporting fracking Deer Lakes Park — DeFazio, Futules, Kress, Baker, Martoni, Palmiere, Finnerty,
Ellenbogen, and Macey — will be nominated to the Fracking Hall of Shame. POP continues to meet and organize and urges your support for our efforts. We can be contacted online at www.protectparks.org. Contributions to our work can be made via the MarcellusProtest website, or checks can be made out to and sent to the Thomas Merton Center with memo line noted “ProtectParks”. Join us, in body, in spirit, in any and every way possible. As Pete Seeger said, “This land is our land.” It’s time to take it back. Mel Packer is a member of Marcellus Protest.
Climate Change Open Letter to Senator Toomey High School Student Says: Fix the Education System and Foster Ecological Recovery by Emmet Hollingshead Four Pittsburgh youth from the American Friends Service Committee PA’s Racial Justice Through Human Rights youth group visited Senators Casey and Toomey in Washington, D.C., to discuss their concerns about education and the environment. After their visit, twelfth grader Emmet Hollingshead wrote this letter to Senator Toomey:
We would like to reiterate some of our concerns about education and environmental protection. Firstly, we strongly feel that our country is not properly invested in education. The foundation of a state is the education of its youth. Those words are carved in stone in the side of my high school, yet I don't see them being acted upon on the state or national level. When you were listing reasons for why charter schools have had more success than public schools, one of the reasons you listed was better funding and resources. I would agree with you that we need to reform education, not just throw money at it, but when we have students who don't have books or chairs in the classroom, there is clearly a problem. We would also like to stress the importance of accessibility to postsecondary education. As college decisions near, I am seeing several of my friends forced to turn down spots
The American Friends Service Committee PA’s Racial Justice Through Human Rights youth group delegation outside Toomey’s office. Photo by Bryan Vana.
at Cornell, CMU, Brown, and other top tier universities due to monetary concerns. And it's not just with elite private schools. College prices everywhere are skyrocketing, and many American teens have turned to Pell Grants to help them continue their education. To not expand the Pell Grant would be dangerous, and to cut it would be disastrous. While I am aware that the federal government faces grave fiscal concerns, our most valuable resource is our children and our future. There is absolutely nothing that is more rewarding to invest in. I hope that in the future, you can work to help fix this growing problem with our nation's education system. We see global warming as an ever-expanding threat that has been foolishly shrugged off by the American government. Ninety-eight percent of scientists conclude that global warming is real and that it could impact our entire way of life. The evidence is irrefutable. Something needs to be done about this impending crisis. I see your concern that Pennsylvania and numerous other states rely heavily on natural gas, coal, and oil for their economy. I also see your concern that further regulation could potentially slow those
The Thomas Merton Center is a proud consumer of TriEagle Energy.
businesses. However, we face the possibility of having to entirely redraw world maps with the melting of the ice caps. We face the possible extinction of up to one million species of plants and animals within the next 40 years alone. We face significant disruption of the global ecosystem, of which we are a very big part. The risks of continuing our reckless use of fossil fuels far outweigh the risks of switching to sustainable, renewable energy. Furthermore, jobs lost in the oil gas and coal industries would be brought back in jobs that include building and operating solar and wind farms, building more fuel efficient vehicles, building hydroelectric power generators and dams, and other things that would foster both economic growth and ecological recovery. This is another area that I hope you will devote more time to in future months and years. Thank you once again. I wish you all the best in continuing to represent the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Emmet Hollingshead is a 12th grader at Taylor Allderdice High School and part of the American Friends Service Committee's Racial Justice through Human Rights youth group.
