From bright_crow at mindspring.com Tue Sep 5 08:56:17 2006 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 08:56:17 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] Ninth Month: SEYMpeace.org Update Message-ID: <16471213.1157460978153.JavaMail.root@mswamui-andean.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Friends, Please visit the website of Southeastern Yearly Meeting's Peace & Social Concerns Committee: http://seympeace.org/ It includes a letter from FWCC about the cancelling of Middle East Yearly Meeting, together with a message from Tony Manasseh of Brummana Monthly Meeting: http://seympeace.org/MEYMcancelled.htm Thank you, Michael From freepolazzo at comcast.net Tue Sep 5 20:48:59 2006 From: freepolazzo at comcast.net (Free Polazzo) Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2006 20:48:59 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Proposed Revisions to SAYMA's Guide to our Faith and Our Practice Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060905204406.022df6a0@comcast.net> Dear Friends, Attached is a copy of the Proposed Revisions to SAYMA's Guide to our Faith and Our Practice that was mailed to your Meeting last week. Please let me know if you have any questions about what the committee hopes to do before YM 2007; Blessings and Safe Journey, Free Clerk, SAYMA Faith & Practice Revision Committee Atlanta Friends Meeting Anneewakee Creek Friends Worship Group *** My dream is that there be at least one Quaker Meeting or Worship Group in every US county. *** -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Proposed Faith and Practice Revisions mailed to Meetings August 2006 Final.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 172620 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Quakerkristi at aol.com Wed Sep 6 13:07:25 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 13:07:25 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] QUIT: billboard Message-ID: >From the QUIT listserve: attached is a billboard done by Old Chatham Meeting (NY) ....Kristi Estes -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Billboard5olifinalx17.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 122955 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Quakerkristi at aol.com Thu Sep 7 08:43:55 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 08:43:55 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] QUIT: New Garden minute Message-ID: <456.586a30f.32316e0b@aol.com> September 6, 2006 We of New Garden Friends Meeting of Greensboro, NC condemn the use of torture for any purpose, including the furtherance of the objectives of war. Torture by any means, whether direct or by proxy, is immoral. Our condemnation of torture is not based on any political opinion or on the laws or treaties of any nations. We are guided by a higher law that serves as a compass for all humanity. Torture violates the basic human dignity that all religions recognize. It degrades everyone involved ? policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. We agree with noted Quaker, William Penn, who once said, ?A good end cannot sanctify evil means; nor must we ever do evil, that good may come of it.? We join with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (www.nrcat.org) in our belief that torture is a moral issue. Let America abolish torture now ? without exceptions. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Quakerkristi at aol.com Thu Sep 7 11:21:29 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 11:21:29 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] QUIT: today's news Message-ID: <26d.e19ea5d.323192f9@aol.com> Dear Friends, I encourage you to pay close attention to developments coming out of yesterday ?s speech by Bush re: the secret prisons. When you read the [under-reported] excerpts of the speech pasted below (full text available at www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Transcript_President_Bush_explains_how_CIA_0906.html) alongside the attached article from The Nation website (www.thenation.com/doc/20060918/brecher), you can understand Bush?s sense of urgency. Revising the War Crimes Act is not about protecting the soldiers, it?s about protecting Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Gonzalez, etc., before they lose Republican majorities in Congress. We need to speak out and not only demand that our Members of Congress to reject this legislation but also to educate those in our communities. We will certainly have many more opportunities for local action in the coming weeks? For excellent reporting on the Supreme Court case Bush refers to, see this week?s NPR story: ?Law Professor Beats the Odds with High Court Win? www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5767777. In the struggle, John Humphries Hartford Friends Meeting President Bush, speaking at the White House on September 6, 2006: ?Some ask, why are you acknowledging this program now? There are two reasons why I'm making these limited disclosures today. First, we have largely completed our questioning of the men, and to start the process for bringing them to trial, we must bring them into the open. Second, the Supreme Court's recent decision has impaired our ability to prosecute terrorists through military commissions and has put in question the future of the CIA program. In its ruling on military commissions, the court determined that a provision of the Geneva Conventions known as Common Article 3 applies to our war with al Qaeda. This article includes provisions that prohibit outrageous upon personal dignity and humiliating and degrading treatment. The problem is that these and other provisions of Common Article 3 are vague and undefined, and each could be interpreted in different ways by an American or foreign judges. And some believe our military and intelligence personnel involved in capturing and questioning terrorists could now be at risk of prosecution under the War Crimes Act simply for doing their jobs in a thorough and professional way. This is unacceptable. Our military and intelligence personnel go face to face with the world's most dangerous men every day. They have risked their lives to capture some of the most brutal terrorists on earth, and they have worked day and night to find out what the terrorists know so we can stop new attacks. America owes our brave men and women some things in return; we owe them their (sic) thanks for saving lives and keeping America safe, and we owe them clear rules so they can continue to do their jobs and protect our people. So I'm -- today I'm asking Congress to pass legislation that will clarify the rules for our personnel fighting the war on terror. First, I am asking Congress to list the specific recognizable offenses that would be considered crimes under the War Crimes Act so our personnel can know clearly what is prohibited in the handling of terrorist enemies. Second, I'm asking that Congress make explicit that by following the standards of the Detainee Treatment Act, our personnel are fulfilling America's obligations under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Third, I'm asking that Congress make it clear that captured terrorists cannot use the Geneva Conventions as a basis to sue our personnel in courts, in U.S. courts. The men and women who protect us should not have to fear lawsuits filed by terrorists because they're doing their jobs. The need for this legislation is urgent. We need to ensure that those questioning terrorists can continue to do everything within the limits of the law to get information that can save American lives.? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Quakerkristi at aol.com Thu Sep 7 14:46:46 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 14:46:46 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] Memorial Service Message-ID: <568.536d665.3231c316@aol.com> A memorial service for Hibbard Thatcher will be this Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2pm. It is at 2nd Presbyterian Church in Nashville. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From snowolff at earthlink.net Fri Sep 8 14:11:33 2006 From: snowolff at earthlink.net (Jennifer Snow) Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:11:33 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Have you heard about FreeCycle? Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060908135750.036d4758@earthlink.net> Dear Friends, Maybe I'm the only one who's just heard about this internet site called "FreeCycle". It seems to have been designed by Quakers and I think its wonderful. I've been cleaning stuff out of my garage that I've never used that other people have been very thankful to receive, often single Mom's or young couples just starting out in life. Its all over the country, I've been posting to the FreeCycle near Raleigh. Below is the introductory letter they send out to new members. Here's an email from the moderator on how to post: The easiest way to post (in my opinion, anyway!) is to go right to the Wake Freecycle web site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WakeFreecycle/ , click on the "post" option, and type it in. Don't worry about finding something to offer first or having to give to someone who already posted a wanted message for something; we like that, but we don't require it. We just like people to be nice, to follow our rules, and to offer what they can! Fred - owner/moderaor WakeFreecycle Moderator FreeCycle Rules of the Road: This Freecycle group matches people who have things they need to get rid of with people who can use them. Our goal is to keep usable items out of the landfill. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of things that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process. Free your inner pack rat! USING THE FREECYCLE LIST Although not required, it is STRONGLY SUGGESTED that your first message be an Offer, rather than a Wanted. If you give first, you'll be more likely to receive later. NOTE: ONLY ONE WANTED MESSAGE PER DAY, ONE ITEM PER MESSAGE. FREECYCLE RULES & ETIQUETTE 1) KEEP IT FREE, LEGAL, & APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES. No alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms or Drugs, legal or otherwise. This is our main rule and it's a pretty easy one. 2) NO BORROWING, SELLING, TRADING, BARTERING OR OFFERS TO BUY. It has to be free. Period. No strings attached. 3) NO YARD SALE POSTINGS, AND NO WANTED POSTINGS FOR ANY CHARITY. "Wanted" posts on behalf of charitable organizations belong in the Chat Room, and not on the Wake Freecycle main board. We believe that people who collect for non-profit organizations should be able to provide 501(c)(3) tax receipts to donors, so that they will be able to claim a tax deduction when they settle up with our favorite uncle, Sam, at the end of the year. 4) USE THE CORRECT FORMAT FOR THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR POSTS. Use one of these phrases to make it easy for others to delete or view: Offer: (item) (location) - as in Offer: loveseat, downtown Raleigh. **Always include your location in the subject line of the message**. Taken: (item) Wanted: (item) PLEASE use this sparingly and don't offer money, trades, barter or borrow. Received: (item) Noncompliant messages may be edited and approved or rejected, depending on how busy the moderators are at the moment. 5) Wanted messages. You may post no more than one Wanted message per day, for a single item or set. For example, you make ask for a set of dishes, a set of sheets, a box of Tinkertoys. You may not post a Wanted for a list of items. You may post a Wanted message for the same item no more than once per 30-day period. For example, if you post a wanted message for a screen door, you may not post another message for a screen door for 30 days. 6) NO SIGNATURE LINES OR ADVERTISING. NO BUSINESS "OFFERS". NO RELIGIOUS BLURBS. NO LIVE LINKS ANYWHERE IN ANY MESSAGE. 7) NO OFFERS OR WANTED POSTINGS FOR ANIMALS. Some Freecycle groups allow animal postings, but we do not. See the Files section (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WakeFreecycle/files/) for a list of some of the many local and state-wide organizations that provide animal rescue and shelters. By the way - "animals" means reptiles, mammals, birds, insects - if it lives and breathes, don't post it! You will be banned from Wake Freecycle if you do. 8) NO SOB STORIES, PLEASE! Keep it short and sweet. When you ask for something, all you really need to do is state what it is you are hoping to receive. A little bit of explanation is ok, but generally there is no need for much. 9) DO NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION IN A POSTING. Leave phone numbers or addresses out of your messages. This information should be made available to the selected recipient ONLY. This is a safety issue. 10) PICK UP. Arrange as you like. Generally, you'll wait until you get a handful of responses or maybe overnight, and then you can pick whomever you like. That's half the fun. 11) DO NOT CHOOSE "No Email" AS YOUR EMAIL SETTING. We require "Special Notices" as the minimum setting so that we will be able to get any administrative messages out to our members. DISCLAIMER: FREECYCLE NETWORK MEMBERS USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to the list or participating in an exchange. By joining the list, you agree to hold neither the list owners, moderators, nor anyone affiliated with The Freecycle Network responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle-related exchange or communication. SAFETY. Be aware! It is up to each individual member of Freecycle when arranging for pickup of the item being given away to be appropriately aware of the potential risk of having "a stranger" come to your home to pick something up. Freecycle as a listserv assumes no responsibility for this risk. If you, for example, you may say that you'll leave the item on the front porch or arrange to meet at a public place. A FEW BRIEF NOTES ON ETIQUETTE: Be nice. When you arrange to pick up an item from another Freecycle member, it is good manners to accommodate them as much as possible in terms of scheduling, and then be punctual. They are giving you something you need and asking nothing in return except that you will show up when you say you will. Always keep your correspondence with other Freecyclers appropriate. Be polite. Don't advocate for or against something. No speculative comments about what people offer or ask for. Don't give unsolicited advice. The board is here to keep tangible items out of the landfill; it is not a forum for individual ideas or beliefs. Keep it simple, folks! This is a "local" board. We don't mind if people from a county (or two or three) away joins up, but this is not a board for people living in Seattle, New York City or Katmandu. Please, if you live far away, join a board nearer to home. THE MODERATORS WILL HELP YOU If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop a line to the moderators at WakeFreecycle-owner at yahoogroups.com. We actually like to get input from you! That should just about do it. Have fun and Keep on Keeping Stuff Out of the Landfills! Your friendly neighborhood Freecycle moderators, Fred and Julia and Kristina WakeFreecycle-owner at yahoogroups.com FQA: Fellowship of Quakers in the ARTS www.quakers.org/fqa FQA Clerk: Chuck Fager, ChuckFager at aol.com Me: Jennifer Snow Wolff Address: 2112 Bethlehem Rd., Raleigh, NC 27610 Phone: (919) 261-0084 email: snowolff at earthlink.net cell: (919) 606-5562 E-FAX: 1-(253) 650-2180 toll free "Friends (Quakers) function is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bright_crow at mindspring.com Mon Sep 11 17:06:27 2006 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:06:27 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] SEYMpeace.org Update Message-ID: <11263842.1158008787476.JavaMail.root@mswamui-cedar.