Lydia Polley asked me to pass along this information to anyone who might be
interested in meeting presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.  He will be in
Oklahoma City on Wednesday, January 28th.  His schedule is below.  Please be
sure to contact Lydia if you can particpate in any of the scheduled
activities.  Her email and phone number appears at the end of this message.

Thanks,

Bill Bryant
Oklahoma City

OUR CANDIDATE-DENNIS KUCINICH-HERE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28th!!!!

Join us to show Dennis what great supporters he has in Oklahoma and to
receive the power, energy & inspiration that he will give us.

1:00      Meet in parking lot-2433 NW 16th (16th at Villa) to adhere
magnetic signs to cars  & get for-waving signs

1:30      Caravan to Will Rogers Airport Passenger Pick Up area

2:30      Cheer Dennis into Oklahoma City as he's escorted out from his
flight
               Caravan to National Health Policy Forum (which began at 2:00),
University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Nigh University Center, East 2nd &
Garland Godfrey

3:45      Dennis addresses Health Care in Oklahoma (20 minutes)

4:10      Meet with Press (Heritage Room) (20minutes)

5:00      Caravan to KOKH Television Station - 1228 E Wilshire, few blocks
east of Kelly

5:45      Tavis Smiley Show satellite interview with Dennis and Danny Glover

6:10      Caravan to Oklahoma Democrat Rally-Fairgrounds Arena-South of
NW10th on May Avenue to Gate 3, Gordon Cooper Blvd to big round Arena
building

6:30      Dennis Speaks to Oklahoma Democrats (15 minutes)

7:00      Time out for Dinner & drive to Mardi Gras-4475 NW 50th

8:30      Dennis Speaks at Mardi Gras Concert Fundraiser - planned & hosted
by Political Science students -$5 at the door -The Hex, Sonnet, Turnpike,
Subatomic Pieces, Kurt Hochenauer, The Garza Alternative & Brendan Lalor
(20 minutes plus dialogue with crowd)

9:30      Supporters dialogue with Dennis in lounge area at Mardi Gras (his
option)

PLEASE USE PAGE 2 TO REGISTER YOUR PARTICIPATION

///////////////     Page 2     ///////////////

Register your participation with a check (  ) and Email to
lydiapolley@...
or call - 405-206-6061 or 948-1103

__1:00 Meet in parking lot-2433 NW 16th (16th at Villa)
__1:30 Caravan to Will Rogers Airport for 2:30 Welcome & Caravan to UCO
__2:00 Attend National Health Policy Forum - UCO
__3:45 Dennis addresses Health Care in Oklahoma (meets with press)
__5:00 Caravan to KOKH - 1228 E Wilshire for 5:45 satellite interview
__6:10 Caravan to State Fairgrounds Arena for Democrat Rally-6:30 Dennis
speaks
               7:00 is time out for Dinner & drive to Mardi Gras
__8:30 Dennis Speaks at  Mardi Gras Concert Fundraiser - 4475 NW 50th
__9:30 Supporters dialogue with Dennis in lounge area at Mardi Gras
__          Will be an all D-Day Caravan Driver

Beth Skye, Oklahoma Campaign Director
405-249-5998 cell
www.okforkucinich.us
skye@...

Lydia Gill Polley
Dennis Day In OK Coordinator
lydiapolley@...
206-6061 (cell)  948-1103 (home)

Paid for by Kucinich for President.  Contributions to Kucinich for President
are not tax deductible for income tax purposes.


.

AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE ARAB-AMERICAN AND MUSLIM
COMMUNITY TO THE US ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT

[To join as an organizational signatory or to be
listed in solidarity, please write to:
rashmawi@...]

Background: A call to mobilize against colonial
occupations on March 20th, 2004, was issued and
endorsed by a large nationwide coalition of
organizations and communities that included the
A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition; Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to
Return Coalition; the National Lawyers Guild; the Arab
Muslim American Federation; the Free Palestine
Alliance-USA; the Muslim American Society Freedom
Foundation; and the Muslim Student Association of the
U.S. and Canada.  The National Council of Arab
Americans (NCAA) supported this call in full.

The call to mobilize demanded ending "all colonial
occupations from Iraq to Palestine to everywhere".  It
also called for "bringing the troops home NOW" without
delay, and for opposing giving an international cover
to the colonial occupation of Iraq.

Some sectors in the anti-war movement objected to and
are organizing against these demands, insisting that
Palestine be dropped from the call for March 20 (as
these same sectors have often demanded), and that
internationalizing the occupation of Iraq should
remain a viable option.

As a result, and in the context of a long history of
being silenced and marginalized, the Arab-American and
Muslim community prepared this open letter to the
movement.

AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE ARAB-AMERICAN AND MUSLIM
COMMUNITY TO THE US ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT

Dear peace and justice organizations and activists,

On March 20, 2004, the world will mobilize against war
and colonial occupations.  The significance of this
historic day is evident to all and requires no further
elaboration.  The political clarity and character of
this mobilization in the US, however, remains
illusive.

This is where our community stands:

In confronting war, the people of Palestine and Iraq
have paid dearly.  They stand against the imperial
project shoulder to shoulder with communities of color
and the working class in the United States, along with
great many subjugated peoples around the globe - from
Afghanistan to Colombia, and from the Philippines to
Vieques, and on.  Without a doubt, the Palestinian and
Iraqi people are both welded together in an
inextricable unity at the forefront of the global
anti-war movement, transforming themselves as a whole
as its embodiment and paying in its defense with the
dearest of all - their very existence. Yet, despite
every home destroyed, child murdered, acre confiscated
and tree uprooted, town colonized and ethnically
cleansed, wall built, refugee remaining nation-less,
and incremental robbery of their self-determination,
they remain the very antithetical formulation of
empire and with a vision of justice for all.

