News From the Hill

Posts Tagged ‘Community’

I am reading a bok by John Perkins – The Economic Hitman and so recently I signed up to his newsletter. This is the most recent newsletter andI felt the urge to share it…

Peace

I’m in Istanbul, a city that has seen its share of war. Today Turkey is greatly impacted by the violence in Iraq and Syria and the turmoil over Iran; yet this country is a leading negotiator for peace. I hope you’ll read the below on the topic of peace.

Aggression Begets Aggression

By John Perkins

In our present state and based on the world’s past history we know that aggression only begets more aggression. War creates more war.  Terrorists do not dream as children of becoming terrorists. As we hear the drumbeat of our current US leaders for more “intervention”, I can’t help but think of the line in Catch-22 – the satirical novel of war – “Open your eyes. . . It doesn’t make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who’s dead.” (Chapter 12, pg. 133-134)

And I think of my friend, Kiman Lucas, Executive Director of Clear Path International – http://www.cpi.org ,  a non-profit that works to restore the dignity and self-sufficiency of conflict survivors in many countries. Kiman recently traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia; she wrote:

“ I believe any future in our world must be based on the rule of law, respect and empathy for each other and a tolerance and appreciation for our differences.  But fundamentally, we need to stop glorifying our tribal pasts — whether they are what you think of as colonial masterminding or what I think of as tribal divisiveness.  I do not want to bring the world back to the glorious conquering days of the colonial powers any more than I want to bring the world back to the headhunting days of the Shuar. 

It may serve our egos to remember the good ole days of our own people’s triumphs, but it also serves to perpetuate the myth that aggression is honorable.  Perhaps it will be “female” thinking – based on nurturing rather than killing – that can bring the people of this world together to stand up for what is right and to recognize that the “enemy” has always been the ideas we have about the other, not the other.”

Nurturing peace, planting seeds of harmony, wisdom, co-existence and respect for all is the only way to preserve a future that will be different for our children. Repeating the mistakes of the past and arming ourselves with bigger and better weapons only provides new anguish to those who are the targets of those weapons –  children, villages, women and men who, just like us, are trying to do the best for their offspring. When we cut out all other options of human existence and rely only on aggression to solve our problems, we become the PROBLEM.

Today think of one way you can sow peace in your community and watch it bloom worldwide. Take at least one action for peace every single day.

END 

John

John Perkins

New York Times bestselling author

Please subscribe to my newsletter at

www.johnperkins.org
Hoodwinked
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
The Secret History of the American Empire
Shapeshifting
The World Is As You Dream It
Psychonavigation
The Stress-Free Habit
Spirit of the Shuar

I thought that it was worth posting this information on behalf of a group called CUBE (Campaign to Use Buildings that are Empty)

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Carbery Housing Association was set up ten years ago by local West Cork residents, who could see that local people and new arrivals were unable to find affordable housing to rent in West Cork. As a result they were obliged to emigrate, or to live in unacceptable conditions, dependent on state Rent Allowance. Because of this CHA has made several attempts to progress sustainable housing projects, notably in Bantry (Kinaith-Fineen and Slip) but on all occasions our proposals have been rejected by Cork County and Town Councils.

Today the housing situation nationally is in shambles. A recent University College of Dublin study has found that there are around 345,000 empty homes in Ireland that are standing empty and unused. Some are in need of repair, but the majority would be immediately habitable. At the same time Local Authority housing lists have grown to over 80,000 households.
In view of this, CHA has decided to concentrate on trying to bring empty properties into use. The Government has recently introduced a new scheme to lease private empty properties, where the DEHLG will pay up to 80% of the market rent to the property owner, on the basis of a 10 to2 0 year lease. The tenant pays the equivalent of a Council rent, to cover the management and maintenance of the property.

CHA is now actively looking for privately-owned properties that can be used under this Scheme. So far we are following up the use of 2 properties in West Cork, but we aim to secure many more properties for rent to persons on our housing list in the coming months.

We would like to invite you to join CHA. We need your help to keep looking for homes, and to help raise funds. We currently receive no grants of any kind. We need to carry out surveys of properties we are offered, we need to carry out essential repairs, we need to administer and publicise the Scheme. We want to get as many property owners as possible to understand that letting their houses to us for use by people who cannot afford to buy or rent is a win-win situation.

We are also currently looking for Volunteers, who can help out for one day in the forthcoming West Cork Music Festival, to be held in Skibbereen on July 31st. We need Volunteers to act as Stewards on the day, and for each Volunteer, the Festival organisers will contribute € 100 to CHA for every Steward found.

If you are willing to help out in this, or in helping to identify empty houses and their owners, then please contact me, on 028 21890 or 086 8224429, or by e-mail at jose@carberyhousing.eu
Many thanks,
Yours sincerely

Jose Ospina
Secretary.