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Friends, Please take note of some new items on SEYM's peace and social concerns website: http://seympeace.org/#NEW Thanks, Mike From quakerkristi at aol.com Tue Sep 12 11:39:11 2006 From: quakerkristi at aol.com (quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:39:11 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] computer out Message-ID: <8C8A498BA47E508-BA4-21C4@mblk-d19.sysops.aol.com> My computer just died, but I have internet access at the local library. My (and the SAYMA office) response may be slower. If you need to contact Kristi, Marjean, or the SAYMA office be patient....and you can always call at (901)274-0833. Thanks, Kristi Estes ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freepolazzo at comcast.net Thu Sep 14 11:10:29 2006 From: freepolazzo at comcast.net (Free Polazzo) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:10:29 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Military Recruiting in 2006 and beyond Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060914111009.023a1f78@comcast.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From quakerkristi at aol.com Thu Sep 14 14:29:02 2006 From: quakerkristi at aol.com (quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:29:02 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: [QUIT-L] NRCAT: URGENT ACTION on president's bill In-Reply-To: <6188159.1158249328918.JavaMail.root@mswamui-blood.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <6188159.1158249328918.JavaMail.root@mswamui-blood.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <8C8A642C9AF7211-A48-DBF@MBLK-M22.sysops.aol.com> -----Original Message----- From: jhumphries at IGC.ORG To: QUIT-L at MTSAC.EDU Sent: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:55 AM Subject: [QUIT-L] NRCAT: URGENT ACTION on president's bill >From the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (www.nrcat.org): Dear friends - Now is the time to act. Do not wait. This legislation is an historical tipping point in our struggle against U.S.-sponsored torture. We formed NRCAT as an organization of religious groups dedicated to ending U.S.-sponsored torture. NRCAT pledged to do what it could as an umbrella organization, but it is not a substitute for the actions of all of your individual organizations, speaking at the same time about the same issue. I cannot urge you strongly enough to act soon as an organization. The House Armed Services Committee passed the president's measure and sent it to the House Rules Committee yesterday afternoon. The Senate is poised for an historic floor debate and vote. This bill is moving swiftly, and we must act with strength and resolution to oppose it. I probably do not need to remind you that the president's bill would allow the CIA to conduct brutal, degrading, humiliating, inhuman interrogations in secret prisons. It retroactively immunizes all U.S. personnel and policy makers from liability under the War Crimes Act, retroactive to 9/11/06. It imposes a system of military tribunals that does not provide procedures that are fair and just under the standards the U.S. agreed to in the Geneva Conventions. It allows the president to name "enemy combatants" at will, excepting only U.S. citizens (not including legal residents on U.S. soil), for indefinite detention before and after trial, even if found innocent. It strips the U.S. federal courts of jurisdiction to review detention issues. It amends the War Crimes Act to remove the U.S. from the standard set by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions that provides for fair judicial proceedings and prohibits humiliating and degrading treatment. This bill is a disaster for those who oppose torture. I cannot urge you strongly enough to act now. Quantity will definitely matter on this legislation. Please: # Activate your constituent bases with the message to contact their congressional delegations NOW. # Send a letter to Congress over your own organization's letterhead to tell them that your organization opposes this legislation. # Call every congressional contact you have to personally press for defeat of this measure. NRCAT actions: 1. I attach the letters NRCAT sent to the White House and specific congressional offices requesting delegation meetings. We have made follow-up phone calls, sent follow-up faxes, and are calling today to press for visit and set up the schedule. 2. I attach a copy of the letter that was faxed this morning to all members of the House and Senate. (The fax to all the members of the Senate also went to all members of the House, with only a change in the greeting.) 3. Assuming you have endorsed the NRCAT statement on line, you will very shortly receive (if you haven't already received) the email to our Big List with link to Steve Rickard's talking points and other resources for constituents. 4. We are still working on placement of an op-ed, contact with newspaper editors, media contacts and pr work. Please use any or all of these materials in any way that is helpful to you. Act now! Thank you, thank you, thank you. With all my best hopes for our common success, Jeanne (chair of the Coordinating Committee, NRCAT) Jeanne E. Herrick-Stare Senior Fellow for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second St., NE Washington, DC 20002 202-547-6000 x 2513 jeanne at fcnl.org www.fcnl.org ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: senator_nrcat_sept14congressional_letter1.doc Type: application/msword Size: 65024 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 07Sept06_meeting_with_President.doc Type: application/msword Size: 34304 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 07Sept06_Meetings_with_Congress.doc Type: application/msword Size: 34304 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Quakerkristi at aol.com Fri Sep 15 17:02:40 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 17:02:40 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: FGC's Young Quakes conference - promotion request Message-ID: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Michael Gibson" Subject: FGC's Young Quakes conference - promotion request Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 13:38:36 -0400 Size: 7613 URL: From bright_crow at mindspring.com Sat Sep 16 07:16:37 2006 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 07:16:37 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] SEYMpeace.org Update: Florida Social Justice Infrastructure Gatherings Message-ID: <27196536.1158405397924.JavaMail.root@mswamui-andean.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Friends, Please visit the peace and social concerns website of the Southeastern Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for news of a new Florida social justice organizing effort: http://seympeace.org/#NEW Blessed Be, Michael From Quakerkristi at aol.com Tue Sep 19 11:04:15 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 11:04:15 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] FCNL urgent action Message-ID: <57d.5425dd4.324160ef@aol.com> Legislative Action Message -- The Senate Can Stop Torture - FCNL Legislative Action Message The Senate Can Stop Torture - FCNL Printer-friendly version Read this alert online: Congress is in a bind. Many members of Congress are opposed to any legislation that would condone torture, secret prisons, or other programs that would undermine U.S. security, and violate the moral principles on which this nation was founded. But member of Congress are under pressure because the president is arguing that these techniques are necessary for the defense of the United States. Hearing from their constituents now could help them resolve this dilemma and do the right thing. Please contact your senators today to let them know you oppose brutal, inhuman and degrading treatment and secret prisons. Normally, we at FCNL provide you with legislative suggestions on Thursday. This week we're contacting you on Monday because members of Congress may be asked to vote in the next few days on legislation proposed by President Bush that would legalize the use of secret prisons and torture (what he calls an "alternative set of interrogation procedures"). The president argues he needs this capability to extract intelligence information that could prevent new attacks on the United States and that he says needs this legislation to be passed before Congress adjourns at the end of September for the election campaign season. Senators from both major political parties, former government officials, and retired military leaders have been encouraging Congress not to rush to pass legislation. "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," warns former Secretary of State Colin Powell. He joins