In the United States, we, Arab-Americans and Muslims,
have been maliciously targeted, stripped of our
rights, and positioned outside the constitutional
framework of this country.  A new COINTELPRO has been
unleashed against our homes and living rooms, as our
fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters are plucked away
and thrown into unknown prison cells.  Thus, in a
continuum of history, we stand with African Americans,
Japanese Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and all
others in the painful struggle for justice.   From
them all, we take our cue, for they are our
predecessors and our partners in this long march.

Accordingly, we the undersigned hereby declare that:

1. We do not accept delinking the struggle of the
Palestinian people from the anti-war movement, and
regard the struggle in Palestine, as it is viewed
worldwide, to be central to any peace and justice
mobilization.

2. We insist that the Palestinian right to return and
to self-determination are the key anchors of the
Palestinian struggle, and that organizations that
attempt to diminish, sidetrack, or abrogate these
rights, regardless of any other position they may take
on Palestine, are acting contrary to the will and
aspiration of the Palestinian people.

3. We view all attempts to relegate our collective
presence to the margin and to tokenize our
participation in the movement to be racist in
character.  In its attempt to silence the Arab and
Muslim voices for decades, particularly that of the
Palestinian people, the movement in the US has stood
alone in the global movement for justice.  We see
ourselves as full partners in leading the movement as
signified in the heavy price we continue to pay along
the way, and reject any attempt to objectify our
presence.

4. We regard the positions that the "colonial
occupation of Iraq must be internationalized", or that
ending the occupation must be conducted over a period
of time until the "Iraqis are able to secure their
democracy", as implicitly colonial and racist.  These
are positions that are rooted in the construct of
"manifest destiny" and the "white man's burden" to
"civilize".

5. We call on our people everywhere to hold all
organizations accountable to the positions they take,
especially those that depict racist attitudes towards
us, implicitly or otherwise, particularly those that
tokenize and objectify our struggle.  Any organization
or movement that finds it acceptable to minimize or
disregard for political expediency the struggle of any
people should not be allowed to function within the
global justice movement.  Justice is neither
selective, nor partial or conditional.

We are firm on these principles for the March 20th
mobilization and beyond as we call on all communities
and organizations to mobilize and stand in force under
the following unifying five slogans:

1. End all colonial occupations from Iraq to Palestine
to everywhere!
2. Bring the troops home NOW!
3. No to internationalizing colonial occupations!
4. Stop the attacks on civil liberties!
5. Money for jobs, education, and healthcare not for
war!

As we salute and stand empowered with sectors of the
movement that have taken a principled stand on
justice, we seek to participate in the empowerment of
all as we call for a genuine global united front
against war.

All out on March 20, 2004!

(List in alphabetical order.  To be included, please
write to: rashmawi@...)

1. Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
2. Al-Bireh Palestine Society, California Chapter
3. Al-Qalam Institute
4. American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ)
5. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,
Greater Sacramento Area Chapter
6. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, New
Jersey Chapter
7. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,
Seattle Chapter
8. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Los
Angeles/Orange County Chapter
9. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, San
Francisco Bay Area Chapter
10. Arab Center of Washington - Seattle
11. Arab Muslim American Federation
12. Arab-American Community Center, Chicago
13. Arab-American Forum, New Hampshire
14. Arab-American Press Guild
15. San Francisco Bay Area Palestine Coalition
16. Canada-Palestine Association
17. Canada-Palestine Friendship Society
18. Canadian Arab Federation
19. Committee for Democratic Palestine - Canada
20. Committee for Justice - USA
21. Deir Yassin Society of New York
22. Free Palestine Alliance - USA (FPA)
23. Friends of Ghassan Kanafani, Toronto Chapter
24. Kana'an Review
25. Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation (MAS
Freedom Foundation)
26. Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada
(MSA-National)
27. Muslim Students Association, California State
University, Sacramento
28. Muslim Students Association, University of
California, Davis
29. National Council of Arab Americans (NCAA)
30. Palestine Children's Welfare Fund
31. Palestine House Educational and Cultural Center,
Canada
32. Palestine Right of Return Congress - USA
33. Palestine Solidarity Committee - Los Angeles
34. Palestine Solidarity Committee - Seattle
35. Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago
36. Palestinian American Women's Association (PAWA)
37. Sacred Roots
38. Students for Justice in Palestine, California
State University, Sacramento
39. Students for Justice in Palestine, University of
California, Davis
40. The Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP)
41. The United Muslim Association of High Schools Club

For those of us who work and can't make it tomorrow, is there a number we
can call or some other way to express our support?