Every Monday at 9:00 PM
Cemetery: wastes steel, concrete, & hardwoods
Cremation: pollutes the air and wastes energy
Woodland Burial: Restores land w/ minimal pollution
Progressive Pgh Notebook TV Series airs within city limits:
Comcast Channel 21 + Verizon FiOS Channel 47
Watch live at
www.pctv21.org
See more at www.youtube.com/ richfishpgh
June: LAST HOURS .ORG — Climate Change via melting frozen permafrost and methane beneath the ocean
Rich Fishkin: Camera a short documentary produced by and Editor Leonardo DiCaprio C.S. Rhoten: Community Producer for PCTV21 Pittsburgh Community Television Corporation
June 2014
NEWPEOPLE - 11
Anti-Nuke Update on Initiative to Abolish Nuclear Weapons by Michael Drohan Since 1970 the nuclear weapons states (NWS) have monopolized the international dialogue on the abolition of nuclear weapons. In that year, the US, UK and USSR brought into existence the Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Among its provisions was Article 6 in which the US, UK, France, USSR and China (the then five nuclear weapons states) committed to negotiate the elimination of their nuclear weapons. Through this provision, the NWS have monopolized the abolition debate until recently. In the almost 45 intervening years very little has been accomplished in the arena of abolition. In fact, one might say we have seen a regression on the question: the number of nuclear weapon states has grown from five to nine since 1970; the rationale for possessing nuclear weapons, namely deterrence, has now expanded such that the US, Russia and France at least, now see the possession and possible use of nuclear weapons as an essential part of their national security systems. Recently, in the dispute between the US and Iran over the allegation of the latter possessing a nuclear weapons program, President Obama promised that “nothing is off the table" in securing that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon capability. It is understood that this was code language for the threat to use nuclear weapons should Iran try to acquire nuclear weapons. By any measure, these developments represent an increase in the danger that nuclear weapons present from the time of the Cold War.
Humanitarian Consequences Argument for Nuclear Abolition
and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law.” This was the first shot over the bow. Then in 2010 at the last quinquennial review of the nonproliferation treaty, the final document expressed “deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and the need for all states to comply with applicable international law.” Following the 2010 NPT review meeting, the preparatory meeting for the next review met in 2012 and in that context 80 states began the Humanitarian Initiative in which they called for humanitarian consequences to be at the core of any nuclear weapons discourse.
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
Since these initial developments of the Humanitarian Initiative to ban nuclear weapons, other significant developments have taken place. In November 2013, the International Red Cross and Red Faced with the stalling, inaction and failure of the nuclear weapons states to Crescent Council of Delegates have deliver on nuclear abolition as promised called for “all governments to take in Article 6 of the NPT, a number of non concrete steps leading to the negotiation -nuclear weapons states and international of a legally binding international organizations have taken the initiative to agreement to prohibit the use of nuclear change entirely the conversation around weapons.” They also demanded that these measures be considered as a matter the danger of nuclear weapons to humanity. Within the framework of the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty, a new group has emerged--the Humanitarian Initiative, a group of 80 states which is demanding that the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons be at the core of the nuclear abolition debate. This, it is hoped, will pave the way for the banning of nuclear weapons through the courts and international customary law. The genesis of the Humanitarian Initiative to abolish nuclear weapons dates back to 1996. In that year, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion in which it stated “the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, 12 - NEWPEOPLE
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of urgency. In March 2013, a Conference took place under the aegis of the Humanitarian Initiative in Oslo, Norway under the banner “Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Weapons.” Delegates from 127 countries attended. The reaction, however, of the nuclear weapons are Physicians for nuclear weapons states was negative and Social Responsibility and the Arms they boycotted the Oslo meeting. This Control Association who held a meeting was followed by another Conference in Washington DC in March meeting in February of this year in of this year. At that conference, Dr. Ira Helfand of PSR laid out some of the dire consequences of even a limited use of nuclear weapons. He took the case of a possible nuclear war between India and Pakistan and indicated that in such a conflict, possibly 20 million people could be killed in the first week alone. Temperatures would drop by 1.3 degrees Celcius leading to famine as a result of climate change with the deaths of possibly one billion human beings. Then he looked at the US and its arsenal. The US has 14 Trident Submarines, each submarine has 96 warheads each with a killing capacity 10 to 30 times greater than that of the India/Pakistan missiles. The catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the unleashing of even one of the trident submarine missiles is simply unthinkable except in the minds of those at the helm.
