Blog Posts Across peace coup

NFL Vs. MLB Economic Models

The NFL has a revenue sharing system and Major League Baseball does not. I like the NFL because all teams have a chance depending on who they draft, how they train, and how they play the game. In major league baseball, the outcome of the season almost always is determined by the economic factor of which team has the biggest payroll (this would be especially true if drafting players was also based on who had the most money). I know there are some good stories once in awhile, but the big money te… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on July 8, 2008 at 12:48pm

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Obama Leading In Swing States

I almost don't want to share these poll results because I don't want people to get complacent. No matter what the polls say now, we have a long way to go. Still, it is motivating to see that right now Obama is leading in some crucial states that will determine the next President of the United States: Michigan: Obama 47.4% McCain 40.9% Ohio: Obama 46.1% McCain 42.7% Pennsylvania: Obama 48.0% McCain 40.5% Wisconsin: Obama 50.6% McCain 40.4% Yes We Can!!! Continue

Posted by Vote Democrat on July 2, 2008 at 10:00pm

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Should We Support Terrorism While We Supposedly Fight It?

I've never been a big fan of the "war on terrorism" and how it has been conducted. Seems odd to me that it rarely gets mentioned that the U.S. has been involved with most of the terrorists we are fighting. We gave money, training, and weapons to jihadists on the Afghanistan & Pakistan border. We support the dictatorshios in Saudi Arabia and Egypt that the jihadists are trying to overthrow. We created the chaos and destruction in Iraq that became a huge recruitment slogan for global terroris… Continue

Posted by paul on July 2, 2008 at 12:30am

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Watching Stuff Online Rocks

I like to watch stuff online. I'm sure our internet connections will be fast enough to watch the best quality streams. I'm also sure it will get easier to watch online stuff on our living room screens. The best part is that we can watch what we want, when we want to. I shouldn't have to be somewhere at exactly 7pm on Sunday to watch my favorite program. My dreams are starting to come true. Some of the big studios are starting to put their shows online. I'm also watching movies online through… Continue

Posted by Willie on June 26, 2008 at 11:00am

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Global Peace Through Online Communities

From an article in the New York Times: "In July 2007, for example, Al Qaeda released more than 450 statements, books, articles, magazines, audio recordings, short videos of attacks and longer films. These products reach the world through a network of quasi-official online production and distribution entities, like Al Sahab, which releases statements by Osama bin Laden. But the Qaeda media nexus, as advanced as it is, is old hat. If Web 1.0 was about creating the snazziest official Web resource… Continue

Posted by paul on June 26, 2008 at 10:30am

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Improve Basic Services, Provide Jobs And Distribute Enough Food To Citizens

One problem with the Bush Administration policies in Iraq is that they want the market to take care of everything and so they have not been very proactive (except in incredibly corrupt way) in terms of helping the Iraqi people. I'm not saying they have to create a socialist state, but there needs to be more of a bridge between the chaos and destruction of our invasion and the future Iraq being built. Where is the Marshall Plan that will help Iraq get on its feet? Why do so many Iraqis get poor… Continue

Posted by paul on June 25, 2008 at 12:00am

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Good Thing We Didn't Nuke The Russians

I'm glad we never had a nuclear war with Russia. It would have been terrible with millions of people dead and millions more people wounded and scarred for life. I grew up, like most people in the United States, with an image of Russian people being evil and hell bent on killing me and my family. With an image like that, I could have supported a war with Russia to defeat the evil doers. However, I watched a soccer game the other day where Russian players and fans looked a lot like me. That is… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on June 23, 2008 at 10:30pm

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Iraq Oil Is Ours

American oil companies are starting to pump the oil out of Iraq. The bold text in the following New York Times article is mine to emphasize what is going on here. Iraq represents one of the biggest oil prizes in the world. The oil in Iraq will generate enormous profits and enormous political power. The oil is the reason why we are in Iraq. "Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in t… Continue

Posted by paul on June 19, 2008 at 8:06pm

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I'm Voting For Democrats In 2008

I'll try to post updates about important races around the country. I'm especially interested in electing Barack Obama to be President. I also want to elect at least four new Democrat Senators. Continue

