Saddest Day a poem by Arnal Kennedy

Click on image to enlarge

Arnal Kennedy is a guest and dishwasher extraordinaire at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker
this poem is from his chapbook titled "We all fall short of God Equally" available from the Los Angeles Catholic Worker and by request from The.Christian.Radical(at)gmail.com

Armed To Kill in National Parks?

A rule that would allow visitors to carry loaded guns in US parks should be shot down.

Editorial
Christian Science Monitor
May 6, 2008

Pressured by the gun lobby and 51 US senators, the Interior Department proposes enhancing everyone’s national park experience by letting people pack heat with a picnic. That’s just what the nation’s millions of park visitors don’t need. (...)

Last week, Interior put out for public comment a rule that would allow people with concealed-weapons permits to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. Forty-eight states grant such licenses. The rule only applies if the park or refuge is located in a state that allows concealed guns in its parks.

Rules banning gun use go back decades for some parks and were put in place to prevent poaching and ensure public safety. The Reagan administration unified the rules so that today visitors may bring guns into national parks and refuges but they must be unloaded and stored to prevent ready use. Gun owners needn’t surrender them, but they can’t use them.

The new proposal came about not because the National Park Service wants it, but because gun advocates, so friendly with the Bush administration, say visitors need to protect themselves — from grizzly humans as well as bears. From 2003 through 2007 there were 59 homicides in national parks and 245 rapes or attempted rapes.

This is not to belittle violent crime in the parks, which apparently is increasing and needs stepped-up enforcement. But allowing campers and hikers to become lone rangers is not the way to improve safety in the wild — or historic homes, battlefields, and monuments. All living former National Park Service directors oppose the change, as do the current director and several park service employee groups.

The crime issue needs to be put in perspective. More than 270 million visitors enter the national parks each year. The probability of becoming a victim of a violent crime there is 1 in 708,333, which is less likely than being struck by lightening over a lifetime, according to a statement by a coalition of park service groups. The national parks continue to be one of the safest places to enjoy a vacation.

But altercations over campground sites and on crowded roads are not uncommon. Adding guns to the mix could sadly escalate tense encounters. At the same time, taking down an attacking grizzly is not so easy, and armed visitors may feel emboldened to go places or do things they shouldn’t. Observing nature is not entirely without risk, and visitors can take precautions such as making noise in bear habitat and hiking in groups in cougar country.

Critics of the proposed rule say it will increase poaching and make it difficult for enforcement to distinguish poachers from other gun carriers. And the rule is confusing. Some parks cross state boundaries. Death Valley, for instance, straddles Nevada - which allows guns in its parks - and California, which doesn’t. Which state law applies?

Advocates say it’s a matter of consistency - bring all federal lands in line with state laws. The National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service would simply be conforming to state gun rules that apply to Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land.

But if that logic applies, why not allow logging on all federal lands, per state law? The nation’s parks and refuges serve a different purpose and provide a different experience from other federal lands. They are special places with special rules, and should stay that way.

Vancouver, BC -- 2010 Watch Announces "Boycott the Lot" Campaign

There is nothing like a good ol' fashioned boycott campaign and the 2010 Olympics are just the perfect subject matter for such a campaign.

"Sitting home one Friday after cutting the grass, I received yet another 2010 Olympic announcement regarding yet another sponsor; so I thought time for action", said 2010watcher and Paralympic athlete Ian Gregson. (...)

Olympic sponsors range from multi-nationals such as McDonalds, General Electric, Panasonic and Visa; national sponsors such as GM Canada, Petro-Canada and RBC and official sponsors such as Air Canada, BC Hydro, Canadian Pacific and the Royal Canadian Mint. Then there are the official suppliers who donate services such as Purolator 3M and Workopolis.

The most ironic category of sponsors are the media suppliers who currently include Canwest and The Globe and Mail.

Gregson says "how can these media outlets be expected to be anything but biased toward the 2010 Olympics ? I for one have been an avid Globe and Mail reader for years and from this day on I will never buy a Globe and Mail newspaper ever again".

2010watch is a web based activist group that alerts Canadians to the "goings on" around the 2010 Olympics. It was formed in 2003 shortly after the Vancouver referendum.

The web site can be seen at http://2010watch.com

The Catholic Worker: 'You go to where there is need'

NCR Audio Interview of Bro Louis Rodemann - 26 years a Kansas City MO Catholic Worker

NCR Podcasts

The Catholic Worker: 'You go to where there is need' On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Worker Movement (May 1), Tom Fox spoke with Catholic Worker veteran Louis Rodemann of Holy Family House in Kansas City, Mo. Rodemann tells Fox: "The Catholic Worker is such a nitty-gritty, down to earth expression of Christian Catholic life that -- I say this not out of arrogance, but out of pride -- I think this is what Jesus had in mind." (...)

Episode 1: Works of Mercy and Works of Justice (25 min.) Rodemann tells Fox about the twin pillars of the Catholic Worker Movement: "The Works of Mercy are responses to the inhumanity dealt to our guests by different dimensions of poverty," he says. "The Works of Justice is a way of living, nonviolently in resistance to the infrastructures that allows, cause and even enhances the mechanisms of poverty." Rodemann also talks about the Midwest Catholic Worker Faith and Resistance Retreat.

Episode 2: How to start a Catholic Worker House (26 min.) "How does one start a Catholic Worker House," Tom Fox asks. "You go to where there is need," Rodemann says. He also talks about 50 years as a Christian Brother.

More about the speaker

Christian Brother Louis Rodemann is the director of the Holy Family Catholic Worker House in Kansas City, Missouri. He has be been a Christian brother for 50 years and has been associated with the Holy Family Catholic Worker House for the past 26 years.

The May Issue

you can download it here

The loathsome smearing of Israel's critics

Johann Hari
The Independent
May 8th 2008

In the US and Britain, there is a campaign to smear anybody who tries to describe the plight of the Palestinian people. It is an attempt to intimidate and silence – and to a large degree, it works. There is nobody these self-appointed spokesmen for Israel will not attack as anti-Jewish: liberal Jews, rabbis, even Holocaust survivors.