Conclusion
Abolition of nuclear weapons is more urgent than ever. The Human Mexico entitled “Second Conference on Consequences Initiative is a shot in the the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear arm for the abolition movement and for Weapons.” Delegates from 146 states, all of us to get involved in this most the Red Cross, Red Crescent, the United pressing human justice and peace Nations and several NGOs attended. endeavor. Another conference, the third in this series, is planned for Vienna, Austria in Michael Drohan is a member of the December of this year. All this is by way board of the Thomas Merton Center of preparation for the next five yearly and co-chair of the editorial review of the NPT to take place in 2015. collective. Other groups which have weighed in on the humanitarian consequences of
Approaches and Outlooks John Dear on “The Nonviolent Life” by Joyce Rothermel and Molly Rush On May 12, John Dear, internationally known author and peace activist, spoke at an event held at St. Mary of the Mount as part of a book tour for his latest book, The Nonviolent Life. It was cosponsored by the Thomas Merton Center, Pax Christi, the Association of Pittsburgh Priests, PATH to Justice, Sisters of Mercy, and Call to Action. Fresh from a visit with Fr. Daniel Berrigan, SJ in New York, John reported that his friend, one of the 1980 Plowshares 8 protesters against nuclear weapons, is very frail. In March 2013 Dear and Martin Sheen spoke at an extraordinary International Conference in Oslo on The Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons. It was hosted by the Norwegian Government. Notably absent were the U.S. and other nuclear weapons states with the exception of Pakistan. The Conference provided an arena for a fact-based discussion of the humanitarian and developmental consequences of a nuclear weapons detonation. Delegates from 127 countries as well as several non-governmental organizations, the International Red Cross movement, representatives of civil society and other relevant stakeholders participated. The next meeting will be held in December 2014 in Vienna. Dear encouraged Pittsburgh to send a representative. Prior to the public meeting Dear met with board members of the Merton Center and other cosponsors. He shared some stories of his recent visit to South Africa, and to Afghanistan where he met with a peace team of twenty-five Muslim teenagers each of whom have lost a father or a brother due to war. These young people are studying the lives of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King in order to learn a nonviolent way of living. He also met recently with the Dalai Lama, who has concluded that the
A LIGHT
people in the U.S. are sick. John —by Nakia Goodwine believes there has been a loss of imagination regarding issues of war My name is Nakia. and violence in our world today. “We I’m starting a new life. can only begin to build peace when we I’m excited and motivated. can envision it. We must begin to live I do have a lot of fear. a new culture of peace.” The first step I don’t want to live in war anymore. is to grow in peace within ourselves. I don’t know what the future will hold, Dear pointed to the social justice but I know it will only be better than what I was living. movements in history, saying that that I feel good today, we can learn from them how important and I’m starting to even think it is to “keep at it.” He then shared I’m beautiful some actions we can take to move again. forward with hope. At one time, how I looked and felt never passed my mind. Rather than mainstream TV Now I want to smile. or newspapers, the important I want to bathe and put some clothes on. news, he said, is to be found My skin complexion is lightened. in alternative media such as Some people even say I have a glow now. Democracy Now and on When I think of my future, websites such as Kathy I see a light at the end of my dark tunnel. Kelly’s Voices for Creative Nonviolence. In the face of Nakia Goodwine was published in Words Without the world’s violence and Walls: Sojourner House, Spring 2014. attempting to live nonviolently, Archbishop Desmond Tutu told him, “Each day, I cry and each day, I laugh.” Dear movement to abolish war, end poverty, stop the invites each of us to follow suit and to find destruction of the earth, and foster a just and a way to work for justice and peace. peaceful world for all.” The Campaign for The Campaign will take action for a more Nonviolence for instance nonviolent world in Washington, DC on September is working to build a long 21-27. Hundreds of cities across the U.S. are -term movement which planning local actions/events for the International connects the dots Day of Peace, which is September 21. He urged between war, poverty, Pittsburgh to participate in the campaign. To learn and the environmental more, go to www.campaignnonviolence.org. If you crisis. They invite people are interested in obtaining a copy of John Dear’s to solemnly pledge to book The Nonviolent Life, please call the Merton take a stand against Center (412) 361-3022. violence and help create a culture of active nonviolence. “I will strive to 1.Practice nonviolence Joyce Rothermel and Molly Rush are members of toward myself. 2.Practice nonviolence toward all the board of the Thomas Merton Center. others. 3. Practice nonviolence by joining the global