Quoting allen parleir <parleir@...>:

> Hi, I'm Allen Parleir and today I just joined this group.
>
> I have an Action Alert to share with you.
>
> Since 1985, I have been working within the Indian community and am
> grateful
> to be able to support their struggle to protect the rights of all of
> us.
>
> I'm sharing with you an opportunity that I just found out about to make
> a
> strong showing to keep our rights to protect the environment.
>
> It is a bit complicated so I have included some background information.
>
> We could use your support Friday morning.
>
> thanks for your consideration,
> Allen Parleir
>
>
> > Meeting is Friday10:00 a.m. at
> > Office of Secretary of the Environment (phone 405 530-8995)
> > 3800 North Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City
> > It is just north of 36th street on the east side of Classen (2nd
> Building from
> > corner of 36th)
> > We'll be outside a little early so we can put our heads together before
> going
> > in. >
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Rick Abraham" <r.abraham@...>
> > To:  "jkdowell" <jkdowell@...>
> > Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 12:02 PM
> > Subject: Meeting w Oklahoma Sec. of Environment
> >
> >> JoKay,
> >>
> >> We have a meeting with the Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment,
> Miles
> >> Tolbet,  on Friday at 10:00 am in Oklahoma City.  We want to convice
> him
> >> to use his influence to get the State (DEQ) to withdraw  its legal
> from
> >> its efforts to restrict the environmental protection rights of
> Native
> >> Americans and other citizens.  I assume you've heard about all of
> this,
> >> but I've attached a summary in case you've missed it.
> >>
> >> We think Miles Tolbert is sympathetic, but we want a show of force.
> We
> >> want  him to know that alot of people care about this issue and it
> will
> >> end up in his lap.  He will not want this issue to blow-up and makie
> the
> >> Governor look bad.
> >>
> >> Can you come to this meeting?   If you need some help with travel
> >> expenses let me know.  If you think there is someone else who needs
> to
> >> come, tell me.
> >>
> >> Please feel free to call collect.
> >>
> >> Rick Abraham
> >> 713 880-5170
> >> cell 713 299-5659
> >>
> >
> Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2004 7:35 AM
> Subject: Okla. Asks Court to Deny Rights of Native Americans and Other
> Citizens
>
> Please post and help get letters in - We CAN get the state to withdraw
>
> Oklahoma Agency Asks Federal Appeals Court to Deny
> Environmental Protection Rights of Native Americans and Other Citizens
>
> Federal environmental laws, like the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air
> Act,
> give citizens the right to take pollution violators to court when the
> government agencies fail to enforce the law.  If the Oklahoma Department
> of
> Environmental Quality (DEQ) has its way, citizens will lose this right.
>
> On December 4, 2003 the DEQ urged the United States Court of Appeals for
> the
> Tenth Circuit to make a precedent setting decision that would
> effectively
> take away citizen enforcement rights.  Adding insult to injury, the DEQ
> used
> taxpayer's money to do this - and to defend a Taiwanese owned company
> accused of pollution violations and mistreatment of employees.  The
> ruling
> DEQ wants will effectively change the law in five states.  If the ruling
> was
> upheld, it could effectively change the law in all states.
>
> The DEQ sided with Continental Carbon Co. to urge the appeals court to
> dismiss a Clean Water Act lawsuit brought the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma
> and
> the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International
> Union (PACE).  The citizens' lawsuit charges the company with violating
> state and federal water pollution laws.
>
> DEQ argues that the citizens' lawsuit will have an "adverse impact" on
> its
> "jurisdictional authority." This is the same bogus argument used to
> oppose
> the rights of Tribal Governments who are seeking independent authority
> to
> enforce environmental laws to protect Tribal lands.
>
> The DEQ says the citizens' lawsuit should be dismissed because the
> agency
> pursues "diligent" and "appropriate" enforcement action.  However, the
> DEQ
> wants to deny citizens the chance to prove when agencies fail to enforce
> the
> law.  Citizen enforcement would even be denied in cases where the
> agency
> fails to penalize pollution violators or stop their pollution. What the
> DEQ
> is trying to protect is its ability to cut deals that protect the profits
> of
> pollution violators - even at the expense of people and the
> environment.
>
> The attorney for PACE and the Ponca Tribe says Oklahoma's brief to the
> court
> is "acknowledgement of state support for the most primitive of
> smoke-stack
> industries, at the expense of the environment and of regular Oklahoma
> citizens -- an environment and citizens it is legally charged to
> protect.
> The brief aligns the state with forces that would restrict the
> pollution-protection rights of regular citizens everywhere, and it does
> this
> by urging judicial activism that almost no policy-maker would ever
> endorse.
> Worse, the state has joined Continental Carbon in seeking to expand that
> law
> to give polluters types of protections Congress plainly did not give
> them:
> the state would shield polluters from not only penalties (which go to
> the
> federal treasury) but also from injunctions (which benefit both the
> environment and the citizens who have been exposed to the pollution)."
>
> WRITE THE GOVERNOR: Urge him to have DEQ's request to the court
> withdrawn
>
> Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry
> Room 212, State Capitol Building,
> Oklahoma City, OK 73102
>
> Fax or mail us a copy of your letter to the Governor.  We are trying to
> get
> a meeting with him -
> Tell us if your organization wants to be represented, or if you need
> more
> information.
> Send to: Todd Carlson, 1202 W Ponca, Ponca City, OK 74601.  Fax to: 580
> -762-5741
>
>
>
>
> Oklahomans for Global Solutions envisions a future in which people work
> together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, estblish a
> culture of peace, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation
> can solve alone. This is a moderated forum for sharing ideas, making
> announcements, and promoting global solutions through our local
> communities.
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok-global/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  ok-global-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>  http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

Hi, I'm Allen Parleir and today I just joined this group.

I have an Action Alert to share with you.

Since 1985, I have been working within the Indian community and am grateful
to be able to support their struggle to protect the rights of all of us.

I'm sharing with you an opportunity that I just found out about to make a
strong showing to keep our rights to protect the environment.

It is a bit complicated so I have included some background information.

