{ { { who am I? worldly»about me. what's with the grasshopper? random»why sbg. not inside frames? reload. } } }

{ Tuesday, May 24, 2005 }

5:22 PM | link

Some bits from Howard Zinn's commencement speech at Spelman College:
I am a veteran of the Second World War. That was considered a "good war," but I have come to the conclusion that war solves no fundamental problems and only leads to more wars. War poisons the minds of soldiers, leads them to kill and torture, and poisons the soul of the nation.

My hope is that your generation will demand that your children be brought up in a world without war. It we want a world in which the people of all countries are brothers and sisters, if the children all over the world are considered as our children, then war -- in which children are always the greatest casualties -- cannot be accepted as a way of solving problems...

My hope is that you will not be content just to be successful in the way that our society measures success; that you will not obey the rules, when the rules are unjust; that you will act out the courage that I know is in you.

...do what you can -- you don't have to do something heroic, just something, to join with millions of others who will just do something, because all of those somethings, at certain points in history, come together, and make the world better.

{ Tuesday, May 17, 2005 }

6:39 AM | link

Join a BUY-cott: buy your gas at Citgo!
Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. There are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US...By buying your gasoline at Citgo, you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and subsidized food for the majority of Venezuelans. ...

Of course, if you can take mass transit or bike or walk to your job, you should do so. And we should all work for political changes that move our country toward a cleaner environment based on renewable energy. The BUYcott is for those of us who don't have a practical alternative to filling up our cars.

{ Monday, May 16, 2005 }

9:24 PM | link

I am remiss in my posting, but here's a little something I wanted to share.

Tonight I went to BookPeople in Austin to hear from Jodie Evans about the new book Stop the Next War Now: Effective Responses to Violence and Terrorism. It features essays from over 70 people involved in peace work, and if the talk by Ms. Evans is any indication, it kicks ass.

The book tour might be coming to your area soon, so be sure to check! Upcoming cities include Santa Fe, Houston, Portland, LA, Salt Lake City, Tempe, Tucson, and so on. And while you're at it, check out the Code Pink action alerts—they only come out once or twice a week, so it shouldn't swamp your inbox.