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If you would like to join in and put something of yours on this web site, please send it to us mexb@bigpond.net.au, and we will read it and put it in if we think it is helping move our world closer to peace. This is just the beginning, so maybe there will be clearer guidelines if it all goes well. Wish us luck! 
 

In his 'Prayer for America' US Congressman Dennis Kucinich offers some sobering thoughts on the direction the United States has taken since September 11. Rep. Kucinich has issued "the strongest critical statement and challenge to the Bush Administration from a member of Congress since Sept. 11."

Richard Du Boff and Edward Herman comment on the 'rogue state.

Jordan Moss reports on the formation, by some family members of victims of the September 11 attack, of an organization under the banner 'September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.' The group hopes to 'encourage discussion of alternatives to war and to bring aid to families affected by the US bombing campaign in Afghanistan.'

Neve Gordon discusses the anti-war movement in Israel 

McNamara's blueprint for a new U.S. policy: Listen Mr Bush is the title for a PressInfo/Review by Jan Oberg of the book 'Wilson's Ghost' by Robert McNamera and James Blight. To quote Mr Oberg, "Through this work he [McNamera] offers personal lessons learned from both the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis while he uses the framework of President Woodrow Wilson's ideas to produce what I judge to be the most compelling realistic blueprint for a new American foreign and security policy."

Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, notes that the prisoners taken by the US in Afghanistan, "unless charged with terrorist offences, should be presumed to be prisoners of war". (External link) 

Jonathan Power finds it amazing that the USA is surprised at the attacks and the anger and hatred that have provoked them In a later commentary, The media missed the story in Afghanistan, he discusses the mistakes of the Western media in not questioning the way in which the U.S. administration responded militarily to the attacks of September 11.

.Who is he?

POWER: The arrogance of power has produced its inevitable reaction. America is threatened not by nuclear tipped missiles from unknown rogue nations, but by small groups of angry men who, although prisoners of their zealotry, know well enough that much of the world whilst not agreeing with them understands their frustration. To deal with this effectively requires a new way of looking at the world. Click to read >> far

Molly Ivins in her inimitable style answers the question, "Why do they hate us?"
 
 

Noam Chomsky explains why he thinks the attacks on the USA happened and what is likely to happen next, in this interview with B92 magazine.

 

Who is he?

CHOMSKY: Every sane person should be afraid of the likely reaction - the one that has already been announced, the one that probably answers Bin Laden's prayers. It is highly likely to escalate the cycle of violence, in the familiar way, but in this case on a far greater scale. Click to read >> far

Barbara Kingsolver considers the impact of nationalism on the rights of the individual to hold a divergent view. Her article appears in the San Francisco Chronicle (external link) 

Wendell Berry  in  The Failure of War sets forth the propositions that even a successful war in national defense always involves some  degree of national defeat and that the free market economy is  becoming less and less distinguishable from warfare. (external link) 
 
 
 

Prof Marc W Herold has compiled a documented account of thecivilian deaths from the aerial bombing of Afghanistan.  The number of  civilian deaths there is now well over the number killed in the attacks of  September  11.  The daily casuality figures  (along with sources,  locations, weapons, civilian deaths, and commentary)  are  presented  also in  tabular form.  (Reproduced by permission of the author) 

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Michel Chossudovsky's "Osamagate" explores the connections of the US Government with the Al Qaeda organization through the last two decades, showing how US links to that and other militant groups makes a hypocrisy of its current 'war on terrorism'.

Mary Wentworth, a writer, activist and resident of Amhert, Massachusetts, gives vivid detail of exactly how the US has intervened in the politics and everyday lives of people in countries all over the world.

ar

WENTWORTH: In the process of expanding our empire, we killed millions of people. We equipped and paid secret police units, training them, including teaching them torture techniques, at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. We gave our dictators foreign aid money to buy guns, missiles, and fighter planes from Corporate America. We interfered in elections in countries like Italy and Greece by funneling CIA money to political parties who had our stamp of approval. Every one of these actions violated our Constitution and the Charter of the United Nations. Click to read >> f

William Blum's 'A Brief History of United States Interventions, 1945 to the Present'

Who is he?

BLUM: The engine of American foreign policy has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by the necessity to serve other imperatives, which can be summarized as follows: making the world safe for American corporations; enhancing the financial statements of defense contractors at home who have contributed generously to members of congress; preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model; extending political and economic hegemony over as wide an area as possible, as befits a "great power." Click  read >> far

Dana Snyder points the way to a more peaceable and just world for all people.
 
 

Paul Krugman examines the recent report of a World Health Organization commission regarding the need for improving the health of people in the poorer nations. The U.S. ranks below most advanced countries in the share of its GNP given in foreign aid (external link) 



George McGovern shows the need to use a portion of the billions the U.S. Congress has authorized to fight terrorism for the purpose of reducing world hunger by improving food production, providing direct food aid, setting up nutrient supplement and school lunch programs, and increasing literacy. In his words "I cannot promise that these steps will end terrorism. I am confident, however, that helping to feed more people can reduce the power of those who appeal to desperation and hopelessness." (external link) 



David Korten gives his views on ways to cope with the increasing concentration of corporate power and provides a roadmap for changing the corporate system from "demon master into faithful servant." (external link) 

 

Peter Sauer discusses the relationship between social justice and the care of our environment. In examining the historical background which has led to the present concept of a global environmental ethic, he points out that it will not be easy to reverse the corporate power surge that is producing a form of globalization inimical to social justice and the maintenance of a healthy environment. (external link) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

http://progressiveaustin.org/
A new antiwar group, named Austin Against War was formed in Austin on Sunday, September 16, calling for popular action to oppose war, to defend against racist attacks, and to protect civil liberties. They have called for actions in Austin including a daily anti-war presence in front of the Capitol, with a march on Thursday, September 20, and a march on the capitol on September 29th (with the Democracy Coalition as a co-sponsor).

http://www.transnational.org
The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research analyses, ideas, links columns and debates. Get global news and views on TNN. Buy publications and peace shares at TFF Store & Donations. TFF's mission is peace: learning to handle conflicts with ever less violence against other human beings, other cultures and Nature.
 
 

http://www.futurenet.org/
The Network's goal is to enhance the power of people working to create a more just, sustainable, and compassionate future by increasing their public visibility, their sense of interconnection, and their access to visions, tools, stories and techniques for change. To that end, the Network publishes YES! A Journal of Positive Futures, which combines analysis of key problems with news of actions people are taking in the United States and around the world to create a more positive future.
 
 

Common Dreams News Center
This site provides "breaking new and views for the progressive community". Links to current commentary, newspapers, news services, and other resources.can be found here.
 

2 Billion Voices for Peace is a world historical record of citizens who are including their name in creating a more peaceful world for all.

Beyond retaliation: a call for non-violence: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/401599763 

A call for a nonviolent, nonretaliatory response to the World Trade Center and US Pentagon tragedies; an affirmation of our freedom and power to choose nonviolence; and a commitment to support the nonviolent resolution of conflict within our local communities

Call for peace and justice: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/224622495

In the aftermath of the ruthless attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, we implore the leaders of the United States to ensure that justice be served by protecting the innocent citizens of all nations.

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