_war no more_

click on the picture to view entire album
images from march 24 peace rally in pittsburgh pa: protesting against the start of the fifth year of the iraq war

::love reflection::

click for album

::amazing::

"i've got soul but i'm not a soldier"...this video really made an impact on me this week...not just the message of it but it for some reason just was quite moving

::dc_::

so many know about my trip to washington dc and subsequent demonstration, but i thought i would write a little bit. guantanamo, the prison and torture camp, which was opened five years ago as of january 11 was being protested in many places around the world. in dc there was a large demonstration which was arranged on the 11th and a group of us from the pittsburgh peace community left at 3:30 am to participate. upon arriving we were greeted by a few hundred scattered people milling around the upper senate park. after hearing an annoucement a few minutes after arriving we moved forward to pick up our outfits.

interruption: a little background on the demonstration. in 2004 the us supreme court ruled that the prisoners were entitled to habeas corpus and the federal courts were there to hear the cases of the illegally detained prisoners. the courts however have never stood by this ruling. so in this demonstration 300 odd people were dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods to be in solidarity with the 300 odd prisoners in guantanamo. this large group stood in formation in front of the supreme court and then marched in prison line to the federal court building, representing the desired path of the cases which should have occured. then at the federal court building a smaller group, each person representing a real prisoner, would try to gain access to the court building and present their respective case.

continued from first paragraph: after picking up and putting on the outfits the group began moving towards the supreme court. it was an experience especially wearing the black hoods which allowed limiting breathing and vision. even though i am not chlostrophobic it was hard not to feel very helpless and confined as your breath caused the air inside the hood to be very hot and moist. it is amazing what we as humans can do to other humans. the rest of the demonstration seemed to make an impact on those who saw it. and although the group didn't gain access to the courthouse it seemed that the demonstration achieved its goal. i myself was extremely interested to observe how people interacted in the environment and how groups such as the police interacted. everyone was trying to do what they felt was correct and necessary. i tried to document this scene and the entire demonstration in picture form. if you click on the image you will be taken to a gallery.

::panel event flyer::

check out some of the work i have been doing, for the album click on the picture

::3000postgazette::

well the vigil did get some decent press in pittsburgh and had a nice write up in the post-gazette (main paper here in the city). If you would be interested in reading the article click on the linked post-gazette. I did get referenced ...first time in the papers here in the great city of pittsburgh!

::3000::

what can you picture which is "3000"...for me it is the 3000 lights which were strung around the steps of the church...it is the 3000 names which i printed on 188 pages of previously white paper... whatever you think of 3000 of anything is overwhelming, but especially when it is 3000 human beings...this is what we were mourning last night when we held a vigil in pittsburgh remembering the 3000 US soldiers lost in this sensless iraq war.... the pictures can speak for themselves... (picture takes you to an album)

::season::

venturing into the christmas season my mind is constantly whirring around thinking about my time spent in the middle east and how that has affected my view on said traditional stories of christmas...tonight in particular i was in such a mood as to think again about how i felt about the "truth" behind our traditional christmas stories...especially the nativity...i could write for quite a while on this topic as i have quite a few of my own thoughts...but in interest of time i found in some searching and reading a sermon which really seemed to encompass many of my thoughts and is really a good look at the stories of our gospels...and i thought this picture was quite apropos (you will understand if you read the sermon)... (click on the picture)too perfect?

::hindenburg's bad rap::

it is quite possible that the hindenburg indeed got quite a bad reputation ...or at least its use of hydrogen. most people assume since then that the use of hydrogen is just plain dangerous....but as it turns out it was more likely a demise caused by the airships flammable powdered-aluminum coating. anyway all of this to really highlight and tout the new honda fcx concept car...not only is this car run using electricity and hydrogen but its only exhaust is water...amazing....and according to most reports i have read the car handles like a dream as well.....for more information about how it works....just click on the picture