other former military leaders, several groups of retired judges, and Senators John McCain (AZ), John Warner (VA), and Lindsey Graham (SC) in stating that Congress should not undermine the internationally accepted standards for treatment of prisoners articulated in the Geneva Conventions. (Read some of the statements.) This debate is not abstract. The president is asking for permission to hold "disappeared" prisoners in secret locations, without access to the International Red Cross, the nonpartisan international organization that monitors the treatment of prisoners worldwide. He wants the CIA to have permission to handcuff prisoners in uncomfortable standing positions for up to 40 hours, to induce hypothermia by putting prisoners in cold cells and dousing them with water, by frightening them with attack dogs and near drowning experiences, and by using a series of other torture techniques. Civilized nations agree that these techniques are immoral and according to military leaders they don't lead to useful (accurate) intelligence information. Take Action: Torture is Not Acceptable, Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere Write your senators today to urge them to resist any rush toward approving the president's proposal and to speak out against torture and secret prisons. Congress to reject the president's proposals and consider carefully any changes to existing law governing treatment of U.S. detainees. Read more! ________________________________________ Contact Congress and the administration. Order FCNL publications and "War is Not the Answer" campaign bumper stickers and yard signs. Contribute to FCNL. Subscribe or update your information to this list. To unsubscribe from this list, please see the end of this message. Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists. ________________________________________ Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 fcnl at fcnl.org * http://www.fcnl.org phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330 We seek a world free of war and the threat of war We seek a society with equity and justice for all We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled We seek an earth restored. From Quakerkristi at aol.com Tue Sep 19 17:57:23 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 17:57:23 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] FCNL response Message-ID: Ref the action alert about anti-torture legislation: Our (FCNL) field team reports that, in the first 18 hours after this alert went out, 2000 people sent messages to their Senators. Keep it up everyone -- this really could turn around! Ruth Flower From nc_stereoman at charter.net Wed Sep 20 22:48:24 2006 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 22:48:24 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] It's time for a national oil change Message-ID: <4511FD78.8070603@charter.net> Dear Friends, If you haven't heard about the unveiling of Al Gore's "Energy Policy", I strongly recommend that you contact your Librul Media and ask them why not. You may also be delighted to read a transcript of the wonderful, inspiring opening speech you might wish we had a President capable of delivering. Link: http://thinkprogress.org/gore-nyu Steve From Quakerkristi at aol.com Thu Sep 21 09:16:56 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:16:56 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] QUIT forwarded..update Message-ID: This just in- John Calvi calvij at sover.net 802/387-4789 PO Box 301 Putney VT 05346 USA www.johncalvi.com www.quit-torture-now.org http://www.ft.com/cms/s/57e68ed8-48da-11db-a996-0000779e2340.html CIA ?Refused to Operate? Secret Prisons Overseas by Guy Dinmore © 2006 The Financial Times, Ltd. Washington, DC -- Wednesday, September 20, 2006 -- The Bush administration had to empty its secret prisons and transfer terror suspects to the military-run detention center at Guantánamo this month in part because CIA interrogators had refused to carry out further interrogations and run the secret facilities, according to former CIA officials and people close to the program. The former officials said the CIA interrogators? refusal was a factor in forcing the Bush administration to act earlier than it might have wished. When Bush announced the suspension of the secret prison program in a speech before the fifth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, some analysts thought he was trying to gain political momentum before the November midterm congressional elections. The administration publicly explained its decision in light of the legal uncertainty surrounding permissible interrogation techniques, following the June Supreme Court ruling that all terrorist suspects in detention were entitled to protection under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. But the former CIA officials said Bush?s hand was forced because interrogators had refused to continue their work until the legal situation was clarified ... because they were concerned they could be prosecuted for using illegal techniques. One intelligence source also said the CIA had refused to keep the secret prisons going. Senior officials and Bush himself have come close to admitting this by saying CIA interrogators sought legal clarity. But no official has confirmed on the record how and when the secret programme actually came to an end. John Negroponte, director of national intelligence, who was interviewed by Fox News on Sunday, when asked the question whether CIA interrogators had refused to work, responded ?I think the way I would answer you in regard to that question is that there?s been precious little activity of that kind for a number of months now, and certainly since the Supreme Court decision.? In an interview with the Financial Times, John Bellinger, legal adviser to the state department, went further, saying there had been ?very little operational activity? on CIA interrogations since the passage last December of a bill proposed by Senator John McCain outlawing torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Bellinger said the secret prisons remained empty for the moment. But he defended the US position that use of such prisons did not contravene international conventions, as some in Europe have argued. He also said that, theoretically, the Pentagon as well as the CIA had the legal right to run such facilities. The CIA declined to comment. Key figures among the 14 prisoners transferred to Guantánamo, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had been held in secret centers for three years or more. From Quakerkristi at aol.com Fri Sep 22 15:07:57 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 15:07:57 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] Torture deal?? Message-ID: Just in - John Calvi calvij at sover.net 802/387-4789 PO Box 301 Putney VT 05346 USA www.johncalvi.com www.quit-torture-now.org From: Institute for Public Accuracy [mailto:dcinstitute at igc.org] Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 9:37 AM To: Institute for Public Accuracy Subject: Torture Deal Institute for Public Accuracy 915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045 (202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa at accuracy.org ___________________________________________________ Friday, September 22, 2006 Torture Deal NBC is reporting: "The rift among Republicans over the treatment of terrorism detainees appears to have closed, with maverick GOP Sen. John McCain telling NBC News on Friday that a deal reached with President Bush will lead to fair trials and interrogations but not torture." But based on details of the plans thus far made public, the following legal experts, who are available for interviews, offered these analyses: CHRISTOPHER H. PYLE, cpyle at mtholyoke.edu, http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/names/cpyle.shtml Professor Pyle is co-author of the book "The President, Congress, and the Constitution" and author of the book "Military Surveillance of Civilian Politics." He said today: "The compromise pretends to save the Geneva Conventions from repeal, but repeals much of the law enforcing them. It does not expressly forbid a single brutal practice, including mock executions by near-drowning, but it does retroactively absolve administration officials of legal responsibility for past war crimes. It denies the innocent victims of kidnapping and detention, like Maher Arar, any right to challenge their captivity in court. And it permits the use of evidence obtained by torture in military tribunals by camouflaging it as hearsay testimony." Pyle is a professor of politics at Mount Holyoke College specializing in Constitutional law and civil liberties. From nc_stereoman at charter.net Fri Sep 22 15:40:07 2006 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 15:40:07 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Torture deal?? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45143C17.1060204@charter.net> The Librul Media just can't resist calling John McCain "maverick" or (alternatively) "straight shooter". Makes me wonder if they've already decided who America wants for President in 2008. From Quakerkristi at aol.com Mon Sep 25 06:16:38 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 06:16:38 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] QUIT - A tortured debate Message-ID: <304.b763df5.32490686@aol.com> Molly Ivins- THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 A TORTURED DEBATE http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=miv AUSTIN, Texas -- Some country is about to have a Senate debate on a bill to legalize torture. How weird is that? I'd like to thank Sens. John McCain, Lindsay Graham -- a former military lawyer -- and John Warner of Virginia. I will always think fondly of John Warner for this one reason: Forty years ago, this country was involved in an unprovoked and unnecessary war. It ended so badly the vets finally had to hold their own homecoming parade, years after they came home. The only member of Congress who attended was John Warner. A debate on torture. I don't know -- what do you think? I guess we have to define it, first. The White House has already specified "water boarding," making some guy think he's drowning for long periods, as a perfectly good interrogation technique. Maybe, but it was also a great favorite of the Gestapo and has been described and condemned in thousands of memoirs and novels in highly unpleasant terms. I don't think we can give it a good name again, and I personally kind of don't like being identified with the Gestapo. How icky. (Somewhere inside me, a small voice is shrieking, "Are you insane?") The safe position is, "Torture doesn't work." Well, actually, it works to this extent -- anybody can be tortured into telling anything that's true and anything that's not true. The more people are tortured, the more they make up to please the torturer. Then the torturer has to figure out when the vic started lying. Since our torturers are, in George Bush's immortal phrase, "professionals" and this whole legislative fight is over making torture legal so the "professionals" can't later be charged with breaking the Geneva Conventions, Bush has vowed to end "the program" completely if he doesn't get what he wants. (The same thin voice is shrieking, "Professional torturers trained with my tax money?") Bush's problem is that despite repeated warnings, he went ahead with "the program" without waiting for Congress to provide a fig leaf of legality. Actually, we have been torturing prisoners at Gitmo, prisons in Eastern Europe and Afghanistan for years. Since only seven of the several hundred prisoners at Gitmo have ever been charged with anything, we face the unhappy prospect that the rest of them are innocent. And will sue. That's going to be quite an expensive settlement. The Canadian upon whom we practiced "rendition," sending him to Syria for 10 months of torture, will doubtlessly be first on the legal docket. I wonder how high up the chain of command a civil suit can go? Any old war criminals wandering around? I was interested to find that the Rev. Louis Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition is so in favor of torture he told McCain that the senator either supports the torture bill or he can forget about the evangelical Christian vote. I'd like to see an evangelical vote on that one. I don't know how Sheldon defines traditional values, but deliberately inflicting terrible physical pain or stress on someone who is completely helpless strikes me as ... well, torture. And, um, wrong. And I've smoked dope! Boy, everything those conservatives tell us about the terrible moral values of us liberals must be true after all. Now, in addition to the slightly surreal awakening to find we live in a country that's having a serious debate on a torture bill, can we do anything about it? The answer is: We better. We better do something about it. Now, right away. What do we do? The answer is: anything ... phone, fax, e-mail, mail, demonstrate -- go stand outside their offices or the nearest federal building in the cold and sing hymns or shout rude slogans, chant or make a speech, or start attacking federal property, like a postal box, so they have to arrest you. Gather peacefully and make a lot of noise. Get publicity, too. How will you feel if you didn't do something? "Well, honey, when the United States decided to adopt torture as an official policy, I was dipping the dog for ticks." As Ann Richards used to say, "I don't want my tombstone to read: 'She kept a clean house.'" From nc_stereoman at charter.net Mon Sep 25 08:27:17 2006 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 08:27:17 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] QUIT - A tortured debate In-Reply-To: <304.b763df5.32490686@aol.com> References: <304.b763df5.32490686@aol.com> Message-ID: <4517CB25.6070807@charter.net> Similarly, our Meeting's most active peacemonger offers the following essay from Daily Kos. I draw Friends' attention to her own admonition at the end: "don't tell me you don't have time to save your country." While I agree that torture has no place in the American Way of Life, I think the current debate is more a symptom of what has gone wrong in our nation since 9/11 rather than the illness itself. In discussion with a Conservative fellow citizen the other day, I suggested that Muslims were just as much a part of the American mosaic as any other religion. He replied that Muslims have no place in America, because they are all committed to destroying our way of life. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, many of them children, have suffered torturous death and injury in Iraq over the last several years, due to the destructive power of missiles, bombs, and other weapons upon their person, their homes, and their civilian infrastructure. Let us not forget that before this ill-advised war began, we were already waging a different war, with a similar toll, in the form of sanctions. The degrading and painful practices of torture against a few dozen, or even hundred, people being held in secret locations for indefinite periods, without charge, is a terrible blot on our nation's legacy, but how does it compare in scope? I suggest that the urge to resort to the practice of torture is simply the 25th straw of a failed strategy, the strategy of using war as a diplomatic tool. If our approach to foreign policy were based on developing friends rather than enemies, of uniting rather than dividing, we would not be having this debate today. For those who are more politically oriented, who seek a change in the partisan imbalance in Washington in order to restore the Constitutional system of Checks and Balances that our nation is founded upon, I suggest that there is a bright silver lining to the awful cloud of this current "debate": the Majority Party has provided the challengers with a knee-jerk slogan that is so vacuous that it cannot be argued away: REPUBLICANS: THE PARTY OF TORTURE I would never use such a slogan myself, as I detest empty rhetoric and meaningless debate, but I recognize, ruefully, that that is all many of our fellow citizens have the time or the inclination to absorb. Steve ================================== The essay fromDailyKos: This week Senate Republicans have reached a compromise on torture with the Bush Administration that effectively guts the Geneva Conventions and our nations Moral