United We Conserve, Divided We Pollute
By Mark D. Wolfe
Throughout the holy texts of multiple faiths, one can discern that humans are called to be conscious stewards of our environment. For instance, in the Hebrew Scriptures, Joshua 2:11 (NIV) states, “…the Lord your God is God in heaven above and earth below.” Again, in the Quran, Sura 2:60 states, “…do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.” Furthermore, the Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism claims that we must conserve ecology or perish. If needing more proof, the Dalai Lama once said, “The environment is very important not only for this generation but also for future generations.” As seen by their holy texts, every major world religion is called to sustain our fragile habitat.
The call to stewardship is strong, but the environmental degradation of recent years has been even stronger. As we continue to pollute, nature is aggressively striking back. Whether there is drought, flooding, tornadoes, or hurricanes, our news headlines are constantly portraying the effect that human corruption is having on the earth. Millions are affected as drought causes famine, flooding displaces residents, and storms destroy property. At the same time, energy companies continue to invest in coal instead of green energy. Our automobile makers refuse to switch from gasoline-powered cars. Factory farms release unbelievable amounts of methane into the air. In fact, Indiana is the fourth-worst state in the country for carbon emissions. When will our society decide that sustainability is a must?
The answer is that when the various faith groups around the world decide to take action, sustainability will finally become a priority. Already, on the north side of Indianapolis, Epworth United Methodist Church hosts a “green team” that promotes environmental advocacy. Meanwhile, the Muslim Alliance of Indiana attempts to raise awareness about the effects of napalm, or “Agent Orange” on the environment. There are faith groups in Indiana that are already working on environmental restoration, and there is the potential for further groups to assist in the effort. Working alone, these groups might have a meaningful impact on their respective communities. Nevertheless, we face a much greater task than cleaning up our neighborhood or even simply Indianapolis. Instead, we face a global problem that will affect every human being on the planet.
For that very reason, faith groups must come together to solve the greatest issue of our time. One faith alone cannot heal the entire world. On Tuesday, October 11 from 8-10 pm in UIndy Hall A at the University of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis community will come closer to realizing that all faiths must work together to solve environmental pollution during the Interfaith Forum’s annual Speak-In. The event will start with a service project benefitting Southport’s peace garden sponsored by Global Peace Initiatives. Afterwards, a panel discussion on the influence of faith groups on environmental issues will occur. Panelists will include Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council; Linda Proffit, executive director of Global Peace Initiatives; Lubabah Abdullah, former executive director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana; and Bal Sindal, distinguished member of the Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis. Finally, the night will conclude with interfaith dialogue on environmental issues in small groups.
For too long, humans have polluted the earth unchecked. For too long, faith groups have fought against each other when larger problems exist. At the University of Indianapolis, the Interfaith Forum hopes to change the mistakes of the past. On October 11, the Indianapolis community will discuss how to solve the issue together. In the days to come, speaking will hopefully become action.
Cindy Sheehan to speak in Bloomington Wed. October 5th
[Bloomington, Indiana]
Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the start of the US war on Afghanistan, internationally renowned Peace and Justice activist and author Cindy Sheehan will speak on “The War Economy and You” at 7:00 p.m. on Wed. Oct. 5 at the First United Church, 2420 E. Third, sponsored by Bloomington Peace Action Coalition; Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom; 9/11 Working Group; Just Peace Task Force; UUI Green Sanctuary Task Force on Global Climate Change; Veterans for Peace; and Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East. For more info, contact Linda Greene at 336-8036 or lgreene@bloomington.in.us
Peace! K. A. Lamm
Georgia Killed Troy Davis; the Struggle for Justice Survived.
By: Debby Peddie
Troy Anthony Davis was killed by the state of Georgia at 11 p.m. on September 21, 2011. He had been convicted and sentenced to death for the shooting death of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail; In the face of serious doubt about his guilt and over the protests of millions of people worldwide
The flurry of e-mails on September 21 calling for last-minute actions to stop the execution, was replaced the following morning by e-mails, sad and somber in tone, reminding us, as Troy himself did, that the cause did not die with him, and that with such widespread attention now focused on the death penalty, we must keep the conversation going. That is not hard to do; injustice cries out from this case in many directions.