Posted by Vote Democrat on June 18, 2008 at 10:48pm

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Massive Bush Debt

3.7 trillion dollars have been added to the national debt in the past seven years. I just heard Senator Claire McCaskill say that the Bush Administration (with a Republican Congress for the first six years) added a trillion dollars in new spending along with $3.7 trillion of new debt. Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on June 18, 2008 at 10:25pm

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Social Engineering Without Consent

We all make decisions every day that influence the course of our lives. We do this individually, but also on national and global levels. Social engineering will occur as long as decisions are being made. I'm glad I live in a democracy where decisions are made in transparent and accountable ways. I don't want the big decisions based on who has the most weapons or who has the correct last name. Democracy is social engineering with consent. Dictatorship is social engineering without consent.… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on June 6, 2008 at 11:43am

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Perpetual War Or Peace?

From an article in the L.A. Times: "Back in September 2001, Rumsfeld put it this way: "We have a choice -- either to change the way we live, which is unacceptable, or to change the way that they live; and we chose the latter." In this context, "they" represent the billion or so Muslims inhabiting the greater Middle East. When Rumsfeld offered this statement of purpose and President Bush committed the United States to open-ended war, both assumed that U.S. military supremacy was beyond dispute.… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on May 28, 2008 at 2:00pm

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Look At All The Money In Politics

Money has become one of the most important factors in our democracy. OpenSecrets.org is a nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy. See who all the money is coming from and where it is going. "...the candidates raised more than half a billion dollars in 2007. By some predictions, the eventual nominees will need to raise $500 million apiece to compete" Continue

Posted by paul on May 27, 2008 at 11:00am

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Its Easy To Steal Oil From Our Grandchildren

Like taking candy from a baby. Our oil addiction is getting expensive, but Republicans know where we can get more. Drill. drill, drill. That is the energy plan from the Republicans. It took millions of years for fossils to become fuel. Blowing through the fossil fuel supply ourselves is selfish short term thinking. We need to get our habit under control. We don't have to go cold turkey, but we need to transition to sustainable forms and uses of energy. Why is the research funding so low a… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on May 23, 2008 at 7:30am

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We Have The Ability To Live In Peace

We have the ability to live in peace. We can enjoy long-term security and prosperity for ourselves, our children, and future generations by maintaining legitimate governments, fair markets, and healthy environments. We'll always have conflicts of interest, but that doesn't mean we'll always have to live in war. We have the ability to consider information, debate our differences, and make decisions without resorting to violent conflict. We need more than just one value: Militar… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on May 14, 2008 at 9:00pm

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Noble Bush Gives Up Golf To Support Troops

Did you hear that President Bush gave up golf in order to support the troops? He said he wanted to sacrifice his golf games in honor of the sacrifice the troops are displaying on their third or fourth tours of duty in Iraq. He admitted that it was mainly for public relations reasons because it would not look good for him to be on the golf course during a time of war, but I think this goes to show why he is the best President in the history of the United States. First he gives wealthy individual… Continue

Posted by Mr. Burns on May 13, 2008 at 5:00pm

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Voting On A Tuesday Discriminates Against Working People

I've written before about how voting on a Tuesday means all working people have to vote between 5pm and 8pm. Since many working people also have commutes, kids to pick up, and possibly a second job, voting on a Tuesday is discriminatory toward working people. If most of us get a day off to celebrate old Presidents and an even older explorers who accidently "discovered" America, then I think it would be a great idea to have a day off to vote. If we speak so highly about our democracy, this seems… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on May 7, 2008 at 12:34am

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With Liberty And Justice For All

President Bush talks a lot about freedom, but he rarely talks about justice. This is no accident. President Bush is a market fundamentalist who wants everything based on the "free market" with no democracy getting in the way. The Bush Administration has been working very hard to reduce the amount of democratic oversight and regulation from our society. There is no doubt that freedom is a wonderful thing. However, freedom without justice is fascism. I don't want companies to have the freedom… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 30, 2008 at 12:30pm

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News Outlets or Tabloids? Should We Pick A President Based On Tabloid Reporting?