Authority. If this legislation is signed into law - the United States will officially become a /Rogue Nation/. A Terrorist State that sanctions the commission of War Crimes, by simply /redefining/ them out of existence. The President will be allowed to become the /sole Deciderer/ of what is legal and constitutes a "grave breach" of human dignity and what doesn't. Establishing law and fact via Executive Fiat, like the decrees of an Emperor - not a President. Someone needs to tell Senators Graham, Warner and McCain that what they've just done by handing this authority over to Bush, /is the equivelent of letting the head of the Gambino Crime Family define what is and isn't Racketeering and Murder/. From Federalist 47 The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, *may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny*. Make no mistake - this is indeed tyranny - and will be a stain on our national character that will last with us for generations, just as we continue to live with the shame of the Tuskeegee Experiment and the Interment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. But this... this is worse. We didn't torture the internees. I'm almost at a loss for words. The idea that the technique used by Jack Bauer on 24 are soon to become part of our official anti-terrorism policy is shocking. And /mind numbingly/ stupid as well. U.S. officials do not use the word torture to describe their own methods. Instead, American intelligence officials speak of "aggressive interrogation measures," sometimes euphemistically known as "torture lite." According to human-rights activists who have consulted with Senate staffers involved in the negotiations, Bush administration officials are trying to redefine the Geneva Conventions, which bans "cruel practices," to allow seven different procedures: 1) induced hypothermia, 2) long periods of forced standing, 3) sleep deprivation, 4) the "attention grab" (forcefully seizing the suspect's shirt), 5) the "attention slap," 6) the "belly slap" and 7) sound and light manipulation. As NEWSWEEK reported this week in its story The Politics of Terror, a harsh technique called "waterboarding," which induces the sensation of drowning, would be specifically banned. Thank God for small favors - no "Waterboarding". Yippee. There is a one single good reason why U.S. courts do not allow for coerced testimony -- IT. CANT. BE. TRUSTED. The TV Show that Bush and his Cronies should be watching isn't 24 - it's CSI. According to data obtained by the Innocence Project , which has used DNA evidence to exonerate 180 persons who had been condemned to death row, 35 times (out of the first 130 cases - or 27%) there was a *False Confession* and another 21 times (16%) the wrongful conviction was the result of *bad information provided by informants and snitches*. All indications are that part of the bad intelligence information indicating links between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, which led us wrongly into a War with Iraq, were the result of the torture of Ibn Sheik al-Libi at Gitmo - who was a "known fabricator" according to the Defense Intelligence Agency. Yet Administration Officials such as Cheney continue to believe al-Libi's lies , and our President, the so-called "Leader of the Free World" claims with a straight face that... this agreement preserves the most single -- *most potent tool we have in protecting America and foiling terrorist attacks*, and that is the CIA program to question the world's most dangerous terrorists and to get their secrets. More potent than actually protecting the ports, instead of handing them over to the United Arab Emerites? Um,... not so much. Both the New York Times and Washington Post seem less than enthused. In editorials entitled "A Bad Bargain" (NYT) and "The Abuse Can Continue" (WaPo), the two papers minced no words declaring not only their opposition to the bill but its effect on the war on terror, global opinion, and history's judgement of the president. Washington Post: "In effect, the agreement means that U.S. violations of international human rights law can continue as long as Mr. Bush is president, with Congress's tacit assent. If they do, America's standing in the world will continue to suffer, as will the fight against terrorism. . . . "*Mr. Bush will go down in history for his embrace of torture and bear responsibility for the enormous damage he has caused.*" New York Times: "[The bill] allows the president to declare any foreigner, anywhere, an 'illegal enemy combatant' using a dangerously broad definition, and detain him without any trial. . "The Democrats have largely stood silent and allowed the trio of Republicans to do the lifting. *It's time for them to either try to fix this bill or delay it until after the election. The American people expect their leaders to clean up this mess without endangering U.S. troops, eviscerating American standards of justice, or further harming the nation's severely damaged reputation.*" In response to this issue when speaking with Keith Olbermann on last nights episode of Countdown, former President Bill Clinton had this to say. Clinton: Like you take this interrogation dealing. We might all say the same thing if, let's say Osama bin Laden's number three guy were captured and we knew a big bomb was going off in America in three days. It turns out right now there's an exception for those kind of circumstance in an immediate emergency that's proven in the military regs. But that's not the same thing as saying we want to abolish the Geneva Convention and practice torture as a matter of course. All it does is make our soldiers vulnerable to torture. It makes us more likely to get bad, not good information. OLBERMANN: Right. CLINTON: *And every time we get some minor victory out of it, we'll make a hundred more enemies*, so I think these things, I really think we need to think through all of this and debate more. The point that has to be repeatedly made here - is that these men have not been /proven guilty of anything/. They haven't been tried, in fact they are being denied access to the courts -- habeas corpus, one of the founding principles of our nation, is being scraped. Even when the Military knows that some of these people, particular the Ghost Detainees who have been kept hidden from the Red Cross, are innocent of any connection to terrorism, al-Qaeda or the Taliban - they have refused to release them. . _Majority of Detainees "Of No Intelligence Value" or Innocent_. One statement refers to "a lot of pressure to produce reports regardless of intelligence value." Brig. Gen. Karpinski's deposition also cited the comments of another official, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, who told her, "*I don't care if we're holding 15,000 innocent civilians! We're winning the war!*" A former commander of the 320th Military Police Battalion notes in a sworn statement, "It became obvious to me that the majority of our detainees were detained as the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and were swept up by Coalition Forces as peripheral bystanders during raids. *I think perhaps only one in ten security detainees were of any particular intelligence value.*" _"Releasaphobia" Keep Innocent Detainees Jailed._ One member of the Detainee Assessment Board said people were afraid to recommend release of detainees, "even when obviously innocent." Similarly, Brig. Gen. Karpinski spoke of "releaseaphobia" on the part of a review board. According to another report, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez allegedly said of the detainees, "*Why are we detaining these people, we should be killing them.*" The unidentified solider who reported the comment added that it "contributed to a command climate" where "deeds not consistent with military standards would be tolerated if not condoned." Former detainees, who were "rendered" to their native countries (Syria and Egypt), where they were tortured and then released such as Abu Omar and Maher Arar were apparently the /lucky/ ones. Tens of thousands of others, haven't been so lucky. Hundreds of detainees have died in custody - including 26 which died directly as a result of abuse - and have been considered homocide. Under the War Crimes Act of 1996 these crimes are punishable by the Death Penalty. From the ACLU's FOIA Documents: Several statements refer to "ghost detainees" who died in custody, including *one who died after being chained up in a shower area. Interrogators packed the body in ice and "paid a local taxi driver to take him away."