My own case isn't especially important, but it illustrates how the wider process of intimidation works.

read the rest here

Judge May Make CIA Torture Memo Public

Associated Press
rinf.com
May 9th, 2008

The CIA must let a judge view a 2002 memo purportedly including waterboarding among interrogation methods to be used on prisoners in U.S. custody so he can decide whether it should be made public, the judge ruled Thursday.U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein issued the order after he had earlier said the 18-page memo did not have to be turned over to the American Civil Liberties Union because it was protected by attorney-client privilege. The ACLU said it believes the memo includes a section addressing the subject of waterboarding, which simulates drowning.

read the rest here

Gordon Smith the Cipher

Tom Hastings
Whitefeather Peace Community
May 9, 2008

Tell us, Senator Smith, why a voter who is determined to vote on the record rather than rhetoric finds your website such a cipher? When we go your official website we enter "voting record" in the search function and it thinks for a few nanoseconds about your entire content available to voters and comes up with:

Found 0 items with the term "voting record": (...)

So we look further and find that you always vote for more money for war. Yes, you are in a blue state and you are a red senator, so you have to craft a voting record that you can sell to us. You are a part of the war system in peaceloving state. How do you deal with that?

You create a voting record that agrees with the other party and disagrees with yours often enough so that everyone calls you a "moderate" Republican (Full Oxymoron Alert!). In reality, according to the voting record kept by the Washington Post, you cast most of your renegade votes on matters of little real import, such as the "Vote 97: S 2739: Coburn Amdt. No. 4522; To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine on an annual basis the quantity of land that is owned by the Federal Government and the cost to taxpayers of the ownership of the land." Democrats actually voted against that for reasons too obtuse to explore, and you voted oh-so-courageously with those virtuous Ds.

So when we read that you voted against Bush and the Republican leadership 27 percent of the time, we can contextualize that to mean that you've determined that 27 percent of the votes were so meaningless that you used them to create a false record as bravely opposing Bush.

Senator Smith, you use fraudulent methods and you should not be allowed to even escape impeachment, let alone get reelected on your bogus record.

Bush Administration Challenged Over Abandonment of Wildlife Protections

May 6, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - A coalition of conservation groups represented by Earthjustice sued in federal court today to overturn the Bush administration's latest attempt to weaken rules governing management of America’s 155 national forests and grasslands. The new rules, issued April 21, repeal key protections for national forests. (...)

The Bush administration rule being challenged mirrors one issued in 2005 which was thrown out by a federal court. Like the 2005 rule, the current one eliminates mandatory protections in place since the Reagan administration that require the national forests to be managed to guarantee viable wildlife populations, to preserve clean, healthy streams and lakes, and to protect diverse natural forests. The Bush rule also sharply reduces public participation in decisions about the management of our public forests.

Prior forms of the rule from 1982 and 2000 contained enforceable standards for forest plans that protected wildlife, water, and the forests. The earlier rules also provided opportunities for public involvement and required analysis of environmental impacts of forest plans on the national forests, impacts that result from plan decisions regarding logging levels and other extractive uses of forest resources.

Earthjustice attorney Trent Orr said, “This is the Bush administration's parting gift to the timber industry. These regulations remove vital checks and balances on logging while minimizing the role of science and the public's say in maintaining wildlife and other natural resources. We’ve returned to court to insure that the Forest Service protect these invaluable resources and allows full public review of and participation in its decisions about how our national forests will be managed."

The lawsuit points out that the Forest Service violated the National Environment Policy Act by approving the new regulations based on a faulty environmental impact statement that failed to analyze adequately the environmental impacts of the new regulations. Contrary to common sense, the EIS flatly asserts that the new rule, which governs the development of management plans for every national forest, will have no environmental effects on the 193 million acres of national forest lands.

The lawsuit is the second to be filed by conservation groups challenging the new rules.

The conservation groups filing today have also sent a 60-day notice letter under the Endangered Species Act regarding the Forest Service's failure to adequately consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service about the effects of the new regulations on protected species and will add those claims to the lawsuit after the 60 days expires.

“Our National Forests and Grasslands belong to all Americans, not industry special interests,” said Bob Dreher, vice president for conservation law and general counsel of Defenders of Wildlife. “The American public has a right to be involved in planning for the management of their national forests, and to have forest plans that protect the wildlife and other natural resources of those forests for generations to come. The Bush rule fails on all these counts.”

Earthjustice is representing Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Vermont Natural Resources Counsel.

Learn more about what Defenders is doing to protect our forests and grasslands.

BACKGROUND:

Congress passed the National Forest Management Act in 1976 to reform the Forest Service and to ensure that the agency give due consideration to non-timber resources, such as recreation, wildlife, and water. The NFMA regulations targeted by the Bush administration include the critical legal requirement that national forests be managed to maintain viable wildlife populations. This rule supports populations of popular game species such as elk, moose, and black bear, and helps keep sensitive and rare species off the endangered species list by identifying and correcting wildlife population declines before species become imperiled.

The Reagan administration adopted this wildlife viability protection in response to declines in the population and range of many species caused by the routine approval of logging and other development projects that did not take the need to conserve wildlife into account. The Bush administration's attempt to repeal the NFMA wildlife protections threatens a future in which rare species will once again dwindle and disappear from the national forests.

The National Forest Management Act also requires the Forest Service to allow citizens to participate fully in forest management decisions. The Bush rules invalidate the 1982 standards for national forest management instituted by Ronald Reagan that allow public review of the environmental impacts of proposed national forest plans governing timber harvest levels and natural resource protection.

The court's invalidation of the Bush administration's prior attempt to change these rules was a strong signal that full public involvement in decisions regarding their public forests must be restored.

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.

