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Peacemaking Issues -- a listing
Archive 2: 2003-04 |
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For an
index to peacemaking issues, 2001-2002 >>
And for an index to 2005 to the present
>> |
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People of faith can resist the war - by refusing
in conscience to pay "war taxes" [11-29-04]
Since World War II, the Presbyterian Church has provided at
least some degree of support for those who in conscience have refused to
bear arms in military service. This support has also included the
possibility of refusal to pay taxes that would be used for making war.
Many people now find themselves seeking ways to stand
against the present military actions of the United States, and one clear way
to do that is through the Peace Tax Fund.
Presbyterian support for the Peace Tax Fund was expressed
specifically in the rationale for the Human Rights Update that was presented
to the 214th General Assembly, 2002. You can
read the full text of the report, including the discussion of the Peace
Tax Fund, which is on page 20.
Right now, the most urgent concern is to support the bill
in Congress that would establish the Peace Tax Fund. This bill, HR 2037,
will expire soon and be reintroduced next May with a new number. But letters
to both House and Senate are needed now.
Sample letters
are available at the Campaign's website,
http://www.peacetaxfund.org
Go to their
website also for more
information and background on their campaign. |
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2004 Peace and Justice conference offered resources,
actions, and hope
What has long been an important
annual event in the Presbyterian Church, the Peacemaking Conference,
happened again this year, August 3 - 7 in Tacoma, Washington, under the
theme “Hope for a
Global Future: Let’s Pray, Let’s Act.”
It was broadened in scope this year
to include issues of hunger, environmental concerns and economic justice.
And it was co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking
Program, the Presbyterian Hunger
Program, the Environmental
Justice Program and the
Self-Development of People Program.
Click here for the Presbyterian News Service report.
And we offer here two personal responses to the
conference, along with a list of things to do and to study, gleaned from
conference presentations.
Suzan Ireland gives her
personal impressions, while
Christine Gibson summarizes some of the content of the conference.
And Dick Gibson, Synod Hunger Action Enabler, Presbytery Restoring Creation
Enabler, and "all around peacemaker" for the Presbytery of North Puget
Sound, provides an awesome
list of things to do, and
resources to help you do them. [9-27-04] |
Resources for peace and justice education
[8-16-04]
ReachAndTeach is a new social
enterprise that provides educational products to help create a more peaceful
and just world.
They describe their work thus: "Our engaging and highly
interactive course materials will be incorporated into social studies, art,
English, mathematics, and science courses. Teachers in public and private
schools as well as faith-based educators will be able to incorporate our
course materials and activities into their lesson plans for a single lesson,
a week, or up to a full semester."
One of the founders is Witherspoon member Derrick Kikuchi. |
| A plea for
people of faith to act to end the killing in Darfur, Sudan
[7-16-04]
In Darfur, Sudan, 1,000 people are dying every day, and
that number is rising. Over one million black Africans have been bombed
and burnt out of their villages, and their crops and water supplies
destroyed by Arab "Janjaweed" militias. The Government-backed Janjaweed
surround the refugee camps and block life-giving food and medicine from
getting through. Anyone leaving is raped or killed.
The US Government estimates that 370,000 human beings
are already dead or certain to die of starvation in these extermination
camps. Up to 1 million could die within the next few months.
As people of faith and members of the human family, we
cannot let this horror continue. Our government's response so far has been
slow and weak. Only an immediate international humanitarian intervention
to protect the people of Darfur and ensure aid gets to them will stop the
slaughter.
FaithfulAmerica.org is urging people to contact their
representatives and senators in Washington, telling them to vote for the
bi_partisan House and Senate Resolutions demanding the US take these
actions to stop the genocide in Darfur.
Click here for the
full statement from FaithfulAmerica.org, and links to send your messages
to Congress.
We're also providing
links to other sources of
information -- from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Washington
Office, and a writer in the Boston Globe. |
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And now ... the
privatization of space
[6-21-04]
Today's reports
of a private venture into space might deserve a slightly skeptical
observation. Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network Against
Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, views this development as a dangerous
step toward placing the control of outer space in the hands of the
corporate establishment - with no concern for the public interest or the
wider well-being of the world. |
Administration Pursuing Flawed Policies on
Landmines and New Nuclear Weapons
[4-20-04]The Presbyterian
Washington Office has prepared a helpful
policy survey on the urgent need for new US policies to reduce the threat
of death and injury from landmines, and to roll back US programs to
develop new nuclear weapons. |
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On the crisis in Haiti
[3-4-04] The Washington Office provides a very
helpful action paper on the crisis in Haiti, including a short sketch of
the situation there, background information, and suggestions for action --
as well as the text of a letter from
Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick to
Interim President Boniface Alexandre,
offering support and prayers. There are also excerpts from previous
General Assembly policy statements
on Haiti. |
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Presbyterian peace activists released from prison
[10-21-03] Women trespassed on Army
base while protesting 'terror school'
Two Presbyterian women imprisoned earlier this year for
entering an Army base during a protest have been released from jail.