..................why

what makes people do what they do? i look at the headlines in the news every day and all it seems to be is ridiculous killing, cheating, stealing,...hating. the religions of the world speak of how they have the way to a better life and a better world....but they don't seem to be making much of a difference...the same unexplainable mindset is still here....the one that would allow brother to kill brother in "our" civil war .... it is the same as what would drive someone to lie to innocent unemployed people (fathers, mothers, sons) who are desperate...lure them to a car and then kill them....what have we done to each other....i want to have faith in something which can be above this violence....but most of the times these "social structures" which try to speak of spirituality are the cause of violence...shiite, sunni, mennonite, christian, jewish....why does it really matter why do we have to continually create human structures to justify why we know more than someone else or why we are better or why someone else is not "human"... because that is the only way i can see someone could ever justify the violence that has occurred throughout history ... by creating divides people can believe that others deserve to live less than themselves.... i am comforted by the small things though.... a seemingly trite show about the "2006 iron man competition".... a man with ALS who just one year ago ran this same race and today can't even walk... yet another whom he barely knew took his cause and went 140 miles of grueling swimming, biking, and running and forced himself to finish ...why?... well i don't know but if it weren't for knowing that others out there are striving to live in true community it would be a lot tougher to remain optimistic

::doorway to change::

to make a difference...how to let people express
themselves....let them create their own dream....

::apologies::

i must issue a few apologies about not posting for quite a while...not sure if anyone actually does check this site...but for myself i want to remain consistent with posting...have continued to be extremely busy for the last week or so...working a full day and then many days having meetings or other events to go to in the evenings...a list of events that have happened and are coming up (gives a feeling for some of the stuff i am working with)

- screening of documentary (avenge but one of my two eyes) the middle east forum co-sponsored through an international film festival...the movie was awesome and the video-conference with the director Avi Mograbi took awhile to work correctly but was beneficial. the movie really delves into the feelings which may be overwhelming the palestinians in the face of occupation... and compares and contrasts this feeling with the glorification of samson and the individuals from mosada...incredibly powerful movie for anyone who is interested in the conflict between these two peoples


- next week there are going to be two major events coming up for AFSC ... one is going to be an event called "playback theatre" ...an improv theatre group is going to be preforming and using audience feedback to structure a vision of what peace looks like to people....could be sweet....

- one major event i will be in charge of is coming very quickly....the toughest thing is that we don't know when it will happen... i will be trying to host an event to recognize the day when we lose the 3,000th soldier since the Iraq war began...

- one other major task i have been undertaking was to create a new website for the Middle East Forum i have been helping with....so far i have a shell up....on the site you can check out the events we have coming up!

i have been busy...but i shall try not to shirk my responsibilities to my blog again :-D

ciao

_tradition_ ::view chicago::

HAPPY THANKSGIVING....

::process::

the counter glimmers and shines in the light of the new day;
waking not hard...today different
_______________________yesterday...next day before
...all gone
air moist with breath ... eyes focus on the fabric
mind runs with speed and everything is clear...
Sound...to Attention and rise, know relax
... stretching body releasing days gone...
different...no wanting...
head spin...fear.........familiar....know relax

hear...wait, wait., wait..,wait...,wait.........................................................Yes
speed, lightning moves
up...down...the sky moves, its texture surrounds...then gone
.........wait., wait.., wait...,wait....kneel...extend...breath, breath
.........wait., wait.., wait...,

the counter glimmers and shines in the light of the new day, the glint of hope
__________________sits on the glimmer______________________

duty done....learn and reward...........................wait, wait., wait..,wait...,wait

"good dog"

glint of hope....rises off the glimmer....into the deep abyss.....gone........
no different...........

today is done...............tomorrow..........

wait,wait.,wait..,wait...,wait....................................................................,wait

perspective

most of you know of my former travels in the middle east and its continued importance in my thoughts and such...therefore probably wouldn't be surprising that a few days ago I was interested to hear a story on democracy now about israeli soldiers who have now began to travel and speak candidly about the system of occupation the israeli army has applied...these soldiers have formed a group called "breaking the silence" who is giving speaches and posting writing and other information on their website...it is quite powerful to hear their stories and perspectives from personal experience....

meaning

so i mentioned in one of the entries about eyes wide open (which you should really check out the video and things on the website...extremely powerful)...i am in the process of editing and producing a journal of sorts documenting stories, quotes, and experiences from the eyes wide open exhibit that went around pennsylvania in october....here is one of the introductory paragraphs for the story collection and then one of the stories from Bloomsburg PA which struck me as poignent...