My Reasons for Pessimism and Optimism by Tim Cimino I was asked to write about the evolution of my thinking. But first let me share two fantasies. They could happen, but I’ll present them as fantasies. First fantasy: A competition. I’d give $200 to the Merton Center if anyone can come up with enough positive global trends to outweigh all current negative global trends. Many good things are happening, true—but the big drivers, the decisive economic, political and environmental trends are overwhelmingly negative. It would be brutal to crush people’s optimism, but if that would inspire openness to better methods, it would actually be therapeutic to disenchant them. Some optimists and activists would feel attacked, but a Sufi writer, Idries Shah, is fond of saying that a description is not a criticism. In other words, if I show that objectively you are part of an inadequate response, then you could choose to feel attacked, or you could seek better methods. Second fantasy: I’d give $100 to the Merton Center if anyone reading this could find anyone alive on Earth who has created useful ideas with a greater potential than the seven ideas I invented that are described later in this article. That must sound arrogant, since it seems tantamount to saying I have the most powerful ideas on Earth. But actually the second bet is one I’d expect
to lose. The point of making the bet would be to get people to actively weigh my seven ideas against other innovative ideas they’ve heard. I don’t know of many new ideas with more potential. That’s my point. Now bear with me. This will get strange for a minute. Imagine that an alien lands her flying saucer and says to humanity, “Yes, things are really bad. But in Earth’s history, about a hundred great ‘upgrades’ have each transformed human civilization. Some early upgrades were agriculture, written language, coin money, and laws. Later upgrades include the Scientific Method, modern democracy and the Internet. To help you, here are seven upgrades from my world that you don’t have!” Even before the alien explained her upgrades, people would feel great optimism. Why? First because they were reminded that certain ideas have the firepower to change the world. Second, because you’d expect that an alien would come from a world with some advanced ideas. Now, here’s a different what-if. What if an alien never arrived, but an exchemist announced he had invented seven major upgrades? How would people react? Because it’s so unexpected, since nothing like it has ever happened before, I believe people would not give the ex-
chemist the benefit of the doubt. Instead, (2003) Realized that the concept of they’d assume the ex-chemist “world peace” had seven was naïve, mistaken, arrogant drawbacks. Then I or crazy. invented a better goal for Now let’s add that the exhumanity with none of the chemist has a plan to develop drawbacks (Ai Sakai.) and launch all seven upgrades in 1-2 (2005) Became demoralized by U.S. years. That fast pace would make the ex- politics. A bold solution: a chain reaction chemist’s claims seem doubly of nonpartisan empowerment to create unbelievable. an informed, critically-thinking and Yet wouldn’t it be tragic if he were active electorate in one decade. telling the truth? Because people would (ProofThroughTheNight.Org) dearly want world-changing upgrades, (2009) Realized that most people and they’d wish that they’d scale up fast. already have over 40 kinds of wealth, The seven upgrades (details are at and that an active appreciation of this GroupGenie.Org/superheroes): would alter their experience of life. It (1984) I sensed a chain reaction of would boost self-esteem, and make learning how to learn could boost material possessions and wealth less humanity’s ability to deal with coming alluring. (Wide Wealth) problems—and also boost their (2010) Designed a better definition of fulfillment. I developed a new category goodness, one that could produce more of learning structures called super high-quality good action. (super programs. goodness.) (1988) I kept wondering, “How much (2014) Came up with the plan to action, and what kinds of action are launch all the upgrades in 1-2 years. enough to stabilize the world?” This led (GroupGenie.Org/TBI) me to invent the Golden Rule 2.0, a Imagine how good you’d feel if better standard for fairness than the humanity finally found adequate original Golden Rule. methods! (1995) Observed that nonprofits were unwittingly competing for a limited pool Tim Cimino is a member of the Thomas of donations and volunteer hours. My Merton Center and an ex-chemist. Helper’s Helper could boost the pool of time and money by potentially $125 billion a year. It also would create many jobs. June 2014 NEWPEOPLE - 13
In Case You Missed It Thrifty Volunteers Modeled in Affordable Chic Fashion Show
Volunteers at the East End Community Thrift Store, as well as shoppers from the communities they serve, modeled clothes available at Thrifty in their 26th Annual Affordable Chic Fashion Show this April.