Here's a few quotes from an article I just read from Elizabeth Edwards in the New York Times: "A report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy found that during the early months of the 2008 presidential campaign, 63 percent of the campaign stories focused on political strategy while only 15 percent discussed the candidates’ ideas and proposals." "News is different from other programming on television or other content in p… Continue

Posted by Willie on April 27, 2008 at 12:30pm

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Pentagon Propaganda

From an article in the New York Times: "To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world. Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 20, 2008 at 3:00pm

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McCain Over Hypes Al Qaeda In Iraq

To refer to the War in Iraq as a battle against Al Qaeda is a distortion of what is going on. Most of the fighting in Iraq is between local militias and insurgency groups. Out of the 20,000 to 40,000 prisoners being held in Iraq by American forces, only a couple hundred are Sunni foreign fighters Most of these jihadists came to Iraq after the invasion to attack Americans. They set off huge car bombs and promote suicide bombings, but the are a small percentage of the overall fighting in Iraq. Mo… Continue

Posted by paul on April 19, 2008 at 7:30am

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OpenDebates.org

Open Debates works to ensure that the presidential debates serve the American people first. We need Presidential debates that involve more candidates and points of view. Our Presidential debates should be in a debate format rather than the current format of simultaneous interviews. Currently, the presidential debates are secretly controlled by the two major parties, through the private bipartisan corporation called the Commission on Presidential Debates,… Continue

Posted by paul on April 13, 2008 at 10:02pm

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Ignoring Iraq

From an article in the New York Times by Frank Rich: "Most Americans don’t want to hear, see or feel anything about Iraq, whether they support the war or oppose it. They want to look away, period, and have been doing so for some time." "This is how the war planners wanted it, of course. No new taxes, no draft, no photos of coffins, no inconveniences that might compel voters to ask tough questions. This strategy would have worked if the war had been the promised cakewalk. But now it has backfir… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 13, 2008 at 3:29am

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List Of Nobel Peace Prize Winners

I thought this list of Nobel Peace Prize winners was interesting because it provides a bunch of examples of people doing things for peace on Earth. Continue

Posted by paul on April 12, 2008 at 2:33pm

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Marc Andreeson Likes Barack Obama

Marc Andreeson is the founder of Netscape and a few other technology companies including Ning (this site is built on the Ning platform). He is a mover and shaker in the business and technology sectors and his opinion is respected throughout the industry and beyond. On his blog, Marc told the story about how he had met Barack Obama and how much he enjoyed their conversation. Here's a few quotes from the blog post: "The reason I think you may find this interesting is that our meeting in early 20… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 10, 2008 at 5:33pm

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Renewable Energy Leaders And Examples

Did you know: - Costa Rica is powered by 99% renewable energy with a majority of the power coming from water moving through dams - Denmark has so much electricity being produced by the wind that they are trying to find ways to use more electricity - Spain gets over a quarter of their electricity from the wind - California is using solar panels to power hundreds of thoudsands of homes - Buildings are being designed so they don't need air conditioning - Bahrain has installed wind turbines on… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 10, 2008 at 2:58pm

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Japanese Citizens Breaking Down "Information Cartel"

I thought people might be interested in this article about how Japanese citizens are using the internet to reduce the monopoly control of information: "Tokyo - It used to be that in Japan, to get the story, journalists had to belong to a press club, where they enjoyed a cozy relationship with their sources. And to join a press club, they had to write for one of Japan's major media outlets. But in recent years, thousands of "citizen journalists" – from students to housewives to lawyers – began… Continue

Posted by Willie on April 7, 2008 at 11:55pm

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s Last Speech

Transcript of the Martin Luther King, Jr. speech in Memphis the night before he was shot and killed: "Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you. And Ralph Abernathy is the best friend that I have in the world. I'm delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a s… Continue

Posted by paul on April 4, 2008 at 10:17am

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Speeches

Martin Luther King, Jr. Speeches - From the MLK, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University. Read or listen to his most popular speeches and be inspired to be active for peace. Here's a section of his acceptance speech of the Nobel Peace Prize: "I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs, and even death. I am mindful that only ye… Continue

Posted by paul on April 3, 2008 at 2:13pm

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Why Is The United States In Iraq?