October turned out to be quite a sobering and challenging month to exhibit Eyes Wide Open around the state. Not only did we lose 104 US soldiers (the 4^th highest monthly loss since the war began), 6 from Pennsylvania, but we were all aghast when the most recent British report was published citing the total number of Iraqi deaths to be as high as 600,000. It seemed that each time we changed location our trailer carrying the boots got a little more tightly packed.

My brother served in Vietnam. He saw so much killing and was forced to be apart of the atrocities. One day he was ordered by his commanding officer to kill a woman and her children. After the sixth or seventh order he turned to his commanding officer and handed him his gun and said “I can't do this anymore”. He returned home and was so broken up he was placed in a mental hospital where he is to this day. When he dies I will make damn sure he is buried with full military honors. I am so glad you are doing this, paying respect to the soldiers...because nobody did that for the soldiers who fought in Vietnam.

_of people_ ::visions of summer::

what is the answer?

what is non-violence. as i had written before, this question is being debated in the peace movement here. is it consistent with non-violence to destroy property as long as no living things are injured in the process. i guess i have had mixed feelings when it comes to that particular question and every person i talk to has come out at a different spot. most of the "traditional" activists, who are also in general the older generations, all have pointed out that it isn't the property destruction but the fact that the action was not planned out and carefully targeted. citing instances like philip and daniel berrigan's destruction of 100's of draft records as a justifiable destruction of property. my own opinion is that this is just really a dodge of the real issue. i think that people want to glorify the activities that they deem acceptable...the berrigan's etc, but find a line and then draw it but that line is often fuzzy. for me i find that when looking at activism the use of these more "radical" tactics seem to be a hindrance to the overall cause. as a group begins to use those tactics they lose the ability to connect with a large majority of the people they are trying to reach and the other side is able to demonize them...thus taking the observers attention away from the actual goal and focusing it upon useless trivial acts. the problem becomes that the activist community seems to be at a point of self-examination. the more passive approaches seem to play right into the institutions hand and doesn't seem to be working. how as concerned citizens can we make a real difference and create major changes where they need to happen? how can we show people that a democratic political victory is actually not really a victory at all when we still have only two parties to vote for and neither represents our views? at this point i am content to continue to observe and soak up as much knowledge and understanding as i can and maybe someday i can better make statements to support or challenge the systems that control our lives.

on non-violence and peace

today was another very full day filled with more editing at work, a fabulous dinner at khalil's II, a wonderfully authentic middle eastern restaurant where i could fill my stomach with humous, olives, feta cheese, rice, and of course lamb. After dinner the thomas merton center was screening a film entitled "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" which was extremely enlightening about the issues surrounding the privitization of war (not only logistics but everything up to fifty percent of the interrogators at abu ghraib were private) with companies like halliburton, titan, c.a.c.i, and many others. it stands to reason that with private companies the control of such sensitive subjects as intelligence and interrogation would be lost. as well it seems like a conflict of interest; in my opinion the close ties between the heads of these contracting companies and the supposed leaders of our country would cause a conflict of interest to doing what is best for our country and our soldiers and that is ending the war. instead the companies don't want to forfeit their multi-billion dollar contracts and of course our country doesn't want to upset corporate america.

another topic which has been of increasing interest involves the greater peace community in the city of pittsburgh. i am, first of all extremely impressed by how active and tightly knit their peace community is. i have already been involved in nearly a half dozen meetings, dinners, or other activities and it has only been a week here. but what has been making me think is an ongoing conversation which has arisen among the community concerning social change and the justified means to getting there, as well as what does it mean to be "non-violent". a few months ago at a protest, from what i understand, in the moment some activists threw a rock through a store window to send a message about the inclusion of corporate america into the protest. i guess not too much was said publicly at that time but i think that the discussion was started with personal conversation. this led a lady by the name of dei'anna colgiuri to write an article in the "New People" thomas merton activist publications september issue (if you access the link earlier in the sentence you can find her article in the september issue on page 22). her article supporting and defending the use of property damage sparked a rebuttal from four other peace movement individuals whose statements then caused another to again respond to their comments (october issue page 21 and 22 as well as november issue page 18 respectively). needless to say i have read the articles as well as other background information and i am intrigued. i am trying to start and hopefully soon finish some writing about my thoughts in connection to this discussion...so will post expediently there after.