We could use your support Friday morning.

thanks for your consideration,
Allen Parleir


> Meeting is Friday10:00 a.m. at
> Office of Secretary of the Environment (phone 405 530-8995)
> 3800 North Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City
> It is just north of 36th street on the east side of Classen (2nd Building from
> corner of 36th)
> We'll be outside a little early so we can put our heads together before going
> in. >

  ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rick Abraham" <r.abraham@...>
> To:  "jkdowell" <jkdowell@...>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 12:02 PM
> Subject: Meeting w Oklahoma Sec. of Environment
>
>> JoKay,
>>
>> We have a meeting with the Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment, Miles
>> Tolbet,  on Friday at 10:00 am in Oklahoma City.  We want to convice him
>> to use his influence to get the State (DEQ) to withdraw  its legal from
>> its efforts to restrict the environmental protection rights of Native
>> Americans and other citizens.  I assume you've heard about all of this,
>> but I've attached a summary in case you've missed it.
>>
>> We think Miles Tolbert is sympathetic, but we want a show of force.  We
>> want  him to know that alot of people care about this issue and it will
>> end up in his lap.  He will not want this issue to blow-up and makie the
>> Governor look bad.
>>
>> Can you come to this meeting?   If you need some help with travel
>> expenses let me know.  If you think there is someone else who needs to
>> come, tell me.
>>
>> Please feel free to call collect.
>>
>> Rick Abraham
>> 713 880-5170
>> cell 713 299-5659
>>
>
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2004 7:35 AM
Subject: Okla. Asks Court to Deny Rights of Native Americans and Other
Citizens

Please post and help get letters in - We CAN get the state to withdraw

Oklahoma Agency Asks Federal Appeals Court to Deny
Environmental Protection Rights of Native Americans and Other Citizens

Federal environmental laws, like the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act,
give citizens the right to take pollution violators to court when the
government agencies fail to enforce the law.  If the Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) has its way, citizens will lose this right.

On December 4, 2003 the DEQ urged the United States Court of Appeals for the
Tenth Circuit to make a precedent setting decision that would effectively
take away citizen enforcement rights.  Adding insult to injury, the DEQ used
taxpayer's money to do this - and to defend a Taiwanese owned company
accused of pollution violations and mistreatment of employees.  The ruling
DEQ wants will effectively change the law in five states.  If the ruling was
upheld, it could effectively change the law in all states.

The DEQ sided with Continental Carbon Co. to urge the appeals court to
dismiss a Clean Water Act lawsuit brought the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma and
the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International
Union (PACE).  The citizens' lawsuit charges the company with violating
state and federal water pollution laws.

DEQ argues that the citizens' lawsuit will have an "adverse impact" on its
"jurisdictional authority." This is the same bogus argument used to oppose
the rights of Tribal Governments who are seeking independent authority to
enforce environmental laws to protect Tribal lands.

The DEQ says the citizens' lawsuit should be dismissed because the agency
pursues "diligent" and "appropriate" enforcement action.  However, the DEQ
wants to deny citizens the chance to prove when agencies fail to enforce the
law.  Citizen enforcement would even be denied in cases where the agency
fails to penalize pollution violators or stop their pollution. What the DEQ
is trying to protect is its ability to cut deals that protect the profits of
pollution violators - even at the expense of people and the environment.

The attorney for PACE and the Ponca Tribe says Oklahoma's brief to the court
is "acknowledgement of state support for the most primitive of smoke-stack
industries, at the expense of the environment and of regular Oklahoma
citizens -- an environment and citizens it is legally charged to protect.
The brief aligns the state with forces that would restrict the
pollution-protection rights of regular citizens everywhere, and it does this
by urging judicial activism that almost no policy-maker would ever endorse.
Worse, the state has joined Continental Carbon in seeking to expand that law
to give polluters types of protections Congress plainly did not give them:
the state would shield polluters from not only penalties (which go to the
federal treasury) but also from injunctions (which benefit both the
environment and the citizens who have been exposed to the pollution)."

WRITE THE GOVERNOR: Urge him to have DEQ's request to the court withdrawn

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry
Room 212, State Capitol Building,
Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Fax or mail us a copy of your letter to the Governor.  We are trying to get
a meeting with him -
Tell us if your organization wants to be represented, or if you need more
information.
Send to: Todd Carlson, 1202 W Ponca, Ponca City, OK 74601.  Fax to: 580
-762-5741