I was horrified to read this report, on the Organic Consumers website, about Monsanto being involved in Haiti. Anyone who is a regular visitor to this blog knows that there is no love lost between me and Monsanto.  I have long had a strong disrespect for this company and their bullying tactics to further their aims in spreading the use of gm crops and increasing their profit line.

Haiti is a country that once had a self sustaining agricultural industry and I am not talking about hundreds of years ago, until relatively recently there was a thriving agricultural economy in Haiti.  For more info on this please check out this link.

Obviously Haitians are now vulnerable and really need to get food growing again as soon as possible. If you do a google search on “sustainable agriculture in Haiti” you will find that there are a lot of projects underway to encourage sustainable agricultural industry there.

The hybrid seeds being supplied will produce crops that will not produce viable seed – the Haitian farmers will be unable to save seeds and go on planting as farmers have done for generations, they will be forced to buy seed every year!

I find it insidious that Monsanto are moving to get a grip on Haiti’s agricultural future and the fact that they are being aided by the USAID is reprehensible.

This is being funded by American taxpayers – whether or not they want to fund Monsanto Americans’ hard earned tax dollars are helping this genetic giant to undermine an already vunerable country.  USAID is a tax-payer funded agency that promotes the United States’ interests abroad.

Please read the report about Monsantos involvement  and if you live in the States and you are unhappy about this situation please think about taking some action here.

If you don’t live in the States and still want to take some action then look at the end of the page and click on the link for international supporters.

That’s my tirade over for the moment, thanks for reading

This article is posted to highlight a sad story. The Women For A Change Community have been supporting the families of the young people who have been imprisoned so harshly in Iran.

On 26th July last year, Emily – a UK student of Arabic – married Basel – a Palestinian artist.

They had a beautiful fairy-like wedding in Damascus, Syria. You can see it here:
http://womenforachangecommunity.ning.com/profiles/blogs/last-night-in-syria-sarah

Emily was helping with the Iraqi Student Project, teaching refugees at Yamouk. Her friend Sarah, from the US, was a volunteer there. Sarah came to Emily’s wedding, with her lover Shane, and their friends Josh and Shon.
Sadly, the fairy-story quickly turned into a tragedy.

The following day, Sarah, Shane, Josh and Shon set off on a much-needed holiday.
They lived their lives determined to correct negative misconceptions of the Middle East and to help repair damage done by the US government, in cultural relations. (They wrote many blogs and articles to this effect).

Their holiday took them to the mountains and waterfalls of Iraqi Kurdistan, one of the most peaceful regions – also staggeringly beautiful and increasingly popular with tourists.

On the 31st July, Sarah, Shane and Josh were hiking on a tourist trail and, it is not known what happened, but they disappeared after a brief phonecall from Shane to Shon (who was back at the hotel) to say he needed to call the US Embassy.

2 weeks later, Iran broke the news that Sarah, Shane and Josh were in Evin Prison, Tehran, on suspicion of being spies who, they claimed, had hiked across the border into Iran…

So, sadly, this beautiful wedding video now tells a very different tale.

We are working closely with the families and friends of Sarah, Shane and Josh, especially Sarah’s mother, Nora, and Shon, the ’4th Hiker’. We have also, over the last 2 weeks, come to know Emily and Basel, who generously have allowed us to share their wedding video with the world, in order to help show dispel any last doubts that Sarah, Shane and Josh could be spies.

You may have seen in the media, 2 weeks ago, footage of the mothers visiting Sarah, Shane and Josh for the first time in Evin Prison.
In which case, you may know that Sarah and Shane announced their engagement to their mothers. Shane had woven Sarah a ring out of his shirt threads, in Evin.

‘Last Night in Syria’ shows a deeply-moving scene of Sarah and Shane dancing together.
Sarah is now in solitary confinement, and sees Shane – so we are told – for an hour a day.

Emily and Basel’s story does not yet have a happy ending either… They are also embroiled in governmental policies which means that, nearly a year later, they still live thousands of miles apart while Basel awaits permission from UK immigration authorities to join his wife in the UK.

With today’s shocking news about the Israeli governments knee-jerk reaction to the Flotilla, the two love-stories in this film become yet more poignant and symbolic of how governments and politics impact on the lives of peace-loving civilians.

For me, personally, there is the added personal element that, this day last year, I was on honeymoon in Tel Aviv. We had just spent 2 weeks with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian friends, and made many more new friends along the way, all of whom said they wanted to be free to get on with their lives, and – importantly – to get on with each other…

Please help to share this video as widely as you can, in any way you can…
On your websites, blogs, the media, women’s magazines…
BBC Persia has already expressed interest in using some of the footage, and ABC7 in America.
further suggestions welcome.

Love, peace and gratitude to all,
Chris

Chris Crowstaff, film-maker