FBI withdraws digital library's national security letter

PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press Writer
Associated Press hosted on Tampa Bay Online
May 7th 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A nonprofit digital library has successfully fought an FBI attempt to seize information about one of its users, and is calling on other groups to challenge government agencies attempting to obtain online customer information without a judge's order.

read the rest here

Neocons and the Truth: Bitter Enemies to the End

Glenn Greenwald
Salon.com via Information Clearing House
May 8th 2008

In a July, 2006 article in Rolling Stone — entitled “Iran: The Next War” — the superb journalist James Bamford detailed the shady activities of numerous neoconservatives inside and out of the U.S. Government to plan an attack on Iran. Bamford focused on the role played by Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute and National Review, who created and began implementing an attack scheme in coordination with the Pentagon’s then number-three official, Doug Feith, and Feith’s deputy, Larry Franklin (subsequently convicted of felonies for passing classified information to AIPAC).

read the rest here

Real Clear Numbers: 101,000 U.S. Casualties a Year

Alexander Cockburn
Creators Syndicate
April 25, 2008

A friend of mine who's a librarian was recently reviewing job applicants. Asked his qualifications in library skills, one man put “machine gunner.” He was a vet who'd served in Falluja. The library is in a state school here in the United States that, last fall, had 650 such vets enrolled. The young man got the job but soon became irked by what he saw as the trivial preoccupations of his colleagues. He applied for a job at a nearby police department. All over the country, police departments are advertising for Iraq vets. Three-quarters of the way through the hiring process, the PD signaled to him that things looked good. Then, in rapid succession, three Iraq vets in the area were involved in lethal episodes: two murders and one suicide. The PD immediately called the young man in for a second psychological evaluation, then nixed him for the job. He's 24. He can't find anything satisfying to do and is thinking of re-enlisting. He's against the war. (...)

Those violent episodes are just part of bringing the war home. It'll be active on the home front for years to come. Just fewer than one in three — 31 percent — of those who've been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from a brain injury or stress disorder or a mix of both these conditions.

On April 17, the RAND Corporation released a study of service members and veterans back home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The 500-page study was titled Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery. It was sponsored by a grant from the California Community Foundation and done by twenty-five researchers from RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division. From last August to January, the team conducted a phone survey with 1,965 service members, reservists and veterans in twenty-four areas across the country with high concentrations of those people. Some had done more than one tour.

The Associated Press and major newspapers outlined the RAND report's astounding numbers and then the story slid from view, which is a very bad thing, since the report disclosed in compelling numbers that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are steadily filling every American community with psychologically and physically mutilated victims of war. Many of them will endure lives saturated with physical pain and mental turmoil or confusion. A proportion will be prone to alcoholism, drug use and violence, sometimes deadly. Their partners and their children will suffer all measure of scarring.

Pentagon data show that more than 1.6 million military personnel have deployed to the conflicts since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

The RAND study put the percentage of those suffering from PTSD and depression at 18.5 percent, thus calculating that approximately 300,000 current and former service members were suffering from those problems at the time of its survey.

Some 320,000 service members, about 19 percent, according to RAND, may have experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while in a war zone. These injuries have ranged from concussions to severe head wounds. Julian Barnes, in the Los Angeles Times, pointed out in his April 18 story that “a chief difference is that in Iraq and Afghanistan all service members, not just combat infantry, are exposed to roadside bombs and civilian deaths. That distinction subjects a much wider swath of military personnel to the stresses of war.”

“We call it '360-365' combat,” Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, told Barnes. “What that means is veterans are completely surrounded by combat for one year. Nearly all of our soldiers are under fire, or being subjected to mortar rounds or roadside bombs, or witnessing the deaths of civilians or fellow soldiers.”

The RAND report says that about 7 percent suffered from both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression. Only 43 percent reported ever being evaluated by a physician for their head injuries. Only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year. Various reasons were offered to RAND researchers for not getting help, including worries about the side effects of medication, reliance on family and friends to help them with the problem and fear that seeking care might damage career prospects.

The news stories tended to lay stress on the fact that almost half of those with brain injuries or suffering from depression and stress disorder were seeking help. Missing amid the brief stir aroused by this devastating report was any adequate editorial commentary, or inquiry to political candidates, about the obvious fact that every month that U.S. troops remain deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan adds inexorably to this terrible total. But discretion is the order of the day, exemplified by Dr. Ira Katz, top mental health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs, who, as CBS News reported on Feb. 13, e-mailed an aide, “Shh! Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities.”

Here's how the figures add up, just for Americans. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have thus far produced 300,000 psychological casualties, 320,000 brain injury casualties, plus 35,000 (probably understated) officially reported “normal” casualties. This adds up to 655,000 US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, an average of just under 101,000 Americans killed or wounded every year since the wars began. If the idea of 101,000 casualties for every extra year in Iraq and Afghanistan gets out and infects the voting public, imagine the effect on the currently torpid national debate over leaving in five years versus 15 years!

Eyewitness from Haiti, Tonight!

The food crisis in Haiti

Cody Anderson will report from a ten-day delegation of the Industrial Workers of the World just returned from Haiti. He is an oil field worker in Alberta and member of the IWW.

Thursday, May 8, 7:30 pm. Trout Lake Community Center, 3350 Victoria Drive. Organized by Haiti Solidarity BC. More information: 778 858 5179.

The Black Vote (Past and Present)

[col. writ. 2/18/08]
(c) '08 Mumia Abu-Jamal

Although Blacks constitute a distinct national minority, because they have traditionally been politically active, they have had a disproportionate impact on the electorate and election outcomes.

Think of the squeaky-close presidential elections of 2000, which was decided by several hundred votes in Florida. While it is true that both Blacks and Hispanics constitute distinct minorities, most have forgotten that 8% of Blacks, and 31% of Hispanics voted for George W. Bush. And while Hispanics accounted for a mere 7% of the electorate that year, without a doubt their 31% vote for Bush contributed to his win, especially when one considers that in Florida, a significant percentage of Hispanics are Cuban-Americans, and thus they trend more conservative than say, Puerto-Ricans or Mexican-Americans. (...)