----- Original Message -----

From: Bob Nichols

To: ok-global@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 7:04 PM

Subject: Re: [ok-global] steps for peace

Hello Everyone,   I am Bob Nichols. I am pleased to be a part of the group and look forward to communicating with you all.   I noticed some interest from Andrew about Jonathon and Amy, the two folks who are walking across the US in a program called "Steps for Peace."   I really encourage everyone to call them. It is sooo cold out there! They have come 1,600 miles so far, though. A little cold weather will not stop them.   Here is the unpublished schedule. I'd prefer if it stay within the group. I hope to see some or all of you at the stops listed below in OKC.   Bob     NOT FOR PUBLICATION SUMMARY OF STATE WALKERS EVENTS ONLY 12-31-03 3:16 PM     OVERVIEW.  The "Steps for Peace" walk is scheduled to enter Tulsa on January 4th; go to Stillwater on January 5th; Shawnee on the 6th, Oklahoma City and the OKC Bombing Memorial Survivor Tree at noon on the 7th of January; Weatherford on the 8th, and Elk City as they exit the state on January 9th, 2004.   EVENTS. January 4, 2004 - Tulsa Inbound Route on Sunday -Greenwood Cultural Center and the Black Wall Street Memorial,   -11th to Peoria and the Corner Cafe,  -Peace Vigil at The Great Spirit statue at Woodward Park,  -east on 21st to Borders Book Store at Hwy 51,   January 5, 2004 Tulsa Outbound Route on Monday morning -Meet at Helmerich Park just north of 71st on Riverside,    January 5, 2004. Stillwater Inbound Route on Tuesday    At 2:30 p.m., the walkers will arrive at the corner of Perkins Road and Sixth Street. They will pause to meet up with additional walkers at the “Stillwater -Where Oklahoma Began” monument.   From 3- 3:45 p.m., Walk to Main Street to Strickland Park to join the Sustainable Stillwater and Recycling Action groups effort to clean up the stream in the park, Skye said. The theme of that discussion is “Respect for the Environment.”   From 3:45-4:14 p.m., the walkers will walk to Old Central on the Oklahoma State University campus. They will participate in the next discussion which focuses on education.   3rd Place Coffee House where the discussion will be a Department of Peace, Skye said.   Stroud Hospitality Center for a potluck dinner and a welcome by Stillwater Mayor Bud Lacy at 5:30 p.m.  The public is invited.   January 6, 2004. Stillwater Outbound Route on Tuesday  -8 AM Breakfast at Mom's Place on South Main Street.    January 6, 2004. Shawnee Inbound Route on Tuesday -Supper at a Chinese Restaurant January 7, 2004. Shawnee Outbound Route on Tuesday   January 7, 2004 Oklahoma City Inbound Route on Wednesday morning -Walking North on the East side of Robinson to the National Memorial, Southeast corner plaza--NW 4th @ Robinson,   -12:00 Meet at the Survivor's Tree -Welcome to OKC by Dr. Robin Meyers & words from the walkers:     Peace & Non-violence as operating principles    of our lives and of our government.    -12:30 Lunch at the Grateful Bean - Topic: Peace & Non-violence as operating principles of our lives and of our government.  Skip Largent    -3:00:  The Full Circle Book Store at 50 Penn Place - Topic The Patriot Act,    -Daily Break Time Break for the Walkers.    -6 PM - the Labrynth Cafe - Community conversation about Full Employment and Peace.   January 8, 2004. Oklahoma City Outbound Route Thursday morning -To be determined. TB   January 8, 2004. Weatherford Inbound Route on Thursday morning  January 8, 2004. Weatherford Outbound Route on Thursday morning    January 9, 2004. El Reno Inbound Route on Friday morning  January 9, 2004. El Reno Outbound Route on Friday morning        -------Original Message-------   From: ok-global@yahoogroups.com Date: 01/05/2004 05:24:33 PM To: ok-global@yahoogroups.com Subject: [ok-global] steps for peace   hi all!  the two current walkers, jonathan and amy, came through tulsa yesterday and today and are fixing to be in stillwater this evening, and shawnee tomorrow.  the next few days they will be in the okc area then heading to the texas panhandle via weatherford and elk city; then on to new mexico. word is being spread at this moment in these communities to facilitate meet ups with them.  you may contact the walkers by email at: steps4peace@... or by cell phone at 507-259-4178.  i am sure they will be excited to make any and all connections.   curtis andrew beckwith, in tulsa Oklahomans for Global Solutions envisions a future in which people work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, estblish a culture of peace, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve alone. This is a moderated forum for sharing ideas, making announcements, and promoting global solutions through our local communities. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok-global/   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ok-global-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Oklahomans for Global Solutions envisions a future in which people work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, estblish a culture of peace, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve alone. This is a moderated forum for sharing ideas, making announcements, and promoting global solutions through our local communities.

---

Yahoo! Groups Links

• To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok-global/
   
• To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  ok-global-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
   
• Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

hi all!  the two current walkers, jonathan and amy, came through
tulsa yesterday and today and are fixing to be in stillwater this
evening, and shawnee tomorrow.  the next few days they will be in the
okc area then heading to the texas panhandle via weatherford and elk
city; then on to new mexico. word is being spread at this moment in
these communities to facilitate meet ups with them.  you may contact
the walkers by email at:
steps4peace@... or by cell phone at 507-259-4178.  i am sure
they will be excited to make any and all connections.
   curtis andrew beckwith, in tulsa

--

Thought those on the list might enjoy reading this.

Best,
e2

***********************************************

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1230/p01s03-woiq.html

Specials > Iraq in Transition
from the December 30, 2003 edition

A scholarly soldier steps inside the world of Iraq's potent
tribes

By Annia Ciezadlo | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

BAGHDAD – In the battle for Iraqi hearts and minds, Lt. Col.
Alan King has
two secret weapons: his Palm Pilot and his Koran.

"Sura 2, Aya 62," he recites, quoting the Muslim holy book from
memory:
"'Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Sabeans are all believers in
the book, and
therefore their reward is in heaven.'"

Which leads him to another favorite, Sura 29, Aya 46: If you're
dealing with
a believer, you should work to resolve your conflicts
peacefully.

"They're Muslim, I'm Christian," explains Colonel King, a
Virginia-born
Lutheran with a blond crew cut and a ruddy, boyish face. "So I
try to explain to
them that we're both believers, and I can go to specific verses
in both the
Bible and the Koran."

In a past life, King worked on Republican political campaigns,
stumping for
Elizabeth Dole in the Democratic stronghold of Cumberland
County, Va.

Today he's campaigning in Iraq, the mother of all swing
districts. His
platform: For months, he has been memorizing the Koran and
building a Rolodex of
sheikhs, the tribal leaders who still command wide influence in
many parts of
Iraq.