The big reason is OIL. Almost everything we are doing is related to the fact that the Middle East sits on top of a sea of oil. Our American economy is based on cheap access to oil. For a long time, we have supported the corrupt leaders in Saudi Arabia (the Saudi Royal Family) in order to get access to their oil. Osama bin Laden and other Saudi citizens want to overthrow the Saudi Royal Family. If this happens, our American economy will be put at risk. This is why we give lots of money and weapo… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 2, 2008 at 2:04pm

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Media Filter

Storyteller #1: Media monopolies Saddam Hussein is a ruthless thug. Saddam launched wars against his neighbors. Saddam gassed his own people. Saddam filled mass graves. The people of Iraq need to be free of Saddam. We are liberating Iraq and giving them democracy. Storyteller #2: Citizen doing independent research Saddam Hussein is a ruthless thug the US government and many other western countries supported in the '80's. We assisted him and had high level meetings (including Donald Rumsfeld… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 1, 2008 at 10:23am

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Bush's War In Iraq

At the start of the ongoing War in Iraq, 67% of the American public thought Saddam Hussein was responsible for the attacks of September 11th. Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. September 11th was planned and executed by Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network. Al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan with training centers, terrorist cells and partner networks spread throughout the world. Most of the 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. People in Saudi Arabia have limited… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on April 1, 2008 at 10:00am

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Example Of Someone Active For Peace On Earth

Dr. Craig Zeliger created the Peace and Collaborative Development Network to connect "peace professionals" from all over the world. Dr. Craig Zelizer is Acting Director of the MA in Conflict Resolution within the Department of Government at Georgetown University. His areas of expertise include working with youth from violent conflict regions, civil society development and capacity building in transitional societies, program evaluation… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on March 30, 2008 at 1:56pm

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Monopoly Media Puppets

I was doing some traveling last weekend to visit my family for Easter. One thing that struck me was how much everyone in this country is a puppet of the monopoly media. Most of my family and friends know I am a peace activist and that I care a lot about politics. A lot of people struck up political conversations with me. I was struck by how uniform the conversations were. Everyone wanted to know what I thought about Barack Obama's pastor and what I thought about Hillary Clinton saying she had t… Continue

Posted by Willie on March 28, 2008 at 9:27pm

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Peaceful Links

Here's a few peaceful links I visited recently: Global Majority - An organization promoting non-violent conflict resolution education, negotiation, mediation and advocacy. They believe that an overwhelming majority of the global population aspires to live in peace and will embrace the tools and reforms necessary to advance this call. http://www.makemesustainable.com - Provides tools and tips for reducing… Continue

Posted by paul on March 25, 2008 at 5:30pm

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Global Media & Networking

Is global media the recipe for peace? I guess it depends on what type of media it is. Except for the internet, everything I see, hear, and read is owned by a few media companies That's why I spend my time online. As more people spend time online we will see, hear, and read more images, voices and messages from around the world. I like that. As we hear more voices and see more places Peace on Earth will become reality Continue

Posted by Willie on March 19, 2008 at 2:30am

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Thanks For Being Here

I just wanted to write a quick note to thank everyone who is here supporting the goal of peace. I have been a peace activist my entire life. I grew up with a father and brother who were soldiers. I wanted to figure out how to avoid war so my family members would not be ordered into harm's way. Never in my years as a peace acitivist have I found so many other people who share my interest in pursuing peace. We learn from each other. We motivate each other. We are leading by example for the peopl… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on March 15, 2008 at 1:55pm

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I Love The Internet

I love the internet! I'm sick of turning on the television and finding such a small amount of options. When I go online, I have millions of choices. I find channels from other countries. I find channels that don't focus on Paris Hilton. I find channels that are critical of the Bush Administration. I find channels where people can get involved. I find channels with videos and music that don't have mass marketing appeal, but appeal greatly to me. At some point, the cable monopoly media system w… Continue

Posted by Willie on March 12, 2008 at 2:00pm

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The Whole World Is Watching

The whole world is watching as we strive for peace. The whole world is watching as we elect our next President. The whole world is watching as we switch to clean energy. The whole world is watching as we communicate with each other. The whole world is watching as we achieve peace. The whole world is watching as we invade, occupy, imprison, torture, bomb, kill... Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on March 7, 2008 at 11:04am

