Dollarocracy by John Nichols is a book that describes how money is poured into US politics to elect officials who will in turn enhance the profits of sponsoring corporations and their CEO’s. A quick check of FORBES 500 indicates the richest entities in 2014 are corporations, not countries. Without doubt, oil and gas firms united [...]
Franciscan Father Richard Rohr observed, “The incarnation of Jesus has been celebrated globally on December 25th for over 2000 years. However, the first incarnation actually occurred over 4 billion years ago with God’s creation. How few look upon creation as the first divine intervention in history. Richard Rohr and thousands of others have been exposed [...]
The hull of every ship has a painted Plimsoll line. If the water level goes above that line, there is a clear warning the ship is in fact sinking. Viewed from outer space, is there an imaginary Plimsoll line indicating the level of carbon dioxide below which Earth should not fall? NASA scientist James Hansen [...]
Thomas Berry (1914 – 2009) was a reincarnation of the mystic, visionary paleontologist Pierre Teilhard deChardin(1888-1955). Berry was a member of the Passionist order, known more for his prophetic role in US Catholicism as an “eco – theologian” and geologist. Without doubt, Thomas was the wisest person I ever met. Berry’s sister Dr. Margaret Berry, [...]
From elementary education onwards we learned history of slavery, the Dred Scott decision and War Between the States. No war is “civil” from a moral viewpoint. Not until I began Peace and Global Studies at Earlham, a Quaker college in Richmond, Indiana in 1982 did I hear of the Ostend Manifesto. For those with a [...]
Without doubt Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) was the foremost spokesperson for non-violent action and life in the 20th century. History reveals quickly that for anyone who is an advocate of non-violence, there is no certitude that she/he will not die from violence. Gandhi was murdered by another Indian in his long struggle to rid India of [...]
Michael Ratner is a New York attorney who works at the Center for Constitutional Rights. He poses this legal precedent following revelation of CIA “enhanced interrogation” tactics and US government refusal to prosecute major actors such as George Bush, Dick Chaney and Donald Rumsfeld. World opinion is not congruent or even slightly sympathetic to US [...]
Journalism professors from Columbia University in New York told their students, “The US corporate media is popcorn.” During ten years in Hong Kong I relied upon short wave radio, the BBC, South China Morning Post and other sources for global information. “Crisis” in Chinese is “danger plus opportunity.” Now back in the energy state of [...]
Latin American and Caribbean nations met in Tlateloco, Mexico on February 14, 1967 to sign a historic agreement that bans nuclear weapons from the entire continent. As the matrix of atomic/nuclear weapons, the United States would not applaud such a courageous diplomatic initiative by neighboring nations to the south. The boldest moves by peace groups [...]
Christmas in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center (LPCC) from 2000 until mandatory medical retirement in 2008 was a rather confining occasion. Who wants to be spending time in a “gated community” when family or friends are exchanging gifts and celebrating the focal point of human history? Christmas in jail, however it occurred is a “downer.” [...]