The coalition has been slow to realize the importance of tribal
affiliations
in Iraq, earning criticism from analysts and anger from the
sheikhs. "If the
Americans heard our advice from the beginning - our repeated
advice - all this
chaos wouldn't be happening now," says Sheikh Hussein Ali
al-Shaalan, striking
the table with his forefinger.

But King, a veteran of Special Forces and Psychological
Operations missions
in the Middle East and Latin America, sees the sheikhs as key to
securing Iraq.
"I realized early on that the sheikhs have a place," says King.
"The idea is
not to build controlling little warlords, but to use the
information that the
sheikhs have to benefit the country."

Immediately after the war, King was a battalion commander
charged with
securing and reconstructing Baghdad. In August, he was named to
a new position:
Special Assistant for Tribal Affairs, 352d Civil Affairs
Command.

He got a copy of Baghdad Wilayat, a guide to Iraq's tribes
published by
colonial British authorities, and began learning the history of
the major tribes.
One sheikh told King about Salam Pax, the Baghdad Blogger who
earned
international fame for his wartime diaries. King read the blog,
now compiled into a
book, and relived the war through Iraqi eyes.

"One striking thing about Alan is his commitment to learning,
which verges on
being intellectual," says Adnan al-Janabi, a London-educated
sheikh who used
to be head of economics and finance in OPEC. "He's less of a
soldier and more
of an intellectual person who tries to learn about other
societies."

Under Saddam Hussein, tribal sheikhs gained influence as civil
society
collapsed. When disputes arose, Iraqis turned to their sheikhs
instead of to corrupt
Baathist judges or policemen.

Hussein, always wary of rival powers, suppressed the sheikhs at
first. But
during the Iran-Iraq War, as Iraq's Army began deserting, he
realized that the
sheikhs could help track down deserters. Those who didn't
cooperate, he
replaced with "fake sheikhs," also called "Swiss sheikhs" for
the largesse they
received.

Today, Iraq has more than 150 tribes and 2,000 clans, with
countless sheikhs
and subsheikhs, some real, some fakes. King indexes them in his
Palm Pilot,
neatly subdivided into tribe, subtribe, clan, sub-clan, branch,
and family.
Every week, he meets with a sheikh who is also a tribal scholar.
In a battered
binder, they're slowly amassing a guide to all of the tribes in
Iraq.

His studies paid off when he met Mr. Shaalan. A Shiite sheikh
from the
southern town of Diwaniya, Shaalan was the perfect US ally. He
fled Iraq after the
1991 uprising against Hussein and got political asylum in
Britain. He had a
good relationship with the US State Department. But when he
offered his counsel,
and the loyalty of his 200,000-member tribe, American military
commanders
didn't take him seriously.

"I noticed something among the officers: They have this
arrogance, and this
arrogance really hurts them a lot," says Shaalan, who studied
law and political
science in Baghdad and London. "Everyone, even a small officer,
thinks he's a
big man. They don't come and ask for opinion or advice - they
just do what
they please, and this antagonizes the people."

Except King. When they met, King told Shaalan a complicated
tribal tale about
a tribe crossing a river many centuries ago. "I noticed that he
was talking
about the history of some clans," says Shaalan approvingly.
"This shows that he
is doing his duty."

Shaalan has wide-ranging influence, and not just in Iraq. His
clan, the
Khazzal, has branches in Syria, Jordan, southern Iran, Yemen,
Palestine, and even
Egypt. Like most tribes, its members are Sunni in some areas and
Shiite in
others.

Because their influence cuts across national and sectarian
boundaries, the
sheikhs can help find foreign fighters who are filtering into
Iraq to fight
Americans. King has asked them for help in finding insurgents
and former Baathist
bigwigs. So far, tips from sheikhs have helped King capture
numbers 23, 62,
85, 91, 97, and 99 on the US military's Most Wanted list, as
well as other
miscellaneous evildoers.

On Dec. 4, the CPA approved King's pet project, a council of
tribal sheikhs
who will meet regularly and dispense advice to coalition forces
on everything
from securing pipelines to building roads and bridges. Two days
later, Shaalan
gave a dinner to celebrate. Over grilled chicken and kebabs, he
delivered a
lengthy ceremonial speech congratulating King.

"The first time that I met Mr. King, I felt that he was exerting
himself to
learn about tribal affairs," said Shaalan, graciously inclining
his head toward
King, who tried to look modest. "So I also exerted myself to get
to know Mr.
King."

_________________________________________________________________
Make your home warm and cozy this winter with tips from MSN House & Home.
http://special.msn.com/home/warmhome.armx

It is a fallacy that American workers are that much more productive and that
is the cause for the economy not producing jobs.  I did not come up with
this theory myself.  I am a little ashamed that I didn't see this as I am
considered to be an above normal intelligence person and my college major
was economics.  This was on the back page editorial in U.S. World and News
Report back in November I think.  If anyone is interested in reading the
article I will go to U.S. News And World Report online (I read it in the
hard copy) and see if I can get it.
But the piece makes the following (and very true in my opinion) argument.
As jobs go overseas and we import the product we show no labor to produce
the product but because the product is made by an American corporation it is
included as American produce.   So when using the formula for figuring
productivity if you put in produce but no labor cost or hours to produce the
product of course it shows a much greater  increase in productivity than is
actual.  It is how the productivity  figure is calculated that is in error.
All the people who talk about how productive we are on TV know what is
really happening.  Don't believe everything  you hear the pundits and
business gurus tell you!  Also don't believe that inflation is only 2% this
year either.  That is way low!  It is here again the way they figure it.
Inflation by my calculation was at least 5% and will be higher next year in
my opinion.

cherrie lynn






----- Original Message -----
From: <ok-global@yahoogroups.com>




    Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2003 06:08:10 -0600
    From: "Bill Bryant" <wildbill73107@...>
Subject: White Collar Blues

As Bob Herbert acknowledges in this commentary from the New York Times, the
modern transnational corporation has no loyalty to any nation.  In many
ways, the corporations have escaped from the influence of national
governments, and they pursue their profit-making ventures wherever they can,
in whatever ways they can.  As jobs migrate from the US to Mexico to China
(and payscales decrease with each movement), where can workers turn to find
protection for their employment and their wages?  It is one of the great
unanswered questions facing us in this century.

