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SEPTEMBER 11, 2016: Flyer Distributed at New Haven Sunday Vigil to Resist This Endless War

Our grief was never a cry for war.

why-warIn the aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, “September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows” and many, many other Americans proclaimed, “Our grief is not a cry for war.” People from all countries, knowing intimately and from long experience the unbearable price of war and terrorism, stood with us in word and deed. For a moment, our shared humanity and grief knew no boundaries.

But more wars were already planned.

The Bush administration used the tragedy as a pretext for the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 and to launch the second U.S. war on Iraq in 2003, thus beginning the 21st century by escalating and deepening the state of endless war initiated in the 20th. The lies and distortions used to justify these invasions were reported by the mainstream media, our so-called “Free Press,” as if they were unquestionable fact.

Only the rest of the world seems to have known that they were lies.

The new administration escalated the Endless War agenda it inherited. The Obama administration not only continued but escalated Endless War, making drone warfare—war by remote control—and targeted assassinations key instruments of U.S. “foreign policy.” The collateral damage—aka innocent lives lost—from these attacks is never discussed. Also not discussed is the true reason for this state of endless war: to make the world ever more abundant for the 1% of its population which already controls the vast majority of our planet’s wealth and resources.

In 2016 we have a presidential election in which the issues of war and peace are not even addressed.

The state of endless war is apparently accepted as the norm. The two leading candidates for the presidency of the United States (both members of the wealthiest 1%) simply vie to prove which one of them will be the most effective (or ruthless) in carrying it out.
Is continuing the bloodshed to enrich the 1% the way to honor all who have died as a result of the endless, senseless wars?
We think not.
Can we do better in their memory, and for our future?
We hope so.

Our grief is a cry for peace and for justice.

Labor History & Related Films Available at Best Video

from the GNH Labor History Association Newsletter, Sep-Oct 2016

Best Video Film and Cultural Center and the GNH Labor History Association have worked together to make labor history films available to educators and the general public in a convenient way. The films, located next to the political documentaries shelf, are available for a small fee at the store at 1842 Whitney Ave., Hamden.

The two small non-profit organizations hope to expand the collection through grants and donations.

Let us know if you can help!

The films include:

  • The Organizer (Italian film with Marcello Mastroianni as an itinerant labor organizer)
  • The Take (Naomi Klein documentary on workers taking over Argentinian factories)
  • The Wobblies (documentary on the International Workers of the World (IWW))
  • Norma Rae (Sally Field as a woman who gets involved in organizing in a textile factory)
  • Matewan (John Sayles movie about a 1920s coal strike)
  • Bread and Roses (Drama starring Adrian Brody about Justice for Janitors campaign in LA)
  • The Molly Maguires (Sean Connery in a drama about Irish-American secret society fighting for justice in the coal mines circa late 19th century)
  • Newsies (musical about striking newsboys)
  • American Dream (documentary about the Hormel strike)
  • Harlan County USA (Oscar-winning drama about violent 1973 coal miners strike in Kentucky)
  • F.I.S.T. (1978 drama starring Sylvester Stallone loosely based on Jimmy Hoffa’s career)
  • Hoffa (Jack Nicholson stars as Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa)
  • The Devil and Miss Jones (1941 screwball comedy about a tycoon who goes underground to foil a union organizing campaign in his store)

    Hank Hoffman from Best Video was instrumental in supporting this collaborative project.

Listen Here! Short Story Reading Series at the Institute Library.

by Bennett Graff, New Haven Review

Join us for a night of classic short stories selected by the staff of the New Haven Review and read by cast members of the New Haven Theater Co.  Reading starts at 7 p.m., with a talk back at 8 p.m. that explores the background, meaning, and dramatic interpretation of that night’s stories.  Also, freshly baked cookies–a different batch at each reading–and tea are available.  Admission free!  Join us every third Tuesday of the month at the Institute Library, 847 Chapel St. Our next reading will be October 18.  Our theme: “Can’t Live with ‘Em.” Our stories: “Chez Lambert” by Jonathan Franzen and “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud. Please note the Institute Library is one flight up and, most unfortunately, not wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit us at www.institutelibrary.org.