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Friday, 07 march, 2008 Man lost his origin or rather man one time found himself in a situation of a…

Friday, 07 march, 2008 Man lost his origin or rather man one time found himself in a situation of a person struck with amnesia. He couldn’t tell who he was and were he came from. Man by nature is a survivor. Religion says he sinned and lost the mind of all knowingness etc etc. So man was in a void and needed to survive. He was in a state of terror, imbalance and if he did not find a way to sooth his troubled soul he was going to break down. he began to sort out divers inventions like Religion,… Continue

Posted by Mannie Nsofwa on March 7, 2008 at 2:28am

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The Story Of Stuff

I highly recommend a 20 minute video called The Story Of Stuff. It is a documentary about how humans produce, consume, and dispose of stuff. http://www.storyofstuff.com Continue

Posted by Willie on March 5, 2008 at 12:55am

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Fearmongering And Focusing On War

As we continue through the election season, we need to remember that the Republicans will continue to focus on how scared we all should be. We shouldn't allow the Republicans to play with our fears. If we really are fearful, then we need to realize that war only increases the reasons we have to be fearful. War creates more terrorists, more violence,, more refugees, less economic stability, etc.... Most of the people we are fighting with are people who used to be armed, trained and financed wit… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on March 3, 2008 at 6:46pm

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Afghanistan War Story

The New York Times has an article about the ongoing war in Afghanistan: "So what exactly was his job out here? To subdue the valley. It’s a task the Marines had tried, and then the soldiers of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division — a task so bloody it seemed to drive the 10th Mountain’s soldiers to a kind of madness. Kearney’s soldiers told me they’d been spooked by the weird behavior of their predecessors last May: near the end of their tour, many would sit alone on the fire base talking to thems… Continue

Posted by paul on February 23, 2008 at 8:30am

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History of War Channel

If we want legitimate governments, we need to do something about the monopoly control of our media systems. The history channel is a perfect example. It is nice to have a history channel, but why only one? We have the digital capacity to have lots of different history channels from numerous sources. Instead, we have one history channel on our cable systems that operates on the same commercial format as all of the other channels. In the run-up to the Iraq War, the history channel ran non-stop… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on February 22, 2008 at 5:59am

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I'm Voting For Barack Obama

As a Wisconsin resident, I finally get to cast my vote in the Presidential primary election. The nominee is usually chosen by this point in the process so having our vote matter is something new for Wisconsin residents. I would be happy to vote for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the general election so my primary vote has been a difficult decision. I've done a lot of the research into both candidates and find their policy positions to be very similar. Since there is little difference… Continue

Posted by Nathan Andover on February 19, 2008 at 1:30am

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"Homeland" Security

I consider the Earth to be my "homeland" so to me "homeland security" means a clean environment where people and other species are living in peace. I love the United States and consider it my homeland, but I also consider my neighborhood, my state, my region, and this Earth as my homeland. We all have numerous reasons for wanting a secure homeland. Using violence (whether on an individual or state level) to get what we want is not the best strategy for securing our homeland. It just continues t… Continue

Posted by paul on February 17, 2008 at 2:51pm

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THE DOVE OF PEACE

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Posted by YVONNE EPIPHANY on February 8, 2008 at 5:55pm

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Election 2008: What's a Peacenik to Do?

From an article on Antiwar.com:

Iraq is the most important issue facing America, but it has largely disappeared from the political debate. Completely absent has been a serious discussion of foreign policy.

Among the major candidates, Obama seems the least bad, since he opposed the Iraq war from the start. None of the original Republican contenders – other than Rep. Paul – got this issue right. Neither did Hillary Clinton, who voted for the war resolution.

Moreover, her va…

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Posted by Nathan Andover on February 8, 2008 at 8:50am

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A Message From Bill Moyers

A message from Bill Moyers:

"As a citizen I don’t like the consequences of this crusade, but you have to respect the conservatives for their successful strategy in gaining control of the national agenda. Their stated and open aim is to change how America is governed - to strip from government all its functions except those that reward their rich and privileged benefactors. They are quite candid about it, even acknowledging their mean spirit in accomplishing it. Their leading strategist…

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Posted by Nathan Andover on February 6, 2008 at 11:54am

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