In a recent report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, we find that Blacks are far more politically active than commonly supposed. This is particularly so of Black younger voters, who are often portrayed as politically inactive or inattentive. According to the Joint Center, this portrayal is false, for their reporting reveals a cohort that is increasingly engaged in electoral politics. The report notes:

In 2000, African Americans between 18 and 29 accounted for 2.1 million votes, representing 2 percent of the voting total (105 million). In 2004, young African Americans (18-29) accounted for 3.7 million votes, representing 3 percent of the voting total (122 million). Thus, in 2004, 1.6 million more young African Americans cast ballots than in 2000. [p.2]

The joint Center for Political & Economic Studies has reported that Black voters, who remain overwhelmingly democratic, contributed winning perscentages in States where the Democratic candidate won. the 2004 presidential race, for example, featured a 2-to-1 split in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. The Joint Center reported:

Higher Black turnout contributed to John Kerry's narrow victories in Pennsylvania, where the black share of the statewide vote rose from 7 percent (in 2000) to 13 percent (in 2004, and in Michigan, where the black share rose from 11 to 13 percent. [.p2]

In Ohio, the Center reports, Kerry lost, and the Black vote showed a far more modest growth. Of course, the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama throws much of the traditional statistical analysis on its head, for, although he may be a Black candidate, the vast majority of his votes comes from white, majority populations, something frankly quite unprecedented in electoral politics.

No matter who becomes their party's nominee, and who ultimately runs in November, 2008, Black votes will undoubtedly prove pivotal.

The question, what will they get for such votes --but more false hopes?

--(c) '08 maj

{Source: Bositis, David S., "The Black Vote in 2004," Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies (Wash., DC: JCP&ES, 2004).}

War Made Easy

Norman Solomon
Truthout
May 6th 2008



When The New York Times published its explosive "Pentagon Pundits" story on April 20, the result was a wave of criticism directed at the Defense Department for manipulating TV news coverage of the Iraq war. Critics also faulted the networks for failing to scrutinize the conflicts of interest of the "military analysts" who went on the air. Many of those retired military officers were being coached by the Pentagon to mislead the public, and many had personal financial stakes in corporations with major Pentagon contracts.

read more here

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear

Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele
Vanity Fair
May 2008 issue

Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination.

read the rest here

How KBR Electrocuted US Troops

Col. Dan Smith
Counterpunch
May 7, 2008

The deaths reportedly all were the result of shoddy workmanship in the grounding of electrical sources, both in permanent structures and in machinery when in use. The problem is not new: in 2004, Army units in theatre were alerted concerning the potential for accidental electrocution. American electricians working for KBR in the war zone observed and notified KBR and even the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), the office that monitors contractor performance, of numerous instances of poor workmanship by undertrained and underpaid Iraqi and Afghan “electricians.” According to the Times, nothing was done to remedy the problem because DCMA has neither the staff to monitor whether the specifications of a contract are being met nor “subject-matter experts” with the knowledge to inspect electrical wiring to insure all safety issues are resolved.

read the rest here

Activist an icon in war-addicted world

NCR Staff
National Catholic Reporter
May 2 2008

Convinced that war was incompatible with Christianity, Lewis became deeply involved in antiwar activities beginning in the 1960s. He participated in an iconic event for the Catholic antiwar movement when he joined Philip and Daniel Berrigan and six others who burned draft files at a Selective Service office in Catonsville, Md. The group became known as the Catonsville 9, and their protest inspired hundreds of draft board actions across the nation in opposition to the Vietnam War. The Catonsville action was "the best piece of performance art since the cleansing of the Temple," said Melkite Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy, homilist at Lewis' funeral.

read the rest here

The Green Light

Philippe Sands
Vanity Fair
May 2008

As the first anniversary of 9/11 approached, and a prized Guantánamo detainee wouldn’t talk, the Bush administration’s highest-ranking lawyers argued for extreme interrogation techniques, circumventing international law, the Geneva Conventions, and the army’s own Field Manual. The attorneys would even fly to Guantánamo to ratchet up the pressure—then blame abuses on the military. Philippe Sands follows the torture trail, and holds out the possibility of war crimes charges.

read the rest here

Evangelicals for Human Rights Host National Summit on Torture

National Religious Campaign Against Torture

On September 11-12, 2008, Evangelicals for Human Rights, with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and Mercer University, will host a national summit on torture in Atlanta, GA, on the campus of Mercer University. Featuring some of the nation's top thinkers and leaders in the anti-torture community, this conference is co-sponsored by an unprecedented group of organizations. (...)

We invite you to be a part of this two day conference. We will examine the journey of the United States, since September 11, 2001, from a nation that championed human rights, albeit imperfectly, to a nation that publicly acknowledges and supports the use of torture.

Obviously, for people of faith, the journey does not end here. Speakers and participants will also explore the path of return to once again becoming a nation that leads the world in the protection of human rights.

Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul is organized and co-sponsored by individuals and groups who have sought to mobilize Americans and people of faith to oppose human rights violations in the struggle against terrorism. There will be moments of prayer and biblical reflection that embody these convictions, and the entire event will be infused with moral conviction drawn from the evangelical religious tradition.

However, conference speakers will reflect a variety of faith perspectives. The conference is open to all who will come. Our vision is that the conference will be a template for the kind of discourse, both faith-based and otherwise, that opens wide the doors for dialogue rather than closing them.

We invite you to be a part of ths important conference. Register before June 1 for an early registration discount. Early registration fee is $99. Beginning June 1, registration fee will increase to $150.

Students' Discount: Register before June 1 for an early student registration discount. Early student registration fee is $50. Beginning June 1, student registration will increase to $65.

For more Registration details click here
For more information, contact the Conference Coordinator:
Mary Head, Evangelicals for Human Rights
3001 Mercer University Drive, Day Hall 103
mhead@nrcat.org

Questions that will be considered during the Conference:

* What policy decisions led to torture?
* How did the US military respond?
* What does torture do to human beings?
* What has the torture debate revealed about American Christianity?
* What is really going on at Guantanamo Bay?How do we heal the (American) Christian relationship with the Muslim world?
* What legislative efforts are being made to address torture?
* How do Christians break free from cultural captivity?
* What are younger thinkers noticing about this cultural moment that others are missing?
* How do we restore America's leadership in protecting human rights?