Marilyn M. White, 56, of suburban Houston, TX, was released on Oct. 3 from
a federal Prison Camp for Women in Bryan, TX. Ann Huntwork, 72, of
Portland, OR, was released on Oct. 6 from the Federal Prison Camp in
Dublin, CA. Both were sentenced on charges of trespassing, after they
entered Fort Benning, in Columbus, GA, during a demonstration against a
training facility for Latin American military officers formerly known as
the School of the Americas (SOA).
See the
full report by Presbyterian News Service. |
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Now's the time to press for freedom to
travel to Cuba [9-3-03]
In early September, Congress will vote on whether to give
Americans their freedom back -- their freedom to travel to Cuba.
Here are suggestions for
speaking up. |
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Revealed: US plan to 'own' space [6-25-03]
As part of a plan to ensure its total military supremacy,
the U.S. is preparing to complete the domination of space -- by any means
necessary. Neil Mackay explains the terrifying new face of global warfare
in the June 22, 2003,
Sunday Herald of Scotland.
Thanks to Arch Taylor for this report. |
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German scholars ponder American Empire [6-25-03]
Martin Marty summarizes comments from four scholars in
Germany as they observe the rise of the new "American Empire." Their
remarks are moderate in tone, but reflect clear concern - in the words of
David Rieff - about the Bush administration's "irenic, unshakeable belief
... that an American empire will never be corrupted by its own power in
the way that all previous empires in human history have been;
that it will, by definition, be a force for good in the world," and that
any questioning of that certainty is ... un-American. |
Armed with
principles, "fighting" and dying for peace in Palestine
[4-23-03]One young
American woman, Rachel Corrie, was crushed to death March 16 by an Israeli
army bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the destruction of a
Palestinian family's home. Two young men, one American and one British,
have been seriously wounded by Israeli army gunfire. All have been serving
in Palestinian areas with the International Solidarity Movement, the peace
group that uses such non-violent means as positioning activists as "human
shields" around the occupied territories to protect Palestinian civilians.
Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian, notes that these recent
incidents appear to be "part of a pattern, and that Israel is deliberately
targeting internationals, so that it can carry out human-rights abuses
unobserved. Whatever the truth, Americans and other foreign citizens are
falling victim to Israeli tactics that have killed and injured thousands
of Palestinians. A lack of accountability means that such incidents could
increase."
This article was first published in the Chicago
Tribune on 22 April 2003.
Thanks to Darrell and Sue Yeaney |
Building a peace army, one person at a time
[4-7-03]
With pragmatism in mind, the Peaceforce's unarmed troops
will not see action in the Middle East, though the idealist in David
Hartsough wishes he could travel to Iraq and take a political stand.
Instead, Hartsough is sticking to domestic anti-war protests, while the
Peaceforce quietly readies to deploy its first set of workers to Sri Lanka
for a three-year pilot project in a few weeks.
"Iraq would have been the ideal scenario [to start
with], but part of it is timing," Hartsough says, a tenor of
disappointment in his voice. "But we want to be sure that whatever we do,
we do well."
Bernice Yeung provides
a lengthy report in SF Weekly
And check out
the Peaceforce website
for more information.
Source: Sojourners 2003 (c)
http://www.sojo.net
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Presbyterian returning to El Salvador to
observe elections [2-27-03]
What with wars and budget crises and all the
rest, we easily forget countries in which the United States was deeply
(and many would say illegally) involved just a few years ago. Julia Jones,
who has served the PC(USA) in many ways over the past few years, sends a
report on her plans to serve as an observer in the coming election in El
Salvador.
Her preliminary report offers a picture
of the current situation there, and we will post her later reports from on
the spot. |
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Presbyterians sentenced for
protest at School of the Americas
[1-30-03] The Rev.
Clifford Frasier, elder Ann Huntwork
of Portland, OR, and Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Co-Moderator
Marilyn White have been sentenced in
Columbus, GA, for crossing the line into Fort Benning, site of the School
of the Americas, long accused of training military personnel from Latin
America for the abuse of human rights in the cause of US interests. |
School of the Americas
Watch update:
[1-16-03]
86 human rights activists face
trials in Columbus, GA; volunteers sought for supporting actions
Teacher is fired for being
imprisoned for protesting against the SOA - seeks rehiring
Some activists to be
released; how to contact those still incarcerated |
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For an
index to peacemaking issues, 2001-2002 >>
And for an index to 2005 to the present
>> |
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A major
Ghost Ranch event this summer!
July 28 - August 3, 2008
Paths toward Peace and Justice:
Spirituality, Earth-Care, and the Prophetic Word in a time of
Violence
More info >> |
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An index of
our reports
from
BECOMING NEIGHBORS:
An Invitation
to Global Discipleship
A Witherspoon conference
on global mission and justice
September 16 - 19, 2007
Louisville, Kentucky |
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Check out our report from the
Conference
on
Terror, Torture,
and Security |
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