. . . and Received the New Person Award: In May, thrift store manager Shirley Gleditsch and the family of Thrifty volunteers were given the Thomas Merton Center’s New Person Award for their many years of hard work and service. But their work continues — and Thrifty needs more volunteers. Some of the responsibilities of a Thrifty volunteer include sorting new donations, orienting customers to the layout of the store, and moving or sprucing up donated furniture. If you can help in any way, please contact Thrifty at (412) 361-6010 or stop in at 5123 Penn Ave., Garfield, 15224
Pittsburghers Sang Out for Pete (continued from page 7)
There was also a powerful original poem by Vanessa German. “Her poem, her story, and safe haven for youth, art, and presence in Homewood will always signify the concert for me,” said Evelyn Murrin, a long time member of Peace Links and early child education advocate. “She reminds us that the message and the activism of Pete Seeger live on.” Over the course of the evening each of us got to know him (Pete) better, said Audrey Masalehdan, a member of the church congregation. Many “learned how some venerable institutions in Pittsburgh had turned their backs on him while the First Unitarian Church where they now sat had opened its arms to him at perhaps their own peril.” (In 1962 WQED and the YMHA caved to redbaiting and canceled Seeger performances which were then picked up by the Unitarian Church.) “The real joy of the evening,” continued Masalehdan, “was that everyone there was exuberantly celebrating his life. And that they were doing it together. The key word to the evening was JOY!” “It was a spiritual experience and I am not a spiritual person,” said Mary Shea, who performed “Big Muddy” with her husband Steve Pellegrino. “Such experiences are very rare.” In addition Mel Packer and Thaddeus Popovich did a dramatic reading of Seeger's courageous testimony in 1955 before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The energetic evening inspired a sense of commitment and community seldom equaled. Long time activist and union leader Rosemary Trump wrote a week after the event, “Still glowing and feeling inspired to carry on the fight. Pittsburgh is a ‘smokey old town’ with wonderful talented musicians of conscience.” Though the event was free, participants opened their hearts and wallets to the baskets passed around to cover expenses and benefit the Marcellus Protest Protect Our Parks group and the Make it Our UPMC campaign. The two organizations will receive over $1,000 each. An email from Anita and Dr. Dan Fine (early paritipants in the Russelton Miner's 14 - NEWPEOPLE
June 2014
Clinic) summed up the evening this way: “For us, a best experience of many years. The response was incredible – a magical mélange of nostalgia, solidarity and yearning for continued Seeger-progressive struggle projected through singing out together. This should be the beginning of an enduring practice.” Sing Out organizers have already begun discussions about a "Sing Out for Pete Two" to be held the weekend of May 1, 2015 with songs by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Buffy Saint Marie and others. Craig Stevens, community advocate also suggested broadening the scope of the concert. “I’d love to see a future sing-out of freedom songs led by musicians and groups from the African American, Latino, Women's, Labor, LGBTQ communities.”
Above: Thrifty manager Shirley Gleditsch at the honoree table.
Bette McDevitt and Ginny Hildebrand are members of the Thomas Merton Center and both performed at Sing Out for Pete.
Above: Thrifty supporters and friends of the Thomas Merton Center gather in East Liberty Presbyterian Church. Photos by Colleen Dougherty.
Anne Feeney performing at Sing Out for Pete. Photo by Diane McMahon.
Left: Thrifty volunteer Janet Myles addressing the attendees.