On three previous occasions, Georgia had scheduled Mr. Davis to die, and then said no, not now, twice within hours of the execution. This is a form of torture, although we call it the American system of justice at work. A fourth execution date was set for 7 p.m. EDT, September 21. That is also the time a local chapter of Amnesty International meets, and that evening we sat by candle light in silence for five minutes. Within minutes of beginning the meeting, word came that the U.S. Supreme Court had granted a stay. I was stunned and relieved, it had to be real, and surely no one with even a shred of human decency would remove the noose a fourth time and not mean it. But that is exactly what happened. I do not consider this an example of naiveté on my part. It is an example of how seriously flawed is our justice system in general, and the death penalty in particular.
But that is not the main reason this case rose to a fever pitch of protest worldwide. There was serious doubt about Mr. Davis’ guilt. The case began to unravel as seven of nine original witnesses recanted or changed their testimonies, and one of the two who did not was pointed to as a prime suspect. There was no physical evidence to link Mr. Davis to the murder. A person wrongfully convicted and incarcerated can be released when, if exonerated. The time spent in prison cannot be returned, but the exonerated does have the opportunity to resume his or her life. What do you say to the person wrongfully convicted and executed? Oops? I do not say that with insensitivity or flippancy, but to illustrate how horribly and tragically flawed capital punishment is.
While I do not know much about the law, I do know that there are varying degrees of homicide, ranging from an involuntary or reckless act that causes loss of human life, to pre-meditated murder, a more serious crime because the perpetrator planned, thought out the act and willfully took human life. Is there anything more planned than a state execution? Most people who would happen upon a murder scene would try to stop it, and if direct intervention would seem dangerous, one would seek help to prevent the murder. In many cases, when rage, anger, fear motivate violence, pulling the would-be murderer back and restraining him, while still facing the consequences of attempted murder, a murder has been prevented, the would-be murderer has time to cool off, regain composure, serve time, and ideally get help, rehabilitation. Sometimes thought is given to what prompted the rage, and preventive measures, programs can be explored and implemented. These are all things that can help us break the cycle of violence.
But where is all of this in state executions? No where. An enormous amount of time, energy, and money are expended to build a case that will result in another homicide.
And we, the taxpaying citizens, are accomplices unless we are actively trying to stop this homicide. That is exactly what we were doing, peacefully and thoughtfully, in the years, months, days, minutes leading up to the killing of Troy Davis. That this protest was worldwide was because this was not just a crime against a citizen of the state of Georgia, it was a crime against humanity, a violation of a human’s right to life. That someone violated Officer Mark MacPhails’ right to life is not in question. He died trying to help a homeless man who was being beaten. What if all the money spent to execute Troy Davis had been spent on homeless intervention, prevention? That man might not have been homeless, Officer MacPhail would not have been in harm’s way, and two men, Mark MacPhail and Troy Davis would be alive today.
We cannot go back and changed that scenario, but we can prevent another one from happening. Troy Davis told a group of young activists the day he was killed to not pack up and go home and forget about this, but to continue the struggle. We, who have been working on behalf of Troy and for abolition, have been urged to keep this conversation alive. Not everyone can get engaged in the fight to abolish capital punishment, but there are many avenues of action that will support that end by promoting peace and justice throughout society.
Reconciliation Day Celebration: Tuesday October 4th
[Columbus] There will be a Reconciliation Day celebration at 5:15 pm at North Christian Church, 850 Tipton Lane, with a light supper, the screening of the realistic documentary movie “Of Gods and Men”, and then a panel discussion and dialogue with the audience, sponsored by Interfaith Forum, Peace Fellowship, and North Christian. Panelists will include Marwan Wafa, Vice-Chancellor of IUPUC, Frances Jordan, Columbus Human Rights Commission, and Marty Peter, Roman Catholic Priest, with Lanny Lawler from North Christian Church as facilitator. For more info, email Kathy Panning at kpanning@sbcglobal.net.