Current Co-Sponsors include:
Mercer University, Evangelicals for Human Rights, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, the Center for Victims of Torture, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Evangelicals for Social Action, Faith and the City, Faith in Public Life, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Sojourners, and Morehouse College.

Key Speakers include:
Katie Barge, Elizabeth Bounds, Lawrence Carter, John Chandler, Richard Cizik, Mark P. Denbeaux, Pete Dross, Karen J. Greenberg, David P. Gushee, Linda Gustitus, Gita Gutierrez, Jeanne Herrick-Stare, Scott Horton, George Hunsinger, Rear Admiral D. John Hutson (Ret. USN), Cheryl Bridges Johns, Doug Johnson, Cathleen Kaveny, Richard Killmer, Rick Love, Denise Massey, Elissa Massimino, Matt Norman, Michael Peppard, Kathryn Reklis, Stephen Rickard, Samuel Rodriguez, Andy Saperstein, Ronald J. Sider, Glen H. Stassen, Natalie Wigg-Stevenson, Tyler Wigg Stevenson, Asante Todd, and Thomas Wilner.

We hope you can join us.

Linda Gustitus, NRCAT President
Richard Killmer, NRCAT Executive Director

Language of Prophets by Arnal Kennedy

Click to enlarge

Arnal Kennedy is a guest and dishwasher extraordinaire at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker
this poem is from his chapbook titled "We all fall short of God Equally" available from the LACW.

The Photo was taken by Kim Rigden Briscoll of St. Nina's Orthodox mission in Vancouver BC.

War Politics teeming with maggots

Bill Van Auken
World Socialist
6 May 2008

In a bid by the two major parties to prevent November’s presidential election from being turned into a referendum on the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress are both working to craft new war funding legislation that would pay for the fighting to continue at the present level well past January, when the next president takes office.

read the rest here

Former prosecutor testifies that Guantánamo military commissions are show trials

Richard Phillips
World Socialist
May 6 2008

In a damning exposure of the US military trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees, Air Force Colonel Mo Davis, the former chief prosecutor at the American prison camp, told a pre-trial hearing on April 28 that senior government and Pentagon officials had corrupted US military justice and that former Australian prisoner David Hicks should never have been charged.

read the rest here

Mother Nature's protest

Graham Thomson
Edmonton Journal
May 1st 2008

A flock of birds has done what a gaggle of environmental protesters could not -- embarrass the Alberta government over development of the oilsands and focus a critical eye on how Alberta protects the environment.

read the rest here

The National Bio-Agro Defense Facility's "Dual Use" Research: A Threat to Our Nation's Security

Judy Winters
Butner Blogspot
April 6 2008

The code of conduct and research that will be performed at the proposed National Bio Agro Defense Facility has been the subject of intense opposition within several communities affected by the eventual placement of proposed lab. The consortia vying for the NBAF have dismissed the concerns of the communities, stating that accidents and security breaches are simply not something we should concern ourselves with.

read the rest here

At long Last the May issue is here!

Due to a variety of technical and editorial delays this months issue is coming out several days later than I would have liked, however it's turned out better than I could have hoped thanks again to everyone who contributed writing this month, especially to those of you who read this blog. If what you sent isn't in this issue you can be sure it will be in the next one. again, thanks for your patience.

you can download it here

Schedule for the July 9 - 13, 2008 75th Anniversary of the Catholic Worker Movement Celebration

CW Gathering Web Page Link:
http://www.pieandcoffee.org/cw2008

Contact People:
Scott Schaeffer-Duffy <theresecw@gmail.com>
Michael Boover <mboover@annamaria.edu> (...)

Wednesday, July 9th
3 PM – Arrival: registration, setting up CW community displays and art.
7 PM Dinner
7:30 - 9 PM Welcome/ orientation followed by brief community introductions

Thursday, July 10th
7 AM Morning Prayer: led by Br. David Buer, OFM
7:30 - 8:30 Breakfast
9:30 - 11 AM The Person and Legacy of Dorothy Day: Robert Ellsberg, former editor of The Catholic Worker, editor in chief of Orbis Books, author numerous books including Little by Little: The Selected Writing of Dorothy Day, All Saints: Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time
Noon-1 PM Lunch

1:30 - 3 PM Workshops:

• * CW Art- facilitated by Brian Kavanagh and Jackie Allen-Doucot of the St. Martin de Porres CW, Hartford, Connecticut, and longtime CW artist Rita Corbin.
• * Restorative Justice- facilitated by Fred Boehrer of Emmaus House CW, Albany, New York.
• *Raising a Family in the CW- facilitated by Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickam of the Viva House CW, Baltimore, Maryland, Lenore Yarger and Steve Woolford of the Silk Hope CW, Siler City, North Carolina.
• *Green Revolution- facilitated by Beth Ingham of the Noonday CW Farm, Winchendon, Massachusetts, Betsy Keenan and Brian Terrell of the Strangers and Guests CW Farm, Maloy, Iowa, Sue Frankel-Streit of the Little Flower CW Farm, Trevilians, Virginia.
• *Shakers and the CW- facilitated by Michael Boover of the Mustard Seed CW, Worcester, Massachusetts and (hopefully) Walt Chura or the Albany, New York CW.

3:30 - 5 PM Workshops:

• * CW Journalism- facilitated by Tanya Theriault, an editor of The Catholic Worker, NYC, Mark and Louise Zwick, editors of The Houston Catholic Worker, Houston,Texas, and Jeff Dietrich, an editor of The Catholic Agitator, Los Angeles,California.
• *Fool for Christ- One-woman play about Dorothy Day performed by Sarah Melici, who has appeared around the United States to critical acclaim.
• *Confronting Racism- facilitated by Chris Allen-Doucot of the St. Martin de Porres CW, Hartford, Connecticut and (hopefully) Luz Catarineau Colville, of the Amistad CW, New Haven, Connecticut.
• *CW Healthcare: from Philadelphia to Haiti- Facilitated by Mary Beth Appel, CFNP and Johanna Berrigan, PA-C of the House of Grace CW, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.
• *Prayer and the CW- facilitated by Michael Boover of the Mustard Seed CW, Worcester, Massachusetts, and others to be announced.