TMC Represented at Catholic Worker Spring Retreat Photo by Mark Pestak, caption by Carol Gonzalez
Graced day of networking at the inspiring Catholic Worker (CW) Spring Retreat, Youngstown Ohio, April 26! Author & activist Rosalie Riegle spoke about Dorothy Day’s activism rooted in her spirituality and how CW communities across the world live out the CW Aims and Means. Dylan Rooke & Carol Gonzalez were part of a panel presentation representing The Thomas Merton Center & Pittsburgh’s Catholic Worker Network at this annual regional retreat organized by Sr. Ann McManamon, HM with the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality in Youngstown, Ohio.
Thomas Merton Center Community Who Was Thomas Merton? There was a steady flow of letters between him and Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker, Abdul Aziz, a Pakistani student of mysticism and Sufism; Ethel and Jackie Kennedy; D.T. Suzuki, expert on Zen Buddhism; President Lyndon Johnson; Coretta Scott King; pacifist Gordon Zahn; Popes Paul VI and John XXIII; and Thich Nhat Hanh, to name a few. (See Hidden Ground of Love, a fascinating collection of letters selected by William H. Shannon.) I was interested to find correspondence on racism and peace with former Pittsburgh Bishop, later Cardinal John Wright. Among Thomas Merton’s close friends were peace activist Fr. Daniel Berrigan; James Forest, formerly with the Catholic Worker and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation; James Douglass, peace activist and author of JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated before a planned retreat with Merton could take place. The Merton collection at Bellarmine University in Kentucky includes 600 hours of audio tapes of talks to his community; 15,000 letters to more than 2,100
(continued from page 1)
correspondents; hundreds of poems; 900 drawings, 1100 photographs, and much more, including translations into 30 languages. How the man managed to write dozens of books (most still in print), work on the monastery farm, meet with visitors, and find time for regular prayer and contemplation beats me! His sense of humor and down-to-earth manner were beguiling to visitors with whom he loved to share a beer. To support themselves, the monks make and sell cheese, which Merton referred to as “cheeses for Jesus.”
“Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. And there too a great deal has to be gone through, as gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything.” — Thomas Merton
Merton is purported to have written on the back of this photo of himself: “This is the old hillbilly who knows where the still is.” Photo by John Lyons, courtesy of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University.
“…there is and must be, in the church, a contemplative life which has no other function than to realize these mysterious things, and return to God all the thanks and praise that human hearts can give Him. It is certainly true that I have written about more than just the contemplative life. I have articulately resisted attempts to have myself classified as an ‘inspirational writer.’ But if I have written about interracial justice, or thermonuclear weapons, it is because these issues are terribly relevant to one great truth: that man is called to live as a child of God. Man must respond to this call to live in peace with all his brothers and sisters in the One Christ." — Thomas Merton
Regional Retreat Set for October 10-12 by Joyce Rothermel The Thomas Merton Center, the Association of Pittsburgh Priests, Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi, and PA Call to Action will sponsor a retreat at the Kearns Spirituality Center, 9000 Babcock Blvd. in Allison Park. Entitled: “Inspired by the Spirit, Motivated by Justice: Exercising Contemplative Power in This Evolutionary Time.” The retreat will be led by Nancy Sylvester, IHM and Rev. Art McDonald. The retreat will begin on Friday, October 10 at 6 p.m. and conclude Sunday, October 12 at 11:30 a.m. Overnight accommodations (no private bathrooms) and meals are available for the retreat. Nancy Sylvester, IHM, is the founder and president of the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue; former executive director of NETWORK (a Catholic Social Justice Lobby) and former president of Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Rev. Art McDonald, the Nancy Sylvester, IHM Unitarian Universalist minister in Essex, Massachusetts, is a former Dominican priest; former TMC staff and board member; and former UU minister at Allegheny Church, North Side, Pittsburgh. He received his PhD in Religious Studies with focus on Latin American liberation theology from the University of Pittsburgh. He was an early participant in Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN). Art will open the retreat on Friday night with his thoughts on Thomas Merton, Contemplation and the
“It seems to me there are very dangerous ambiguities about our democracy in its actual present condition. I wonder to what extent our ideals are now a front for organized selfishness and irresponsibility. If our affluent society ever breaks down and the facade is taken away, what are we going to have left?” — Thomas Merton
Next year the Thomas Merton Center will hold a series of events to celebrate the extraordinary life of Thomas Merton on the centenary of his birth, January 31, 2015. Please consider being part of the planning.
