October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 1 THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE. PITTSBURGH, PA 15224 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT NO. 458 TMC works to build a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, oppression and environmental justice. TMC engages people of diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. PITTSBURGH’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER Published by the Thomas Merton Center VOL. 42 No. 9, October 2012 OCCUPY PITTSBURGH INSERT Published by Occupy Pittsburgh Issue No. 8, October 2012 PASSIONATE AND MILITANT FOR PEACE Featured A New Economy Medea Benjamin Voting Deadline by Francine Porter “WE MUST BE AS PASSIONATE ABOUT PEACE AS OUR COUNTRY IS ABOUT WAR.” - Medea Benjamin On Thursday, November 8th, at 6 P.M. at The Sheraton Station Square, activists and members of the peace and social justice community will gather to celebrate The Thomas Merton Center's 40th Anniversary and honor long time activist Medea Benjamin by presenting her with the Center's Peace and Social Justice Award. The major fundraiser for the Thomas Merton Center is sure to be a spectacular evening of celebrating the efforts of the progressive community, and a chance to hear Benjamin share her experiences, knowledge, and insights in the peace and social justice arena. The Big Idea Bookstore will be offering several of the books Benjamin has authored at an informal book signing after the dinner. Plans are also underway for Benjamin to speak on The University of Pittsburgh Campus, the afternoon of November 8th, through kind sponsorship by the Women's Studies School and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Medea Benjamin is an American political activist, best known for co-founding Codepink and the fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange. Benjamin also was a Green Party candidate in 2000 for the United States Senate. The Los Angeles Times has described her as "one of the high profile leaders" of the peace movement, and Benjamin was included in San Francisco Magazine as being on the "power list" of the "60 Players Who Rule the Bay Area." Benjamin worked for 10 years as an economist and nutritionist in Latin America and Africa for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, the Swedish International Development Agency, and the Institute for Food and Development policy. Continued on page 11. Voter Registration Deadline - Oct. 9, 2012 If you are not registered to vote, or have moved since you last voted, or have a name on your photo ID that does not agree with the name on your voter registration card, please act quickly to register to vote for the November 6 elections! The deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 9! It is one of two opportunities available each year to be heard through the election process! If you do not have a photo ID as of this printing due to a change in the law in Pennsylvania, you will need one in order to vote in November. Your photo ID must be current and include an expiration date. For the latest information or if you have problems getting a free ID, call 866-687-8683 or visit www.aclupa.org/voterID. Continued on page 14 Courtesy Citizen.org Trans-Pacific Partnership Protest Taken at the Allegheny County Court House— Rally Against the New Voter ID Law Correction to September New People Article “Duquesne Adjunct Profs Unionize” the author was Jeff Cech not John Haer. Courtesy of DemocracyNow.org
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October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 1
THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE.
PITTSBURGH, PA 15224 NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PITTSBURGH, PA
PERMIT NO. 458
TMC works to build a consciousness of values and to
raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war,
THRIFTY needs volunteer truck drivers...if you can help please
call Shirley, Shawna, or Dolly at (412) 361-6010.
From left to
right:
Linda Loar,
Dolly Mason,
Becky,
Shawna and
little John
Romeo, Shirley
and Sarah, pose
for a picture at
Thrifty during a
busy afternoon
at the store!
October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 3
by Molly Rush
Sometimes ideas come together so that it’s
almost inevitable that you’ll pay attention amidst
the clamor of issues, protests, elections and day-
to-day living. That’s how the “NEW
ECONOMY” hit me.
First, I listened to Gar Alperovitz’ keynote
speech at the Green Party convention on
Democracy Now. He’s an economist I’ve
long admired. He spoke about “transforming the
most powerful corporate capitalist system in the
history of the world”
He went on to say that there are “10 million
people involved in worker-owned companies.
One hundred thirty million are involved in co-
ops and co-op credit unions... 40% of society.
Four or five thousand neighborhood owned
corporations, thousands of social enterprises.”