5:30 - 6:30 PM Dinner

7 - 9 PM Peacemaking: Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, Michigan, former President of Pax Christi USA and internationally recognized peacemaker and Claire Schaeffer-Duffy of the Saints Francis & Therese CW, Worcester, Massachusetts.

10- 11:30 PM Dance Party/ Showing of Claudia Larson's marvelous documentary about Dorothy Day entitled "Don't Call Me A Saint."

Friday, July 11th
7 AM Morning Prayer: Led by Br. David Buer, OFM.
7:30 - 8:30 Breakfast

9:30 -11:30 Panel of CW Historians: Moderated by Catholic American historian David O'Brien of Holy Cross College, and including Mel Piehl, author of Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origins of Catholic Radicalism in America, and the Dean of Humanities and History at Valparaiso University, Nancy Roberts, history professor at New York University, Albany, and author of The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, and American Catholic Pacifism, Rosalie Riegle, Author of Voices of the Catholic Worker, professor emerita of theology at the College of Saint Benedict, and Dan McKanan, author of The Catholic Worker After Dorothy Day: Practicing the Works of Mercy in a New Generation, assistant professor of theology at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict,.

Noon - 1 PM Lunch

1:30 - 3 PM Workshops:

• *Offering Hospitality to the Undocumented- facilitated by Mark and Louise Zwick of Casa Juan Diego CW, Houston, Texas.
• *War and Abortion- facilitated by Mary Ryder of the Fr. Charlie Mullholland CW, Garner, North Carolina.
• *The Miraculous Insanity of CW Finances- facilitated by Scott Schaeffer-Duffy of the Saints Francis & Therese CW, Worcester, Massachusetts.
• *Conflict Resolution in CW Communities- facilitated by Will Raymond of the Saints Francis & Therese CW, Worcester, Massachusetts.

3:30 – 5 PM Workshops:

• *Campaign to Stop Torture- facilitated by Matt Daloisio of Mary House CW, New York City.
• *The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti – A power point presentation, accompanied by music of Charlie King & Karen Brandow, explores the story of pair who whose execution in 1927 drew international attention and continued to raise relevant issues: dissent, immigrants, war, peace, and the death penalty.
• *Catholicism and the CW- facilitated by Tom Cornell of Peter Maurin CW Farm, Marlboro, New York and Teka Childress of Karen House CW, St. Louis, Missouri.
• *Confronting the Unspeakable- Jim Douglass, author numerous books, including The Nonviolent Cross and JFK and the Unspeakable: Why he died and why it matters, of Mary House CW, Birmingham, Alabama.

5:30- 6:30 PM Dinner / Rehearsal Time- for those interested in helping with music for our closing Mass.
7:30 PM – Talent Show/Party/More Dancing

Saturday, July 12th
7:30 AM Morning Prayer- Led by Br. David Buer, OFM
8:00-9:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 AM Mass- Celebrated by Most Rev. Robert McManus, Bishop of Worcester. Father Bernie Gilgun, of the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker, will be the homilist.

Worcester Art Museum is inviting Catholic Workers to a reception for its exhibit of the works of Tom Lewis, who died suddenly on April 4th. The details are forthcoming.

Childcare: We hope to provide child-care for the daytime sessions on Thursday and Friday. Anyone interesting in helping out at for one of the morning or afternoon blocks should contact Scott at theresecw@gmail.com

Please Note: As we prepared for this gathering, we initially thought that three and a half days would give us ample time to cover everything the CW should remember, celebrate, and discuss, but now we realize that it's just not enough time. We wish we could have included discussions of Peter Maurin, anarchism, usury, global warming, Darfur, Burma, Colombia, "free" trade, Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, euthanasia, sexism, sexuality, the welfare state, hospitality for difficult guests like sex offenders and chronic drug addocts, and so much more. We will have some space for people to add unscheduled workshops, if there is someone to facilitate them, but we don't want to schedule every minute and lose the chance for each of us to get to know each other informally. Perhaps the things we don't cover now will be tackled by the community which takes responsibility for organizing the next CW gathering. We can testify that it's a lot of work, but also a genuine opportunity to reflect on and celebrate our work.

Gathering Committee:
Mike Benedetti, Mike Boover, Donna Domiziano, Paul Levitsky, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi, Christine Lavallee, Dave Maciewski, Will Raymond, and Claire & Scott Schaeffer-Duffy.

Ecologically Centered Education

Leonardo Boff
Theologian
Earthcharter Commission
April 11 2008

There are two doors to the education and socialization of human life: through family and school. From the family we inherit, or fail to inherit, the sense of welcoming and self-reliance (from the mother,) and the sense of limits and awareness of ethical values (from the father.) The school, besides sharing information, strives to create the conditions necessary for the formation of autonomous persons, capable of shaping their own destiny and of learning to live as participating citizens. From this perspective, education was centered around the human being and society. (...)

That laudable purpose is no longer sufficient. Since the ecological paradigm burst, we have been brought to the realization that we are all inter-dependent. We cannot live without our environment -including its ecosystems- that together with the human being make up the whole environment. We are a link in the biological community. Humanity is not in competition with nature, nor above nature, as if humanity owned her, but within nature, as an integral and essential part. We participate in a community of interests with all other living beings, who share the biosphere with us. The basic common interest is to maintain the conditions for the continuity of life and of the Earth herself, considered as a living super organism, Gaia.

The new fact, absent until very recently from the collective consciousness of the great majority of people, and also from that of most scientists, is that the whole system of life is in danger. It is a consequence of the productivist/consumerist/materialist civilization that has prevailed during recent centuries, and is now globalized. That civilization has destroyed Earth's fragile equilibrium and her capacity for self-regeneration. We must prevent Gaia from entering a process of chaos, leading to a new equilibrium, but at the cost of great ecological sacrifices, such as the extinction of thousands of living species, cataclysms, drought, flooding, food insecurity of immense proportions, and, eventually, the perishing of countless human beings.