Molly Rush is a member of the board and co-founder of the Thomas Merton Center.
— Inspired by the Spirit, Motivated by Justice
Life of the Activist. He will offer insights into Merton’s relationships with key religious activists of his day, including his support of and challenge to them. He will also alert his listeners to the dangers of activism unrelated to deep reflection and contemplation. Finally he will invite participants to reflect upon the balance between activism and contemplation in their own lives. A reception will follow the evening presentation. One need not be registered for the entire retreat to participate in this Friday evening event. On Saturday, Nancy will guide participants through three sessions. She will explore why this time on our evolutionary journey has created such polarities in our
world and churches and how this moment holds a special invitation. Rooted in her own experience, she will share the call to communal contemplation which she believes is the call to transformed consciousness so necessary to go forward in working for a more peaceful and just world. Together participants will practice contemplation and listening and speaking from a contemplative heart. Finally, there will be exploration on how to begin to integrate what is experienced with the ongoing work for justice and peace. To see the complete schedule with costs and to register, go to www.thomasmertoncenter.org/retreat. For more information or to request a partial scholarship, call 412-532-8654 or e-mail pghretreat@gmail.com Joyce Rothermel is a member of the Thomas Merton Center and is now serving on the Joint Retreat Planning Committee.
Housemate Wanted:
Art McDonald and friends enjoy the outdoors.
Correction: Last month, The New People misspelled the name of intern Meagan McGill, a liberal arts student at Clarion University, who has been spending her Saturdays at the Thomas Merton Center. Meagan has helped to keep the Center in running order and been willing to undertake both major reorganization projects and small but vital tasks. Thank you, Meagan, and sincere apologies for the error. —Briar Somerville, New People coordinator
Two baby boomers, long-time friends of TMC, are looking for a housemate starting July 1, 2014. We are located on Chislett Street in Morningside. You would have a large bedroom and access to the rest of the house. There is a washer/ dryer in the cellar. Must not be allergic to cats. $450/month, utilities included. Please call Judy or Rob: 412-362-6222 June 2014
NEWPEOPLE - 15
June Activist Calendar Sunday
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Monday
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Wednesday
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Renaissance City Choir 2014 Pride Concert, 4pm at East Liberty Presbyterian, 116 S. Highland Ave., 15206
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Tuesday
June 1-3, sponsored by the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Childhood Media, marks the 2014
Thursday
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World Oceans Day
Regular Meetings:
Saturday
Sundays:
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25th Anniv. of Tiananmen Square (see page 6)
World Environment Day
TransPride Regional Showcase 8pm at Cattivo, 146 44th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Mike Stout rock concert benefits Healthcare 4 All PA, 8:30 pm at First Unitarian Church, 605 Morewood Ave. 15213
Worker Solidarity Panel 6 pm - 8pm with keynote speaker Big Idea LeVar Burton, Bookstore, at the Heinz History Bloomfield Center.