* (Note: this report may refer to Manadel a-Jamadi, whose death in Abu Ghraib has been widely reported in the news media.) Is this how a nation that calls itself "civilized" behaves? I didn't used to think so... but now I have little choice, don't I? Instead of leading by example and giving the people of the world a strong and compelling reason to hope and struggle to create the kind of freedom, prosperity and democracy that exemplify the /best of our ideals/ - we are now on the verge of departing from the ranks of lawful nations, and becoming exactly what bin Laden and his ilk has long claimed we were. We have become the "Great Satan". Yeah, this will really change all those "hearts and minds' to our way of thinking any day now. "Just Wait" is NOT a viable foreign policy. Unfortunately I think time is running out, and if the Democrats in Congress don't find a way to block the passage of this bill before the end of this Congress -- Game Over. Congressional Switchboard Toll Free: *866-808-0065 (Call and ask for a Senator - but line may be busy) DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO SAVE YOUR COUNTRY!! * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bright_crow at mindspring.com Mon Sep 25 13:04:57 2006 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 13:04:57 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] "What's NEW?"on SEYMpeace.org Message-ID: <24021273.1159203898148.JavaMail.root@mswamui-cedar.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Friends, There are some important new items at http://seympeace.org/#NEW Thanks, Mike From nc_stereoman at charter.net Thu Sep 28 11:56:37 2006 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 11:56:37 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Torture deal?? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <451BF0B5.6050001@charter.net> The deal is in. The House of Representatives approved a compromise torture bill yesterday by a vote of 253 to 168. There is good news in this bill, and bad news. Bad news first: the bill allows for evidence obtained by torture to be used against its victims as long as it was obtained prior to jan 1, 2006. It denies detainees the right to habeas corpus, allowing the practice of detaining persons without charges for an indefinite period of time, and offering no recourse for their mistreatment even if they are eventually released as innocent. Most importantly, it defines criminal treatment of detainees so loosely as to allow for practices such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and temperature extremes, as long as the detainee does not suffer "serious" pain or "non-transitory mental harm". Ironically, the judgment of what falls short of "serious" would be left up to the Administration under this legislation, even in the case where the treatment is clearly in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Is there good news? Yes, there is. Regarding the "seriousness" of the pain inflicted, the Administration capitulated to the will of the wusses, in that they had requested a bill authorizing not merely "serious" pain, but "severe" pain. I can't help but think of medeival Bishops sitting around a table deciding on acceptable methods of questioning for the Inquisition. More importantly, the bill has yet to clear the Senate, where Democrats stand a better chance of introducing amendments that would more clearly define proscribed treatment. Another tidbit of good news is that, despite the disappointment of 34 Democrats caving to the pressures of jingoism, there were seven Republicans who voted against the measure. Among them were two worthy of note. First is the esteemed Congressman from Texas, Dr. Ron Paul, who has rightly earned the nickname "Dr. No" because he consistently votes his conscience and/or his constituency before the Party. He was the only Congressman who said he read the PATRIOT Act before voting on it in 2002 - and he voted against it. Second is the honorable Walter Jones of North Carolina, who represents the coastal district including Camp LeJeune. His initial claim to fame was the resolution changing the White House cafeteria identification of French Fries to "Freedom Fries". He has since become one of the most vocal opponents of the Administration's war policies in Congress. Most importantly, IMHO, is that the debate provided an opportunity for Congressional opponents to frame the issue as a moral one, one in which American ideals based on Judeo-Christian principles are being sacrificed for questionable gains. Supporters of the bill did not offer any rebuttal to opponents' staking of claim to the moral high ground. The legislation is immoral, inhumane, and un-American, and no one is arguing with that. House Speaker Dennis Hastert declared that the abduction of our nation's morality was necessary because "the Global War on Terror is different from any war we have ever known". I agree with his assessment. It is the first war in which the United States of America has gone on record as fighting against a religion. Steve From bright_crow at mindspring.com Fri Sep 29 03:47:52 2006 From: bright_crow at mindspring.com (Mike Shell) Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 03:47:52 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [saymaListserv] Tenth Month Update: SEYMpeace.org Message-ID: <24708184.1159516073177.JavaMail.root@mswamui-cedar.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Friends, Please visit the tenth month update of Southeastern Yearly Meeting's Peace and Social Concerns website http://seympeace.org/ and give special attention to the "Thought for Tenth Month." Also, please remember that almost all the readings since 2003 have been archived at Recommended Reading http://seympeace.org/reading.html Blessed Be, Michael From errol at kitenet.net Fri Sep 29 08:04:39 2006 From: errol at kitenet.net (Errol Hess) Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 08:04:39 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Bill Bagwell memorial service Message-ID: <1159531479.3669.8.camel@localhost.localdomain> Bill Bagwell died September 21; his memorial service is Saturday, September 30, 3:00, at Due West Retirement Center. Bill worked for AFSC in the south during the civil rights movement (1950s & 60s), and also spent 3 years in the 60s at the NY Quaker UN office. His civil rights activity took him to the area around Burnsville, NC, according to Celo Friends. From nmwhitt at samford.edu Fri Sep 29 11:17:50 2006 From: nmwhitt at samford.edu (Nancy Whitt) Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:17:50 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Job opening Message-ID: <451CF2CE020000F5000396ED@gw3.samford.edu> This came over my e-mail this morning. nw POPULAR EDUCATION STAFF POSITION Youth Organizing and Leadership/Popular Education Position At The Highlander Research and Education Center, New Market, TN The Highlander Research and Education Center is a 74 -year-old non-profit organization that supports and serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building dedicated to supporting those who work to bring about democratic participation and economic justice in the South and Appalachia. It is a rural, land-based, residential institution with a budget of $1 million and a paid staff of 14. Highlander Center is located on a 106 acre farm in the mountains of East Tennessee. What you'll be doing: We are looking for a new staff person to support educational programs that carry out Highlander's mission. This person will lead Highlander's youth and young leader leadership training program and participate collectively on the education team to carry out its overall work. The work supports marginalized groups affected by economic injustice in ways that encourage the development of their power and voice and organizing skills. Additionally staff participate together in a democratic