Jeremy Scahill to Keynote Between The Lines’ 25th Anniversary Forum 2-4 p.m. Saturday Oct. 8 in New Haven

Award-winning investigative journalist and author, Democracy Now! correspondent, a founding editor of The Intercept and Oscar-nominated filmmaker for “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield” Jeremy Scahill will be the keynote speaker at Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine’s 25th Anniversary Celebration from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, 270 Temple St., New Haven, CT.

scahill-democracynowScahill’s speech, “Drones, Terrorism and The President,” will address America’s endless wars, “targeted assassinations” and the critical policy decisions facing our next president, issues largely ignored by U.S. corporate media. Scahill will also be signing his latest book, “The Assassination Complex,” with a foreword by Edward Snowden and afterword by Glenn Greenwald.

Democracy in Action awards, public forum, Q&A and booksigning with Jeremy Scahill 2-4 p.m.
at the United Church on the Green, 270 Temple St., New Haven, CT (corner of Temple and Elm Streets).

Suggested contribution: ($10 advance, $15 at the door).

Call (203) 268-8446 or email info@squeakywheel.net.

Ticket outlet: Best Video Film and Cultural Center, 1842 Whitney Ave., Hamden.

Online tickets: BetweenTheLines25thanniversary.brownpapertickets.com.

A reception and silent auction will be held from 5-7 p.m. ($50 each).

Call 203-268-8446 for details or visit http://Squeakywheel.net.

Co-sponsors: Progressive Action Roundtable (PAR-newhaven.org) and The Greater New Haven Peace Council.

UI Planning Rate Increase of the Distribution Charge, Hearing in New Haven tonight! Sept. 12

by Paula Panzarella, Fight the Hike

UI is now owned by Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest utility companies, with over 31 million customers. This adds to the insult that Connecticut customers, already paying the highest rates for electricity in the continental United States, are faced with even higher bills if we don’t stop the proposed increase.

According to the press release from the Office of Consumer Counsel, “If UI’s rate phase-in plan were approved as proposed, a typical residential customer on standard service generation who is using 700kWh per month would see their total bill rise by approximately $9.34, from $162.46 to $171.80, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Monthly bills would also increase by approximately $9.50 per month on Jan. 1, 2018 and by an incremental $11.00 monthly on Jan. 1, 2019.”

Note this is only the distribution charge. Should there be an increase in the generation charge, transmission, basic service or any other charge on our UI bill, we’re looking at even more.
Again, we already have the highest rates in the continental United States!

How to fight this: we have to pack the public hearings in Bridgeport and New Haven.

  • Bridgeport hearing: Thursday, Sept. 8, 6:30 p.m., City Common Council Chambers, Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace.
  • New Haven hearing: Monday, Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., Hearing Room G2, Kennedy Mitchell Hall of Records, 200 Orange St.

This proposal is identified as Docket No. 16-06-04. Please use this number when you write, e-mail or call PURA.

To mail your commentary, write to PURA,10 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051. Send e-mail to dpuc.executivesecretary@po.state.ct.us.

Thank you!

For questions or more information, please call (203) 562-2798 or e-mail paulapanzarella@yahoo.com.

In the Sept. 9 New Haven Register there is an article about yet another increase they want to impose on us.

DOT Hearings Regarding Increase in Bus Fares, Metro North and Shore Line East

Department of Transportation Holds Hearings Regarding Increase in Bus Fares, Metro North Fares and Shore Line East Fares
New Haven Hearing is Thursday, September 15 from 4-6 p.m. and 7-9 p.m at the New Haven Hall of Records, Room G-2, 200 Orange Street.
According to Gov. Malloy’s proposal, on Dec. 1, CT Transit bus service will increase from $1.50 to $1.75 and train rides will increase 5 percent.
Written comments on the proposed fare changes must be received by September 15, 2016 at COMMENT ON FARE CHANGES, Bureau of Public Transportation, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, P.O. Box 317546, Newington, CT 06131-7546 or dot.farecomments@ct.gov.
links to articles:

Next Deadline for Newsletter Articles: Monday, Sept. 19, 2016

Please submit copy to PAR’s e-mail address: parnewhaven@hotmail.com

No e-mail? Call Paula at (203) 562-2798 to find out how to submit your article. There is a 350 word limit.

