Nobel Committee Gets Peace Prize Wrong Yet Again


 

Juan Manuel Santos is not a grassroots advocate for disarmament and the abolition of war. He's someone who has used war but been willing to turn to peace. He is not in need of funding for his work toward global disarmament and peace because he doesn't do such work and because he is wealthy. He also is one side of a very tentative and precarious peace effort; why the Nobel Committee would give a prize to one side only in such a situation without considering the harm it could do to the process I do not know.

This is a better pick than many other recent picks, which have gone to either major war makers like Barack Obama or the European Union or to do-gooders whose good deeds were not related to war and peace at all, like Kailash Satyarthi, Malala Yousafzai, or Liu Xiaobo.

But this pick follows the pattern of giving the prize to high office holders rather than peace activists that has plagued the Nobel for decades.

Disturbing the Peace


 

A new film called Disturbing the Peace tells the story -- unknown to most Americans but painfully familiar to others -- of Israel and Palestine. Of the many films I've seen, this is one of the best. It presents both sides without equating them. It opens itself to a broad audience without boring anybody.

Jury trial for Black Lives Matter organizer begins Wednesday

A jury trial for racial justice organizer Tynan Krakoff is set to begin on Wednesday, October 12 in the Franklin Country Municipal Court. Krakoff is facing charges related to his involvement in a July protest against police-involved shootings.

Krakoff, 28, was arrested during a march to the Columbus Division of Police building in downtown Columbus on July 21. The protest was organized by Showing Up for Racial Justice, in collaboration with the People’s Justice Project. Over 150 residents marched down the street without a permit, demanding justice for Henry Green.

Krakoff was the only protester arrested. He faces three misdemeanor charges: disorderly conduct, failure to obey a police officer, and pedestrian in the roadway. These charges could bring a maximum of one year in county jail or $2,000 in fines.

“We’ve seen black folks around the country put their bodies on the line to fight for black lives, and for an end to racial disparities and police violence. We are seeing more and more white people ready to take action and show up in meaningful ways as well,” said Z! Haukeness, Midwest Regional Organizer of Showing Up for Racial Justice. 

Students, farmworkers call on OSU to end contract with Wendy’s

On October 7 members and supporters of the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) held a rally outside Bricker Hall at the Ohio State University, calling on the administration to terminate its contract with the Wendy’s Corporation. The fast food chain has lucrative contracts with universities across the country. Wendy’s operates a restaurant in the Wexner Medical Center at OSU.

Two years ago OSU administrators signed an agreement with the SFA, promising to end its contract with Wendy’s if the fast food chain did not make a verifiable commitment to fair labor practices in its Florida tomato supply chain. This would have meant joining the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program, which includes a commitment to source its produce only from farms that provide fair pay and safe working conditions to their workers. The program also includes a zero-tolerance policy for slave labor and sexual harassment.

Stand with Standing Rock. Gathering with Ohio Natives and Allies

People standing with fists in air

Monday, October 10, 2016, 2:00 – 4:00 PM This gathering is to peacefully support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s stance against the Dakota Access Pipeline, call for environmental justice across Indian Country, encourage Ohio to transition to clean energy, and raise awareness around issues faced by today’s Native Americans in Ohio.  Location:  Columbus City Hall, 90 W. Broad St., Columbus, 43215.  Potluck Afterwards:  Sierra Club Office, 131 N High Street, 3rd Floor, Columbus, OH 43215.  Please bring a dish or dessert of your choosing to the potluck. https://www.facebook.com/events/1516925708333014/

March for Fair Trade and to Stop the TPP

People marching with large banner about climate catastrophe

Ohioans will unite this Saturday, October 08, 2016 at the Statehouse to rally and march for fair trade and against the TPP and other secret trade agreements. This event begins at 1:00 PM. During the rally, a series of speakers will share concerns about the proposed deal.
This rally and march is to bring attention to the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that would expand the same failed “free trade” policies that have already cost millions of jobs across the United States. This trade deal will have significant impacts to our jobs, wages, healthcare, and the environment. Last year President Obama sought, and won, approval from Congress to “fast track” trade deals. That means that he can submit the TPP to Congress and put it up for a vote without any amendments. Congress can approve it as-is, or reject it; those are their only choices.

LGBT Ohioans and supporters counter Franklin Graham’s message at the Statehouse

On October 6 followers of evangelist Franklin Graham gathered by the thousands at the Statehouse for a prayer rally. Supporters who arrived on the south side of the Capitol were greeted by counterdemonstrators holding a rainbow banner with the message “Stop the Hate!”

 “We’re here to say that we are human beings,” said Shannon Glatz. “We deserve love, we deserve equal rights, and their hate is not going to be tolerated.”

Graham’s rhetoric at the prayer rally was non-partisan on the surface. But he opposes gay marriage and warned Christians to keep LGBT people away from their children and churches. He also supports Donald Trump’s proposal to end Muslim immigration. Trump supporters were conspicuous in the crowd.

The Politics of Fear

“This politics of fear has actually delivered everything we were afraid of.”

Well, OK, let’s think about these words of Jill Stein for a moment, as the 2016 presidential race enters, oh Lord, it’s final month — and the possibility still looms that this country could elect a hybrid of Benito Mussolini and Jim Crow its next, uh, commander in chief.

Politics of fear, indeed! Most of the people I know are going to vote for Hillary Clinton, and I get it. The other guy is the most unapologetic “greater evil” the Democrats have ever been blessed with.

What's Behind Time Magazine's Putin Demonizing?

"Russia Wants to Undermine Faith in the U.S. Election. Don't Fall For It." Thus reads the cover of Time magazine with a photo of Vladimir Putin on the cover staring at me from shelves as I sit in an airport. Genuinely curious, I check out Massimo Calabresi's article online.

Of course, U.S. elections are almost completely unverifiable and do not even pretend to meet international standards. Jimmy Carter doesn't even try to monitor them because there's no way to do it. Much voting is done on machines that simply must be trusted on faith. Whether they accurately count the votes entered is simply unknowable, and reason to wonder is fueled by the machines' frequently changing a vote visibly just as it's cast, and by the ease with which people have been able to hack the machines. Never mind all the problems with registration, intimidation, inconvenience, discrimination, etc.

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