He recommended a website, Community-
wealth.org “(Where) you will find thousands of
things that are happening on the ground that
change the ownership of wealth and begin to
green the economy, and it is part of the new deal
that we’re going to build forward as we go on
through the decade.”
Next, Sarah Byrnes, who was our CBC
campaign intern ten years ago, came to visit
family here. Turns out she’s working with the
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) for Chuck
Collins. He gave a talk on inequality for CBC
back in 2001 when he was with United for a Fair
Economy. His latest book is “99 to 1: How
wealth inequality is wrecking the world and what
we can do about it.”
Sarah and Church are working with - guess
who - Gar Alperovitz! on the New Economy,
bottom up initiatives in local communities.
The New Economy Working Group is
composed of Institute of Policy Studies, YES!
Magazine, the Business Alliance for Local
Living Economies (BALLE), the Living
Economies Forum, and the Democracy
Collaborative.
They write that the real solution to our
economic, political, social and environmental
crisis “requires a thorough system redesign to
give priority to serving the real needs of people,
community, and Earth's living systems.
Widespread public outrage creates an opening
to reframe the public debate on economic policy
choices and the assumptions underlying those
choices about values, the proper purpose of our
economic institutions, and the potentials of our
human nature.
The basic design elements of the real wealth
living economies we humans must now create
are largely known. Indeed, millions of people
are already engaged in local initiatives that are
bringing the needed new economies into being.
It remains, however, to weave together the
known elements into a holistic, coherent, and
compelling vision of the possibilities at hand,
translate that vision into a coherent policy
agenda, and build public support through
popular education and media outreach.”
(See neweconomyworkinggroup.com)
I decided to convene a meeting at the Merton
Center. Sarah agreed to return to discuss the
New Economy, its potential in Pittsburgh, and
her project, “Resilience Circles,” small groups of
people who come together to learn about the
economy, provide mutual aid and do social
action. IPS provides training for facilitators.
On September 11, 14 people met with Sarah to
discuss the concept of a New Economy and ways
to gain a clearer understanding of the many
people involved in diverse projects and
economic campaigns that are already active in
our area. Think cooperatives, community
gardens, green projects, reclaiming
neighborhoods like Larimer or One Hill, for just
a few examples.
The hope is that we can begin to meet with
them, learn more about what they’re doing, and
discover ways to facilitate that weaving together
needed to develop that holistic and broader
vision that can engage and move the broader
community into action.
Pitt Social Work Professor Tracy Soska
described this as a year of learning and
engagement. Several concrete ideas grew out of
this meeting: train two facilitators for Resilience
Circles; invite local speakers to discuss their work at a series of potlucks; do a field trip to Cleveland where a lot is happening; arrange a larger program in the spring with Chuck Collins and a local panel; begin a mapping project to research and disseminate information on local initiatives; hold a conference with Gar Alperovitz as a keynote speaker later in the year. You are welcome to join the discussion at the
Sisters drowning in their sex, strapped to an ill-
fitting cage
prepare
as they always have
to be penetrated in all her secrets
Curse the institutes (mind locked in tense building)
who expropriated the magical virtue from the body
I am not this discipline.
“The body had to die so that labor-power could
live.” Silvia Federici.
Curse the authorities who snatched the hanged
bodies and handed them to the anatomists
Be weary of laboratories where ‘knowledge on the
body is gained’
while the practitioner is executed
The astronomers Name the microscopic strings of
energy they can’t find but know are there,
anti-reason
Magik is for the freaks
The sharper tool we need is our own awakened
selves.
replenish the commons
dance to each other
know your instruments
If you can’t make love
don’t argue about it
Measure time as it is measured by the solar
system:
either creating or destroying
Occupy Pleasure Town
the line between lovers and comrades is
annihilated,
drenched in the secret sauce (drift)
A psychic break is necessary for survival,
so is dissent.
Danielle Maggio is a Preschool teacher and
museum educator at Children's Museum.
On Behalf of the Spiral by Danielle Maggio
by Kenneth Miller
The Service Employees International Union
(SEIU) here in Pittsburgh has put in an all out
effort to organize three of Oakland’s largest
UPMC hospitals. For months, 10 - 20
organizers have been on the ground leafleting,
charting, house calling, and meeting. There are
nearly 7,000 workers at these three hospitals
and organizing them all into the union requires
talking to all of them, advising them of their
rights.