Starting now, and without delay, education should include the four great ecological currents: the environment, the social, the mental, and the integral or profound (that which discusses our place in nature and our insertion in the framework of the cosmic energies.) This perspective is imposed on environmental educators with ever increasing urgency: to educate with an eye to the art of living in harmony with nature and to propose equitable sharing of the resources of culture and of sustainable development with all other beings.

We must be conscious that it is not enough just to try to introduce corrections into the system that created the present ecological crisis; we must educate with the goal of transforming it. This implies overcoming the prevailing reductionist and mechanist vision and adopting a culture of complexity. This will allow us to see the interconnections of the living world and the ecological dependency of the human being. Such verification demands that we treat environmental questions in a global and integral form.

From this type of education is derived the ethical dimension of responsibility and caring for the common future of the Earth and of humanity. It makes us discover the human being as a caretaker of the Garden of Eden that is our Common House, and the guardian of all beings. Besides being «without end,» as Boaventura de Souza Santos correctly hopes, democracy will also be a «socio-ecological» democracy. Along with ciudadanía, "citizenship," (derived from ciudad, city), there will be florestanía, "forestership," (derived from floresta, forest), attempted by the petista (PT) government of the Acre State, Brazil. Human beings and nature mutually belong to each other, and together they must build a path of non destructive coexistence.

Free translation from the Spanish by
contacto@servicioskoinonia.org,
sent by Melina Alfaro, done at
REFUGIO DEL RIO GRANDE, Texas

Tom Lewis memorial mass

Mike Benedetti
May 5th 2008

A link to photos and audio from the memorial mass given for the recently Deceased Tom Lewis, Artist, Peace activist, Catholic Christian, and member of the Catonsville 9.

click here

From the Nile to the Euphrates; The 'Victims of a Map'

Felicity Arbuthnot
Global Research,
April 26, 2008

When the State of Israel declared independence on the 14th May 1948, her founding vow was to:

“... uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens without distinction of religion, race, or sex; (to) guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, education, and culture; will safeguard the holy places of all religions; and will loyally uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter. . . .” Israel called: “upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions.”

read the rest here

Omaha Catholic Worker News

Dear Friends of the Omaha Catholic Worker,

Recently Matthew Hickey, a guest of the OCW has moved out to his own apartment. He is looking for a job and has the apartment subsidized at this time. We were able to provide some furniture from donations for him.

The following is a list of other items that he needs. We would greatly appreciate it, if you have any of these items and are no longer in need of them, if you could donate them to us, on his behalf. We could come to pick them up, or you can drop them off at the house.

Please give me a call 502- 5887

Thanks so much for your support of our house and our guests making it on there own.

He has pretty much all else that is needed. These are the only items lacking:

Small kitchen size trash can and trash bags
Cleaning supplies
Cookie sheet
Portable Television that is in working condition
Radio
Lamps
Serving spoon's, spatulas, good quality can opener, sharp knives,
Shower curtain,
Broom and dust pan, mop and bucket
Vacuum cleaner

Jerry Ebner and Kay Forsling
Omaha Catholic Worker
1104 N. 24th St. Omaha, NE 68102
www.no-nukes.org/cwomaha
cwomaha@gmail.com
402- 502- 5887

The man they call Wright (updated)

an article that's actually about Rev. Wright



For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. (John 18:37)

Listen to the voices of all three of these Pastors and decide for your self who's preaching the true Gospel.

CR

False Prophets, the Pastors of John McCain

John Hagee



Rod Parsley



As frequent readers of this blog know I don't use it much for personal editorial writing. I have always wanted this first and foremost to be a place for current events that don't fit well in a monthly like The Christian Radical zine but this recent swiftboating of Barak Obama by the racists in the American press and political establishment of both parties makes me sick to my stomach and I feel obligated to say something about it.

Above are two video clips and news stories about the "pastors" whom John McCain is proud to have the endorsement of. I've decided to title this entry False Prophets because from hearing their words and learning of their actions I'm reminded of Christ's admonition that by their fruits we shall know them.

These two men bear rotten fruit.

Not for pointing out the sin and hypocracy of the Catholic Church or feeling convictions which differ from mine but because they distort the Gospel message of disarmed love for those on the margins, they have rejected the love of a compassionate God who came to earth to live a homeless man, who's execution by the Romans was the ultimate act of nonviolence, forcing the violence if the system to stop in his body, and then came back so that the prostitutes, the begars, the aflicted, the socially un-clean, and yes even the homosexuals and those who had never heard of Israel would be free from sin and death. On behalf of all and for all as St. John Chrisostom put it in the Orthodox liturgy.

These Pastors whom McCain supports would have Christians wage a third crusade and detonate nuclear weapons in order to bring on the Apocalypse, this is thelogically something akin to breaking all the dishes in the china shop so you get to see the manager. It's bad theology and far beyond that it's homicidal lunacy.

I've had a chance to hear from and about Revernd Wright, the man who had been a close family friend of Obama for twenty years (until he refused to be silent when it was inconvienient or the Senator). I've posted his "God Damn America" sermon just above this entry hoping that some people who havn't yet might get to see it in it's proper context, and I want to say that from hearing the words of all three of these "men of the cloth" the only one who makes me feel proud to be a Christian is Rev Wright, Hagee and Parsley make me feel sick and frightened. And if this is the state of Christianity in America, that false prophets like these two white men can be upheld by the establishment and allowed to remain un-scrutinized by the media while a preacher like Wright who has actually devoted his life to serving Christ in the por and the oppressed can be used by this same lazy, sleazy press, as a proverbial knife in the back of a man who until his bid for the presidency had at least some moral courage has shown to me that there really is no hope in his promises and as I've said before there will be no change. Maybe one of skin colour or gender but the war will continue, the torture will continue, the occupation will continue, famine will worsen, and the only peace we will know in our lifetimes is the peace which is issued from the barrel of a gun.