Monday, October 3rd Event in Bloomington
Postwar Geopolitical Order, 9/11 Geo-strategy, and Political & Social Consequences Talk by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed from 7:15 – 8:45 p.m. In Jordan Hall, Room 124 Indiana University campus, Bloomington. For more information on this event, visit http://themester.indiana.edu/events/ahmed.shtml For more on Nafeez Ahmed, see http://iprd.org.uk/?page_id=252
Occupy Indianapolis Links
“Occupy Indianapolis” is kickin’ off this week here in our fair city. To find additional information, choose from the links below:
http://occupyindy.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/occupyIND
http://twitter.com/#!/occupyindy
http://myspace.com/occupyindy
http://youtube.com/user/occupyindy
https://plus.google.com/i/NEKHOJHiujs:06feMwtwpzk
For questions or more information email: occupyindy@gmail.com
Peace! Kristy
Happenings for Tonight
The weekly vigil protesting warfare will take place, 4:30-5:30 pm, in front of the Federal Building, North and Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center. Bring an appropriate sign or have one provided. For more info, phone Gilbert Kuhn at 926-3068 or email Ron Haldeman atronjane@igc.org
10th Anniversary Benefit Concert & Poetry Slam
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. at the Steelworkers Hall, Local 1999 218 S Addison – this concert will benefit Jobs with Justice. A strong social justice movement is needed more than ever in this fight back to save our economy. Tickets includes great Local Bands a poetry slam and great munchies! Cash bar. $20 advance tickets or $25 at the door. For more info, email Allison Luthe Carter at allison@centralindianajwj.org.
An exciting evening with the ACLU of Indiana at 7:30 pm at the Madame Walker Theater Center. At 617 Indiana Avenue – Prof. William P. Quigley, Professor of Law is the featured speaker: topic is Eternal Vigilance – Racial Discrimination – So Much Left to Do. For more info visit http://www.aclu-in.org/events
Father Fausto Milla and his assistant flee Honduras
9/11 Commission Visits Bloomington
By: Bob Baldwin
September 19, 2011
1
Following the 9/11 Commission panel discussion, Peter Dale Scott challenged many of the contentions advanced by the commissioners. — Photo by Bob Baldwin
If anyone ever needed proof that the two major parties are complicit in promoting and perpetuating America’s national security state, the September 15th visit to Bloomington by members of the 9/11 Commission offered the evidence required.
Eight of the ten Commission members, including Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton, spoke at the I.U. Auditorium during a two hour panel discussion hosted by Ken Bode. Bode, who currently teaches journalism at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana is the former host of PBS’s Washington Week in Review. Approximately 2,000 people attended the event.
The two commission members who did not appear were former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman and Richard Ben-Veniste.1
The orgy of self-congratulation that characterized the event began with Chairman Thomas Kean stating, “Everybody has respect for Lee Hamilton, an extraordinary public servant.”
Lee Hamilton, who represented Indiana’s 9th District, which encompasses Bloomington, from 1965 to 1999, provided the impetus for bringing together the commission members on the I.U. campus for the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. This was the first time all eight had been together since completing their controversial report.
The hastily arranged decision to hold the discussion at Indiana University in Bloomington may have been in part motivated by the decision of the College of Arts and Sciences, American Studies Program to sponsor a “Themester” series: “Extreme Politics: Provoking the Body Politic to War?” The date they chose for their panel discussion coincided with a talk given later that evening by Peter Dale Scott on the “American War Machine: Deep Politics and the Road to Extended Wars.”
In his opening remarks, Chairman Kean rather revealingly let slip, in referring to his fellow commissioners, “Everybody has had experience with the intelligence community and it sucks you in.” His remark sounded something like a confession.
Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton certainly fits that bill. While in Congress, Hamilton served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He also chaired the committee that investigated Iran Contra. As Michel Chossudovsky of the Center for Research on Globalization has noted, by failing to investigate wrongdoing by President Reagan and Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush, Hamilton helped to perform “damage control” for the administration.2
In 1992, Lee Hamilton also chaired the committee that investigated The October Surprise, a covert plot by the 1980 Reagan Campaign to encourage the Iranians to withhold release of American Hostages until after the election in order to deprive President Carter a last minute boost in the polls. According to the late Sarah McClendon, who served as White House correspondent for decades, Lee Hamilton cut a deal with his Republican counterpart on the committee, Henry Hyde, to exonerate President Bush who was suspected of having traveled to Paris as Reagan’s running-mate at the time to negotiate the deal with the Iranians.3 Suspiciously, the hostages were finally released on the day of Reagan’s inauguration after 444 days in captivity. In return, the Reagan Administration would secretly begin supplying arms to the Iranians, which would become the basis for the Iran Contra affair.