Next Planning Meeting date is Tues., Sept. 6 at 2:45 p.m….all welcome…call (203) 562-2798 for location.

Subscription: $13 for 10 issues, check payable to PAR, P.O. Box 995, New Haven, CT 06504

See previous articles by visiting the website http://par-newhaven.org.

This issue dedicated to the memory of Dr. Morris Wessel, Judi Friedman and Lou Friedman

The PAR Planning Committee dedicates this September issue to Dr. Morris Wessel, Judi Friedman and Lou Friedman. These three people devoted their careers and their lives to help create a safer, healthier, more peaceful world.

morris-wesselProgressive Action Roundtable extends its condolences to the family of Dr. Morris Wessel, who passed on at age 98 on August 20. Dr. Wessel was a pediatrician in New Haven for forty-two years. In the 1970s he investigated the lead levels in children, and in 1974 helped found The Connecticut Hospice, the first hospice in the United States. He and his wife, social worker Irmgard Rosenzweig Wessel who died in 2014, were greatly respected and admired by many of us in the PAR community. He is survived by four children, David, Bruce, Paul and Lois; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and hundreds of former patients. Contributions may be made to the Morris and Irmgard Wessel Fund, a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, which makes annual awards to unsung heroes who are improving life for residents of the city. For more about Dr. Wessel: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/morris_wessel

friedman-judi-louIt is with great sadness that PAR learned of the passing of Judi and Lou Friedman of Canton on July 25. They both suffered with painful and debilitating health issues. Judi led the People’s Action for Clean Energy organization for forty-three years and has regularly written articles for the PAR newsletter. Lou was co-founder of Beyond Nuclear, a national non-profit promoting a nuclear-free world. For decades, PACE has been a resource for information and action on clean-energy issues and energy efficiency. Judi and Lou helped educate many of us about the dangers of nuclear power. At its annual meeting in the fall, PACE will be honoring the lives of Judi and Lou.

For more information, contact Mark Scully, Chairman of PACE, at mwscully29@gmail.com.

Seeking Your Help to Protect Next Gandhi Peace Award Winner

by Stanley Heller, Administrator, PEP

Promoting Enduring Peace has set up a “Freedom to Travel” committee to pressure the Israeli government to allow one of its Gandhi Peace Award winners to travel to the United States. At a telephone press conference the 64-year-old peace and environmental group announced the Gandhi Peace Award will be given jointly to Ralph Nader (pictured on the left) and Omar Barghouti (right) at a ceremony in New Haven in April 2017.

nader-and-barghouti-620x330

Ralph Nader is known for over five decades for his consumer and civic activism and for being among the first nationally known figures to criticize Israeli abuses and to speak up in support of the Israeli peace movement. Omar Barghouti is one of the best-known leaders of the BDS (Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions) movement which calls for economic pressure against Israel until it withdraws from the land it occupies, gives full civic equality to Palestinians citizens inside Israel and allows Palestinian refugee families their right to return to their homeland and homes.

Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, talked about Omar Barghouti. He said the Palestinian was a “central player in the Palestinian campaign for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel.” And “Omar’s voice has been a crucial one in the past several years and one that should be increasingly amplified to all those asking about Palestinian non-violence.”
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said she first met Barghouti in 2009 and that’s when Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) starting working on BDS issues. She hailed Barghouti’s leadership and “impeccable ethical framework” and his continued work “at great cost and risk to himself.”

The Israeli government has refused to renew Barghouti’s travel document and he is effectively banned from leaving Palestine/Israel. Vilkomerson said JVP would be working with PEP and other groups to restore Barghouti’s ability to travel and to come to the U.S. to accept the award.

Those interested in working on the “Freedom to Travel” committee should write to office@pepeace.org. A recent TSVN You Tube interview with Barghouti can be heard by going to http://www.pepeace.org.