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Friday
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Legal and Financial Planning for LGBT Couples 6-7:30 pm WQED 4802 Fifth Ave 15213 RSVP to maureen.cohon @bipc.com
Book’Em: Books to Prisoners Project First two Sundays of the month at TMC Contact: bookempgh@gmail.com Women In Black Monthly Peace Vigil 2nd Sunday 10 to 11 am, Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist Church, Slippery Rock Anti-War and Anti-Drone Warfare Coalition 3rd Sunday at 1:30 pm at TMC, 5129 Penn Ave., Garfield, PA 15224
Mondays:
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TransPride Pittsburgh Open Mic Night 6-9pm at the GLCC, 210 Grant St. 15219
14 Jazz Workshop Inc. Concert 1:30-2:30 pm Pump House 880 East Waterfront Dr., Munhall, 15120
SW Healthcare 4 All PA /PUSH Meeting 1st Monday, 7:30 —9 pm 2101 Murray Avenue, Squirrel Hill Association of Pittsburgh Priests 2nd Monday, 7—9 pm, Epiphany Administration Center, Uptown Amnesty International #39 2nd Monday, 7—9 pm First Unitarian Church, Morewood Ave. 15219
Tuesdays: Women of Men Incarcerated Network 2nd Tuesday, 7:30-8:30pm, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, 18 Schubert St., North Side
Wednesdays:
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Pittsburgh Pride Fest 1-6:30 pm Liberty Avenue between 6th and 10th Sts, Downtown Pgh
Bread for the World SW PA Team Meeting 10 am at Christian Associates, Lawrenceville
Unique Needs of Girls in the Juvenile Justice System 8:3011:30 am, 11 W. Commons St. 15212, $25
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Film: Anthology: Local #471 Musicians’ Union 7:30 pm Pump House 880 East Waterfront Dr., Munhall, 15120
Pgh-Haiti Integrating Spiritual Solidarity Practice and Committee Compassionate meeting Action: 10 am A Collaborative, at TMC Interactive Creation Spirituality Gathering First United Methodist Church, starts 9 am June 20, ends at 10 am June 22
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The Needs of Young Children (6 and under) Experiencing Homelessness 3 - 5:30 pm William Pitt Union, Lower Lounge (Bigelow Blvd. and 5th Ave)
Jazz on the Hillside (benefits children and families of the Hill Disrtict) 5-9pm at 3171 Ewart Dr.
Urban Green Growth Health Fair 11am-3pm Kingsley Assn., 6435 Frankstown Ave. 15206
TMC Board Meeting 6:30 pm
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Corporations vs. Democracy: Move to Amend Potluck 6:308:30 pm Thomas Merton Center 5129 Penn Ave, Pgh, PA 15224
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Circle of Faith for LGBTQIA Inclusion 2-3 pm, Market Square, Downtown Pittsburgh
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Happy LGBT Pride Month! Same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania became legal on May 20, 2014, when a U.S. federal district court judge ruled that the states' 1996 statutory ban on recognizing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. PA is now the 19th state to legalize same-sex marriage.
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16 - NEWPEOPLE
June 2014
Human Rights Coalition: Fed-Up! Every Wednesday at 7p, Write letters for prisoner’s rights at the Thomas Merton Center Darfur Coalition Meeting 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, 7-9 pm, 2121 Murray Ave., 2nd Floor, Squirrel Hill. 412-784-0256
Thursdays: International Socialist Organization Every Thursday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Thomas Merton Center GlobalPittsburgh Happy Hour 1st Thursday, 5:30 to 8 pm, Luke Wholey's Grille, 2106 Penn Ave, Strip District Green Party Meeting 1st Thursday, 7 to 9 pm, 2121 Murray, 2nd floor, Squirrel Hill Black Political Empowerment Project 2nd Thursday, 6 pm: Planning Council Meeting, Hill House, Conference Room B TMC Potlucks! Are on occasional Thursday evenings. Interested in having one on an issue that’s important to you? Contact: mcmahond@thomasmertoncenter.org
Fridays: Hill District Consensus Group 2nd Friday, 10 am — 12 pm, Elsie Hillman Auditorium, Kaufmann Center 1825 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Saturdays: Citizens for Peace Vigil Every Saturday, noon to 1 p.m., Forbes Ave. and Braddock Ave. Project to End Human Trafficking 2nd Saturday, Carlow University, Antonian Rm #502 Fight for Lifers West 3rd Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12:30 pm, Thomas Merton Center
Or Become an Organizational Member:
__$75 Organization (below 25 members) __$125 Organization (above 25 members) Name(s):________________________________ Organization (if any):____________________________ Address:__________________________________________ City:______________ State:_____ Zip Code:_________ Home Phone:____________________________ Cell Phone: _____________________________ Email:_________________________________