Another Hoosier who served on the 9/11 Commission was Tim Roemer, a native of South Bend who represented Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District between 1991 and 2003. Roemer set the tone of bi-partisanship that was a recurring theme throughout the discussion. After stating that there were “no shy or wilting flowers up here,” he lavished praise on Lee Hamilton for early on stating that he would not issue any press conferences without Thomas Kean by his side.
Although the response of the audience was tepid at best, whenever bipartisanship was brought up the audience would applaud. After all, if Democrats and Republicans both agree on something it must be good, or so goes the conventional wisdom.
Roemer noted that the 9/11 victim’s families were instrumental in their coming together and their unity of purpose.
Jamie Gorelick, who had served as Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton Administration, was the lone female on the panel. She emphasized, “If you have an engaged citizenry you get better government.” She went on to add, “We asked the tough questions because we knew the public was watching us.”
While serving under Attorney General Janet Reno, Gorelick had been responsible for issuing the “wall memo” that would later be used as the excuse for why the FBI intelligence division was unable to “connect the dots” with its own criminal division. This would later be used to explain the bizarre behavior of senior personnel in the FBI to refuse to allow field agents to investigate Zacharias Moussaoui, despite as many as 70 requests for a warrant to search his belongings after he raised suspicions among flight instructors at the Pan-Am International flight school in Eagan, Minnesota.4
The wall had allegedly been put in place as a result of the Aldrich Aimes case in order to prevent evidence gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which has less stringent requirements than a criminal warrant from jeopardizing prosecutions. At least that’s the excuse that was given. Gorelick’s “wall memo” would be cited as one of the excuses for why the FBI was unable to “connect the dots.”
As a portent of draconian measures to come, commission member James Thompson warned of vulnerabilities to our nation’s civilian sector as a result of cyber threats. He warned that more stringent security measures needed to be implemented to protect such critical infrastructure as utilities, and the financial system that are vulnerable to attack over the Internet.
Lee Hamilton chimed in that, in the last few months there had been a rapid increase in the awareness of policy makers to the threat posed by cyber attacks. (Of course, he didn’t mention that the Internet is also the source of most of the information exposing inconsistencies about 9/11 and official wrong-doing.)
Some of the most ominous remarks came from former Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska (not to be confused with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry), who repeatedly extolled the virtues of the Bush and Obama Administration policies of extra-judicial assassination, stating that, “Anyone who threatens to kill Americans are going to be taken out.” During the Vietnam War Kerrey lead a Navy Seal assassination squad as part of Operation Phoenix that was implicated in the massacre of unarmed men, women and children in the South Vietnamese Village of Thanh Phong.5
When the subject of Ben Laden’s death came up, Kerrey responded, “What did the death of Osama bin Laden accomplish? It made me feel better.”
Timothy Roemer pointed out that he was in India when Osama bin Laden was “brought to justice” and taken out. Even according to official accounts, the person claimed to have been Bin Laden was unarmed at the time of his killing. The members of the 9/11 Commission seemed little concerned about the rule of law or the suspicious manner in which “Osama’s” body was quickly disposed of in the Arabian Sea.6
Bob Kerrey dismissed charges of a government conspiracy surrounding 9/11, saying, “Two people can’t keep a secret in Washington.” He neglected to mention that the National Institute of Standards and Technology is still refusing to release the data for their computer models used to determine that Building 7 collapsed as a result of fire. The reason given that “it might jeopardize public safety.”7
Slade Gorton, a former Senator from Washington State whose law firm represents Boeing, the company that built the planes used in the 9/11 attacks, observed that halfway through the 9/11 Commission hearings marked the twentieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. He then went on to tout a “persuasive” National Geographic documentary that he claimed proved conclusively that conspiracy theories about 9/11 are without merit.
He then posed the question, “Do we need another investigation? Hell no!”