Dr. Alice Rothchild discusses ‘historical and ethical challenges in Israel and Palestine’ in Storrs

by Julia Berger, Middle East Crisis Committee

On July 30, about 35 people convened at the Storrs Meeting House to enjoy a Middle Eastern potluck and a talk by Dr. Alice Rothchild: “A Personal Journey: Facing Historical and Ethical Challenges in Israel/Palestine.”

Alice Rothchild

Alice Rothchild

Dr. Rothchild has practiced ob/gyn for almost 40 years and served as Assistant Professor of Obstretics and Gynecology at Harvard Medical School. She is a first-generation American who grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in the Boston area. She grew up with the narrative of Israel as a haven for Jewish “victims,” as a democratic state in the Middle East surrounded by hostile Arabs and Palestinians. Only when she was in college did a friend cast doubts on this view. Dr. Rothchild was inspired by this friend to do some serious research—on colonialism, imperialism, and U.S. and Israeli history—especially about the 1948 Palestinian “Nakba” in which many Palestinians were killed by Israelis and many more became dispossessed refugees.

Eventually Dr. Rothchild joined Physicians for Human Rights on a journey to Israel and Palestine to see for herself the conditions there and to work in clinics, especially in Palestine. Since then she has gone annually to travel around, to work in clinics, and to speak with Palestinians and Israelis about the deteriorating physical situation in Palestine (the Wall, the increased Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, the checkpoints, the housing demolitions, etc.). She emphasized she is not criticizing Jews as Jews but rather the policies of the Israeli government.

When she has attempted to speak about her experiences here in the U.S., she has frequently been harassed or her talks have been cancelled. But she remains optimistic because more and more Americans and Israelis are finally speaking out against Israeli government policies.

Dr. Rothchild also pointed out the affinity between Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian situation. Both are met with increasingly militarized/weaponized responses. The final irony: many of the U.S.’s police departments are even trained in Israel or here by the IDF.

She was also troubled that none of the current presidential candidates, except Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party, were even talking about Israel/Palestine.

Asked about BDS, she responded that the U.S. provides $3 billion a year to Israel—a population of 8.2 million—the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. The American taxpayer has some responsibility for Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians. Moreover the non-violent BDS is supported by the Palestinians and seems to be having an impact on the Israeli government.

Dr. Rothchild has directed a documentary film “Voices Across the Divide,” and has written several books and articles on her experiences.

News to Get All Steamed Up About: UI Is Planning a Rate Increase of the Distribution Charge

by Paula Panzarella, Fight the Hike

UI is now owned by Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest utility companies, with over 31 million customers. This adds to the insult that Connecticut customers, already paying the highest rates for electricity in the continental United States, are faced with even higher bills if we don’t stop the proposed increase.
According to the press release from the Office of Consumer Counsel, “If UI’s rate phase-in plan were approved as proposed, a typical residential customer on standard service generation who is using 700kWh per month would see their total bill rise by approximately $9.34, from $162.46 to $171.80, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Monthly bills would also increase by approximately $9.50 per month on Jan. 1, 2018 and by an incremental $11.00 monthly on Jan. 1, 2019.”

Note this is only the distribution charge. Should there be an increase in the generation charge, transmission, basic service or any other charge on our UI bill, we’re looking at even more.
Again, we already have the highest rates in the continental United States!

How to fight this: we have to pack the public hearings in Bridgeport and New Haven.

  • Bridgeport hearing: Thursday, Sept. 8, 6:30 p.m., City Common Council Chambers, Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace.
  • New Haven hearing: Monday, Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., Hearing Room G2, Kennedy Mitchell Hall of Records, 200 Orange St.

This proposal is identified as Docket No. 16-06-04. Please use this number when you write, e-mail or call PURA.

To mail your commentary, write to PURA,10 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051. Send e-mail to dpuc.executivesecretary@po.state.ct.us.

Thank you!

For questions or more information, please call (203) 562-2798 or e-mail paulapanzarella@yahoo.com.

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