UPMC has been fully engaged in an anti-
union campaign for many years, and this year’s
SEIU campaign has caused them to increase
their efforts. At Magee Women’s Hospital,
nurses in the cancer ward have anti-union
literature posted in their bathroom stalls. UPMC
is offering better than usual raises this year.
There are meetings where the boss does anti-
union presentations. Workers are speaking up
and challenging the anti-union assertions their
bosses are making in these meetings. Some
workers are exercising their free speech rights
at work and talking about the union on the job.
With 7,000 workers involved in this union
effort, members of the Thomas Merton Center
bound to know some of them.
Kenneth Miller is a member of the TMC
Editorial Committee.
UPMC UNION ORGANIZING
“Every moment and
every event of every
man's life on earth
plants something in
his soul.”
Thomas Merton
October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 7
by Joyce Rothermel
For the 16th year, Fonkoze, Haiti's alternative bank for the organized poor, has sent two of their employees to Pittsburgh on scholarship to study at Duquesne University. Each year Fonkoze requests the scholarship from Duquesne University. When the scholarships are approved, two of the Fonkoze employees are selected. The Pittsburgh Regional Haiti Solidarity Committee, an affiliate of the Thomas Merton Center, is the third partner in the annual endeavor. The Committee recruits host families who generously provide room and board for the two
students and reaches out to members of the community to serve as financial sponsors. Committee members assist with class registration, as well as healthcare and social needs. On August 15, Chedlin Gerve and Fredler Jean-Louis arrived at the Pittsburgh International Airport and are now settled into their host homes and classes at Duquesne University. I would like to introduce you to them, asking you, our New People readers and Thomas Merton Center members, to welcome them into our community. Both will be invited to our 40th anniversary dinner at the Sheraton at Station Square on Nov. 8 where you will have an opportunity to meet them and learn about their critical work in Haiti!
Fonkoze, their employer, includes two institutions working together for the single goal of helping Haiti’s poor remove themselves from poverty and create a democratic economy in Haiti.
• Fondasyan Kole Zepol (Fonkoze), which in English means “Shoulder to Shoulder”, is a Haitian non-profit microfinance institution on the cutting edge of the delivery of rural financial services. New branches are created and nurtured to increase profitability while at the same time developing new products, providing educational programs for clients, and measuring success rates of clients.
• Fonkoze Financial Services (FFS) is a Haitian commercial microfinance institution that takes profitable branches and well-tested products from Fonkoze and expands them to hundreds of thousands of Haitians, especially those in rural, hard to reach areas. Since the end of 2006, FFS has established itself as a stable, profitable organization.
When Chedlin and Fredler return to Haiti, they will take on increased responsibilities and make greater contributions to the success of these important efforts in Haiti. Consider supporting a Fonkoze student! Each year several sponsors are needed to help cover some of the financial expenses for the project that are not covered by Fonkoze and the host families through their room and board. These include health insurance, monthly bus passes, cell phones, and medical needs not covered by insurance (dental, glasses, etc.) You can join the Fonkoze Family by becoming a “One Month Sponsor” for one of the Fonkoze employee scholarship recipients this year. Call me at the Merton Center (412) 361-3022 for more information about the Haiti Solidarity Committee and how to become a sponsor.
Joyce Rothermel is the Secretary /Treasurer of
the Pittsburgh Regional Haiti Solidarity
Committee.
Haitian Micro-Bankers Arrive in Pittsburgh to Study Business at Duquesne
International Activism
by Daniel Kovalik
According to Colombia’s El Tiempo, 75% of
Colombians want a dialogue between the
Colombian government and the guerillas. And,
this stands to reason, for Colombia has been
devastated by over 50 years of armed conflict
which has cost the lives of hundreds of
thousands of civilians (between 50,000 to
250,000 of whom were “disappeared”); left over
5 million persons internally displaced (the
largest internally displaced population in the
world); and given a pretext for the Colombian
government, with the aid of its paramilitary
allies, to wipe out progressive organizations,
including trade unions, working for social
change. On a grander scale, the Colombian
conflict has provided a convenient pretext for
U.S. military intervention in that country and the
entire region and has been the biggest hurdle to
the dream of Latin American integration.