Commission member Fred Fielding, who Richard Nixon once suspected of being “Deep Throat,” postulated that the failure to prevent 9/11 was the result of “a lack of imagination.” He added, “No one had any idea that planes might be used as a weapon.”
As Peter Dale Scott would note later that evening at a talk he gave elsewhere on campus, on the very day of 9/11 the National Reconnaissance Office was in the process of conducting a simulated drill in which an airplane would be “crashed” into its high-rise headquarters.8
For two years leading up to 9/11 the North American Aerospace Defense Command ran drills with scenarios in which hijacked airlines would be used as weapons against targets, including the World Trade Center.9
Interestingly, after completing his work with the 9/11 Commission, Fielding, who served as counsel for the George W. Bush Administration, would go on to represent the security firm Blackwater.10
In response to a question submitted in advance about why Building 7 had not been included in the 9/11 Commission Report, Lee Hamilton said the reason was because it was still being investigated at the time they issued their report. He added, “We had the best engineers to look at building 7.” According to the experts he cited, debris fell on building 7, causing fires and heat to build up resulting in the building’s collapse.
Hamilton claimed that he had not seen any credible professional challenge to the conclusions of the American Society of Consulting Engineers or National Institute for Standards and Technology (the name of which he trouble recalling).
Throughout the appearance there was heckling from the crowd. At the conclusion, one member of the audience stood up and shouted, “We need a new investigation! 1500 Architects and Engineers want a new investigation!” He was then hustled from the auditorium by police, a rather fitting end for the tenth anniversary commemoration of 9/11.
Notes
1
As author Daniel Hopsicker has noted in his book Barry & the Boys, Richard Ben-Veniste had once served as the attorney for convicted CIA drug smuggler Barry Seal. Seal was a major figure in the guns for drugs operation out of Mena, Arkansas when Bill Clinton was governor. As a teenager, Seal had served in the Louisiana Civil Air Patrol along with David Ferrie and Lee Harvey Oswald. (Chapter Twenty-Nine “Who is Richard Ben-Veniste?” pp. 341-347)
2 “Who’s Who on the 9/11 ‘Independent’ Commission;” Michel Chossudovsky; July 17, 2003; http://web.archive.org/web/20030721201531/http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO307B.html
3 “Will Lee Hamilton Be the Next CIA Director? Rumors Floating in Washington DC Think So;” http://www.rumormillnews.com/LEE_HAMILTON_DCI.html
4 “August 15-September 10, 2001: Minneapolis Agent Warns Superiors of Moussaoui Seventy Times, Obstructed by Headquarters;” http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=fbi_headquarters
5 “Fragging Bob: Bob Kerrey, CIA War Crimes, And the Need For a War Crimes Trial;” Douglas Valentine; May 17, 2001; http://www.counterpunch.org/2001/05/17/fragging-bob/
6 “Bin Laden unarmed during raid White House says;” Mimi Hall, Richard Wolf and Kevin Johnson; May 4, 2011; http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-03-Bin-Laden-White-House-raid-_n.htm
7 “NIST Denies Access to WTC7 Data;” http://911blogger.com/news/2010-07-12/nist-denies-access-wtc-collapse-data
8 “Agency planned exercise on Sept. 11 built around a plane into a building;” John J. Lumpkin; http://www.boston.com/news/packages/sept11/anniversary/wire_stories/0903_plane_exercise.htm
9 “NORAD had drills of planes as weapons;” Steven Kamarow and Tom Squitieri; April 18, 2004; http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-04-18-norad_x.htm
10 “Blackwater Mounts a Defense With Top Talent;” John Broder and James Risen; November 1, 2007; http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/washington/01blackwater-sub.html
Free Concert Tonight
The Arab, Jewish, and Christian artists in the Yuval Ron Ensemble will come together to unite the sacred musical traditions of Judaism, Sufism (Islamic mystical tradition), and the Christian Armenian Church in an International Day of Peace celebration concert entitled “Sacred Music of the Middle East” at 7:00 pm in Clowes Auditorium at Central Library, 40 E. St. Clair, which is sponsoring this free event. Parking is available (for a fee) in the Central Library parking garage off of Pennsylvania. For more info, visit yuvalronmusic.com or phone 275-4099.
Peace! Kristy
IndyPeaceandJustice 