If this is truly the state of the world we live in, and from where I stand it would seem that way, then God Damn America, and may that same God who's name is Peace with Justice, in His compassion have mercy on us all.

CR

Reporters or Imperial Scribes

[col. writ. 3/1/08]
(c) '08 Mumia Abu-Jamal

Several days ago, I wrote on the resignation of Cuba's Fidel Castro-Ruz from the rigors and responsibilities of Office. I commended him and the Cuban people for a heroic history of resistance and socialist humanism. (...)

But when I read, or heard, or received pieces by other journalists, I was struck by the tone. There was ill-disguised glee at Fidel's health issues which forced him to step down, and reportage that bristled with references to the popular Cuban leader as a "dictator," coupled with the demand that Cuba import some American - style "democracy" to the island.

Not one story that I read or heard mentioned the obvious; that the best known torture chamber on Cuban soil is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States government. It's Guantanamo.

As for dictators, how do you order a nation to war against another nation on a lie- a nation that never attacked yours - unless you are a dictator? You order your subordinates to torture other people - men, women, and children - and then say: " We do not torture," while the world snickers.

And as for free elections and democracy, the world knows that it's just words in America. It's been weeks since the California primaries, and they're still counting ballots. In the 2000 and 20004 U.S. presidential elections, tens of thousands of votes were stolen, voters were wrongfully denied access to the ballots, and others had their votes erroneously allocated to the wrong candidates. Free elections? Democracy?

My God! What would rigged elections and disenfranchisement look like?

And from these perverse processes have come perverted results: a president, a congress, and judiciary that is as twisted as the process that brought them forth.

A century ago radical American writer Jack London published The Iron Heel (1908) in which he noted the following:

Even as late as 1912, A.D., the great mass of the people still persisted in the belief
that they ruled the country by virtue of their ballots. In reality, the country
was ruled by what were called political machines. At first the machine bosses
charged the master capitalists extortionate tolls for legislation; but in a short
time the master capitalists found it cheaper to own the political machines
themselves and to hire the machine bosses.

That was Jack London, writing in 1908. A century later, and we see the clarity of his vision, for what is this election but a business proposition?

In truth, your votes are all but superfluous - for you don't really vote for candidates (even if you did choose them -which you didn't!); you vote for electors - or delegates, whose votes determine not just candidates but elections. And delegates are almost always big people - the wealthy, well-to-do or well-connected.

How's that sound, for a democracy?

--(c) '08 maj

[Source: Monthly Review, Mar. 2008, p.63]

Spartacus Books and DOXA Film Festival Present:

Lucio
Saturday May 31 | 5:00 pm
Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe Street (at Helmcken)

Directors: Aitor Arregi & Jose Maria Goenaga, Spain, 2007, 93 minutes

Lucio Urtubia is a retired bricklayer who lives quietly in suburban Paris. He is also one of the greatest counterfeiters that ever lived. But how did a Spanish labourer from the tiny village of Navarra bring one of the world's biggest banks to its knees? (...)

Dubbed "the good bandit" by the French press, Lucio's startling David and Goliath story began in Franco's Spain smuggling contraband, but it was in Paris where he found his political calling as an anarchist. It was a philosophy that deeply appealed to distrust of money and power. After sheltering the legendary dissident Quico SabatŽ from the French and Spanish authorities, Lucio determined that it was much easier to make money than to steal it. With that a master forger was born. set out to rob banks of their power and privilege, funding causes around the world—everyone from Che Guevara to The Black Panthers—without missing a single day of work.

Interviews with his family, friends and others far less charmed by Lucio's activi­ties create a vivid and engaging portrait of an extraordinary man. With little more than native skill, Lucio was able to create some of the most perfect forgeries ever made. Nothing proved to be beyond his ability including forging identity cards, passports and bank notes. But his masterpiece was an epic scheme in which counterfeit Citibank travellers' cheques were exchanged for real money. The largest bank in the world was soon drowning in a sea of false paper and forced to negotiate on Lucio's terms.

Directors Aitor Arregi and Jose Maria Goenaga have fashioned an exquisitely con­structed, razor-sharp look at life and crimes, which plays like a Hollywood suspense caper. False identities, police stings and seemingly impossible escapes are recreated through dazzling graphics, archival footage and dramatic reenact­ments. But it is Lucio himself who is most engaging in this tale of larceny and politics. His sanguine pronouncements that banks are basically the biggest crooks around—"They exploit you, take your money and cause all the wars"—has an acid relevancy in these days of corporate scandal and economic meltdown.

Tickets available at:

Tickets Tonight: Plaza Level, 200 Burrard Street 604-684-2787 | www.ticketstonight.ca Bibliophile Bookshop: 2010 Commercial Drive (cash only)Videomatica: 1855 West 4th Avenue (cash only)

Screening Partner -- MAC Station

Spartacus is moving June 1 to:
684 East Hastings, Vancouver BC

Support the Holy Name Six

Rosalie Riegle
May 4, 2008

On Easter Sunday, six young people nonviolently disrupted Mass at the auditorium of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, calling for an end to the killing in Iraq and spilling stage blood on themselves. They have been charged with a felony and face up to five years in prison, apparently because some of the stage blood accidentally got on the carpet and on the Easter finery of a few parishioners. These young people deserve the support of peace people around the world.



Please sign this petition below, which will go to the Archdiocese and the State's Attorney and donate to their cause by hitting the link below the petition link.

Messages of support can be sent to holyname6@riseup.net.

link to petition website

The Harsh Reality of the Middle East Conflict

Dan Lieberman
Atlantic Free Press
May 3 2008

A century old conflict between the state of Israel and stateless Palestinians, many of whom have been disposed from lands that created the Israel state, has provoked an argument: Is it preferable to have two states living side by side or have one state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River that includes Jews and Palestinians without prejudice and with equal rights for all?Those who propose a single-state do so because they sense the two-state solution is nonviable and those who propose two-states do so because they sense the one-state solution is unacceptable. The argument is doomed to irresolution because

read the rest here