Bill Bryant
Oklahoma City, CD5

The White-Collar Blues
By BOB HERBERT
The New York Times -- December 29, 2003

I am surprised at how passive American workers have become.

A couple of million factory positions have disappeared in the short time
since we raised our glasses to toast the incoming century. And now the
white-collar jobs are following the blue-collar jobs overseas.

Americans are working harder and have become ever more productive -
astonishingly productive - but are not sharing in the benefits of their
increased effort. If you think in terms of wages, benefits and the creation
of good jobs, the employment landscape is grim.

The economy is going great guns, we're told, but nearly nine million
Americans are officially unemployed, and the real tally of the jobless is
much higher. Even as the Bush administration and the media celebrate the
blossoming of statistics that supposedly show how well we're doing, the
lines at food banks and soup kitchens are lengthening. They're swollen in
many cases by the children of men and women who are working but not making
enough to house and feed their families.

I.B.M. has crafted plans to send thousands of upscale jobs from the U.S. to
lower-paid workers in China, India and elsewhere. Anyone who doesn't believe
this is the wave of the future should listen to comments made last spring by
an I.B.M. executive named Harry Newman:

"I think probably the biggest impact to employee relations and to the H.R.
field is this concept of globalization. It is rapidly accelerating, and it
means shifting a lot of jobs, opening a lot of locations in places we had
never dreamt of before, going where there's low-cost labor, low-cost
competition, shifting jobs offshore."

An executive at Microsoft, the ultimate American success story, told his
department heads last year to "Think India," and to "pick something to move
offshore today."

These matters should be among the hottest topics of our national
conversation. We've already witnessed the carnage in manufacturing jobs.
Now, with white-collar jobs at stake, we've got executives at I.B.M. and
Microsoft exchanging high-fives at the prospect of getting "two heads for
the price of one" in India.

It might be a good idea to throw a brighter spotlight on some of these
trends and explore the implications for the long-term economy and the
American standard of living.

"If you take this to its logical extreme, the implications for the entire
middle-class wage structure in the United States are terrifying," said Thea
Lee, an economist with the A.F.L.-C.I.O. "Now is the time to start thinking
about policy solutions."

But that's exactly what we're not thinking about. Government policy at the
moment is focused primarily on what's best for the corporations. From that
perspective, job destruction and wage compression are good things - as long
as they don't get too much high-profile attention.

"This is a significant problem, much greater than we believed it was even a
year ago," said Marcus Courtney, president of the Washington Alliance of
Technology Workers, an affiliate of the Communication Workers of America.

Accurate data on the number of jobs already lost are all but impossible to
come by. But there is no disputing the direction of the trend, or the fact
that it is accelerating. Allowing this movement to continue unchecked will
eventually mean economic suicide for hundreds of thousands, if not millions,
of American families.

Globalization may be a fact of life. But that does not mean that its
destructive impact on American families can't be mitigated. The best thing
workers can do, including white-collar and professional workers, is to
organize. At the same time, the exportation of jobs and the effect that is
having on the standard of living here should be relentlessly monitored by
the government, the civic sector and the media. The public has a right to
know what's really going on.

Trade agreements and tax policies should be examined and updated to
encourage the creation of employment that enhances the quality of life here
at home. Corporate leaders may not feel an obligation to contribute to the
long-term well-being of local communities or the nation as a whole, but that
shouldn't be the case with the rest of us.


///////////////

I'm starting a non-partisan email forum titled, "Oklahomans for Global
Solutions."  The purpose of this forum is to facilitate communication among
people in Oklahoma who have an interest in establishilng a culture of peace,
supporting global education, solving problems facing humanity that no nation
can solve alone; and abolishing war.

To subscribe to the "ok-global" list, please visit the group website in
Yahoo! Groups:

             http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok-global

Thanks!


.





________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________


Oklahomans for Global Solutions envisions a future in which people work
together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, estblish a culture
of peace, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve
alone. This is a moderated forum for sharing ideas, making announcements,
and promoting global solutions through our local communities.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok-global/

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  ok-global-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
  http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Bob Herbert acknowledges in this commentary from the New York Times, the
modern transnational corporation has no loyalty to any nation.  In many
ways, the corporations have escaped from the influence of national
governments, and they pursue their profit-making ventures wherever they can,
in whatever ways they can.  As jobs migrate from the US to Mexico to China
(and payscales decrease with each movement), where can workers turn to find
protection for their employment and their wages?  It is one of the great
unanswered questions facing us in this century.

Bill Bryant
Oklahoma City, CD5

The White-Collar Blues
By BOB HERBERT
The New York Times -- December 29, 2003

I am surprised at how passive American workers have become.

A couple of million factory positions have disappeared in the short time
since we raised our glasses to toast the incoming century. And now the
white-collar jobs are following the blue-collar jobs overseas.