and collective structure to meet Highlander Center's organizational needs. Duties and responsibilities: The primary work involves participation in our educational programs for capacity building and collective leadership for grassroots groups in the South and Appalachia. Duties include working on teams to: ? Plan and coordinate residential popular education workshops ? Do field work and community visits ? Identify resources helpful to community groups ? Assist groups with participatory research ? Identify and nurture empowering cultural traditions ? Plan, document and evaluate educational program activities ? Participate in fundraising ? Help to represent, articulate and define the education work ? Share Highlander's educational process with others What you'll need to do the job: ? Experience working with young people, in organizing and training ? Knowledge of the region and culture of the Southeast ? Ability to establish rapport with activist and community members in diverse ethnic, social and economic groups; ? Good logistical and facilitation skills; ? Popular education/facilitation/organizing experience ? Interest in and ability to travel and spend time in communities; ? Commitment to social justice and progressive movement building ? Good oral and written communication skills ? Ability to manage multiple projects/time management skills ? Willingness to work collaboratively with a team and get along well with a diverse staff ? Willingness to learn new skills ? Ability and willingness to work weekends, long and/or irregular hours. ? This position works with a diverse constituency, including: rural and urban, African-Americans, immigrants, LGBT, and low-income whites. Experience that will be helpful ? Skills in dealing with diversity, logistics, communications and fundraising ? Research, writing and documentation skills; ? Cultural skills/knowledge of regional culture; ? Previous work with community and/or rural groups. ? Bilingual English/Spanish (helpful but not required) Salary/Benefits: The salary is $32,500, with health, vision, and dental insurance for employee, spouse or domestic partner, and children. There are also 24 vacation days, 10 holidays, pension, and a flexible work schedule. Deadline: October 15th or until position filled. Applications will be considered as they are received. People of color, women, lgbt, and bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply. Please send your resume and references to: Education Team Search Committee ? Y/R Highlander Research and Education Center 1959 Highlander Way New Market, TN 37820 Tel: 865/933-3443 Fax: 865/933-3424 www.highlandercenter.org From Quakerkristi at aol.com Fri Sep 29 13:05:13 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 13:05:13 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: Young Quakes 2006 update - important Message-ID: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Michael Gibson" Subject: Young Quakes 2006 update - important Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 19:02:16 -0400 Size: 8126 URL: From Quakerkristi at aol.com Sat Sep 30 09:21:55 2006 From: Quakerkristi at aol.com (Quakerkristi at aol.com) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2006 09:21:55 EDT Subject: [saymaListserv] Fwd: John Calvi Message-ID: <378.261d2d83.324fc973@aol.com> Dear All, With the frightening passage of S.3930, the detainee bill, I've been overwhelmed with a feeling of despair that American torture will continue with impunity. But I write to ask this- In our country there a thousands of refugees who have survived torture and thousands of former US soldiers who have witnessed or participated in torture. For each one of these people the news that torture will continue without interference sends a shock throughout the nervous system that the horrible time is not passed, that safety is not here, and that old hurt is surfacing- please, I ask you to say a prayer, light a candle, hold each one of these in your heart that they will know a time of peace and healing in their life time. If we are the breath and the fingers of the Divine, then there is much to do to bring more Light here. Love, John John Calvi calvij at sover.net 802/387-4789 PO Box 301 Putney VT 05346 USA www.johncalvi.com www.quit-torture-now.org From shmcbride at comcast.net Sat Sep 30 12:02:40 2006 From: shmcbride at comcast.net (susan mcbride) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2006 11:02:40 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Quaker in Training Message-ID: <009c01c6e4a9$dba66940$6500a8c0@s0022864130> I have not felt so alone as in the last six years while watching this country brutalize the rest of the world. I am a Quaker in training and relieved to have company in this. It is hard to read of what our government is doing to people and allowing to happen. Thank you for being my teachers. Susan McBride Mitigation Specialist 1619 Shelby Ave. Nashville, TN 37206 615-258-2672 shmcbride at comcast.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at robwire.com Sat Sep 30 13:13:39 2006 From: rob at robwire.com (Rob) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2006 12:13:39 -0500 Subject: [saymaListserv] Quaker in Training In-Reply-To: <009c01c6e4a9$dba66940$6500a8c0@s0022864130> References: <009c01c6e4a9$dba66940$6500a8c0@s0022864130> Message-ID: <4c21f0290609301013o37a40d18l110d7e5b84ade630@mail.gmail.com> It is a sad time to see what has happened to all of the things that were once great about our country. Rob On 9/30/06, susan mcbride wrote: > > I have not felt so alone as in the last six years while watching this > country brutalize the rest of the world. I am a Quaker in training and > relieved to have company in this. It is hard to read of what our government > is doing to people and allowing to happen. Thank you for being my teachers. > > Susan McBride > Mitigation Specialist > 1619 Shelby Ave. > Nashville, TN 37206 > 615-258-2672 > shmcbride at comcast.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association list-server: > -- address to subscribe (get on the list-server) or unsubscribe (get off): > http://kitenet.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sayma > -- address to send message to everyone on list: sayma at kitenet.net > > > -- Powered by NewOrleansEmail.Com http://neworleansemail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nc_stereoman at charter.net Sat Sep 30 14:10:12 2006 From: nc_stereoman at charter.net (Steve Livingston) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:10:12 -0400 Subject: [saymaListserv] Quaker in Training In-Reply-To: <009c01c6e4a9$dba66940$6500a8c0@s0022864130> References: <009c01c6e4a9$dba66940$6500a8c0@s0022864130> Message-ID: <451EB304.504@charter.net> Friends, it is right and good for us to feel and express concern for the abandonment and abrogation of our cherished founding principles, but it is also good to reflect upon the longer historical context, and not lose sight of how far we have come as a nation, that we look upon these recent developments with such dismay. Let us not forget, for example, the dozen or so previous instances where military forces supported by American tax dollars have invaded sovereign nations, just in the past forty years, under questionable circumstances and with little justification. Let us not forget the ongoing struggle to expose the training that has been going on at the former School of the Americas for the past forty years, and the partial victory that conscience has achieved over imperialism in that case. Let us not forget the last quagmire where our troops were bogged down, forty years ago, and the exponential difference in human suffering and loss of life resulting from that conflict compared to the present one. It is right to speak out against the injustices of any regime. I offer as a hope and a caution that it is a mistake to attribute to one regime the injustices that have long been institutionalized and which only recently have begun to be addressed, and at that only partially. It's true that we have far to go before we have established a Peaceable Kingdom, but it's not so much farther than it was six years ago, ten, twenty, forty . . . and I would suggest perhaps not as far. Steve