Americans are working harder and have become ever more productive —
astonishingly productive — but are not sharing in the benefits of their
increased effort. If you think in terms of wages, benefits and the creation
of good jobs, the employment landscape is grim.

The economy is going great guns, we're told, but nearly nine million
Americans are officially unemployed, and the real tally of the jobless is
much higher. Even as the Bush administration and the media celebrate the
blossoming of statistics that supposedly show how well we're doing, the
lines at food banks and soup kitchens are lengthening. They're swollen in
many cases by the children of men and women who are working but not making
enough to house and feed their families.

I.B.M. has crafted plans to send thousands of upscale jobs from the U.S. to
lower-paid workers in China, India and elsewhere. Anyone who doesn't believe
this is the wave of the future should listen to comments made last spring by
an I.B.M. executive named Harry Newman:

"I think probably the biggest impact to employee relations and to the H.R.
field is this concept of globalization. It is rapidly accelerating, and it
means shifting a lot of jobs, opening a lot of locations in places we had
never dreamt of before, going where there's low-cost labor, low-cost
competition, shifting jobs offshore."

An executive at Microsoft, the ultimate American success story, told his
department heads last year to "Think India," and to "pick something to move
offshore today."

These matters should be among the hottest topics of our national
conversation. We've already witnessed the carnage in manufacturing jobs.
Now, with white-collar jobs at stake, we've got executives at I.B.M. and
Microsoft exchanging high-fives at the prospect of getting "two heads for
the price of one" in India.

It might be a good idea to throw a brighter spotlight on some of these
trends and explore the implications for the long-term economy and the
American standard of living.

"If you take this to its logical extreme, the implications for the entire
middle-class wage structure in the United States are terrifying," said Thea
Lee, an economist with the A.F.L.-C.I.O. "Now is the time to start thinking
about policy solutions."

But that's exactly what we're not thinking about. Government policy at the
moment is focused primarily on what's best for the corporations. From that
perspective, job destruction and wage compression are good things — as long
as they don't get too much high-profile attention.

"This is a significant problem, much greater than we believed it was even a
year ago," said Marcus Courtney, president of the Washington Alliance of
Technology Workers, an affiliate of the Communication Workers of America.

Accurate data on the number of jobs already lost are all but impossible to
come by. But there is no disputing the direction of the trend, or the fact
that it is accelerating. Allowing this movement to continue unchecked will
eventually mean economic suicide for hundreds of thousands, if not millions,
of American families.

Globalization may be a fact of life. But that does not mean that its
destructive impact on American families can't be mitigated. The best thing
workers can do, including white-collar and professional workers, is to
organize. At the same time, the exportation of jobs and the effect that is
having on the standard of living here should be relentlessly monitored by
the government, the civic sector and the media. The public has a right to
know what's really going on.

Trade agreements and tax policies should be examined and updated to
encourage the creation of employment that enhances the quality of life here
at home. Corporate leaders may not feel an obligation to contribute to the
long-term well-being of local communities or the nation as a whole, but that
shouldn't be the case with the rest of us.


///////////////

I’m starting a non-partisan email forum titled, “Oklahomans for Global
Solutions.”  The purpose of this forum is to facilitate communication among
people in Oklahoma who have an interest in establishilng a culture of peace,
supporting global education, solving problems facing humanity that no nation
can solve alone; and abolishing war.

To subscribe to the “ok-global” list, please visit the group website in
Yahoo! Groups:

             http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ok-global

Thanks!


.

Jane--
Yes!  We need to celebrate our humanity!
Here's a re-telling of the 1914 story by the
poet and songwriter John McCutcheon.
--Bill


Christmas in the Trenches
by John McCutcheon

My name is Francis Tolliver, I come from Liverpool,
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school.
To Belgium and to Flanders to Germany to here
I fought for King and country I love dear.

'Twas Christmas in the trenches where the frost so bitter hung,
The frozen fields of France were still, no Christmas song was sung,
Our families back in England were toasting us that day,
Their brave and glorious lads so far away.

I was lying with my messmate on the cold and rocky ground
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound
Says I, "Now listen up, me boys!" each soldier strained to hear
As one young German voice sang out so clear.

"He's singing bloody well, you know!" my partner says to me
Soon one by one each German voice joined in in harmony
The cannons rested silent, the gas clouds rolled no more
As Christmas brought us respite from the war.

As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" struck up some lads from Kent
The next they sang was "Stille Nacht," "Tis 'Silent Night'," says I
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky.

"There's someone coming towards us!" the front line sentry cried
All sights were fixed on one lone figure coming from their side
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright
As he bravely strode unarmed into the night.

Soon one by one on either side walked into No Man's land
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well
And in a flare-lit soccer game we gave 'em hell.

We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own
Young Sanders played his squeeze box and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men.

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more
With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night
"Whose family have I fixed within my sights?"

'Twas Christmas in the trenches, where the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone for evermore.

My name is Francis Tolliver, in Liverpool I dwell
Each Christmas come since World War I I've learned its lessons well
That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we're the same.


©1984 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane Shevtsov" <jaia@...>
To: <jaia@...>
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2003 2:10 PM
Subject: [WFM-TALK] Something We Can All Celebrate


Happy holidays to all of you, no matter what you celebrate.

Jane
www.worldbeyondborders.org
---
Peace in No Man's Land, Christmas 1914
An Unofficial Christmas Truce at the Front During World War I
by Jennifer Rosenberg
http://history1900s.about.com/library/weekly/aa122100a.htm