It is therefore welcome and monumental
news that the Colombian government recently
confirmed rumors that it has signed an
agreement with the largest guerrilla group, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia
(FARC) to commence peace talks as well.
Experience has shown that such peace talks
are fragile. Colombia has gone through a
number of peace processes, but they have all
ended badly thus far. The most notable failed
peace process took place in the 1980’s when the
FARC agreed to end the armed insurgency in
return for being able to participate in Colombian
political life through the Patriotic Union party
(UP). In a great act of treachery, the Colombian
military and paramilitary death squads
responded to this deal by murdering around
5,000 UP leaders and activists, and the FARC
commenced hostilities anew.
Meanwhile, as The Miami Herald reports,
both sides of the conflict have made it clear that
they will not cease armed conflict during the
peace talks; on the contrary, battles between the
guerillas and the Colombian military and police
have increased in recent months. More
troubling, the main non-violent group calling for
peace talks – the Patriotic March – has been
increasingly vilified by the Colombian
government (quite untruthfully) as FARC
supporters, and a number of Patriotic March
leaders have been threatened, jailed, killed or
disappeared with increasing frequency. And,
just as these peace talks have commenced, and
as such attacks against peace activists have
escalated, the Colombian government has cut in
half the support for the beneficiaries of its
government protection program – a program
which purports to protect peace and social
activists from these very attacks. In short, there
are many reasons to be very cautious in our
optimism for these talks.
At the same time, there are reasons for hope.
For its part, the FARC took an important step in
the direction of peace earlier this year by
renouncing its longtime practice of kidnapping
(a tactic of raising money through ransom). As
for the Colombian government, President Santos
has exhibited much more openness to peace
talks than his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, and
has been much more moderate in his rhetoric
about the guerillas and about the Colombian non
-violent left as well. Santos has even begun a
land reform program which purports to give
back land to Colombians (particularly those of
the indigenous and Afro-Colombian
community) whose land was seized unlawfully
during the conflict.
While it remains to be seen how successful
this program will be, and while the program
itself has inspired paramilitary groups to
violently attack those standing to take back land
that the paramilitaries wrongfully seized during
the conflict, the overture is an important one for
the guerillas whose primary demand over the
decades has been meaningful land reform.
Finally, the accelerated growth of the peace
movement in Colombia, most notably through
the establishment of the Patriotic March, will
add critical support to these talks.
As usual, the important wildcard is the
United States – the financial backer of the
Colombian military and the author of
Colombia’s anti-insurgency program beginning
in 1962. The only way that the peace process
will be successful is for the U.S. to support the
process, or, at the very least, get out of the way
to allow it to go forward and prosper. So far, the
U.S. has shown no willingness to support peace
in Colombia, instead opting to exploit the
conflict to retain its last military beachhead in
the Latin American region – a region which,
much to the chagrin of the U.S., is increasingly
radicalizing and turning leftward. A key factor
in the peace process, then, is a strong movement
of citizens in the U.S. who will support peaceful
actors, such as the Patriotic March, in Colombia,
and put political pressure on the U.S.
government to allow peace to flourish in
Colombia. This is a momentous opportunity for
President Obama to finally earn his Nobel Peace
Prize (3 years after the fact) and we must
encourage him to seize upon this opportunity.
As a final note, the Cuban government must
again be applauded for playing its positive role
in this process. As it has in the past, Cuba
hosted the initial talks which led to the
commencement of this peace process, and,
along with Norway, will continue to host such
talks throughout the process.
This tiny island, much vilified by our
government, continues to play its positive role
in our hemisphere for peace, regional stability
and public health. The shamefulness of the
U.S.’s continued blockade of that country grows
each day as Cuba outshines the U.S. in terms of
its contributions to the world.
Daniel Kovalik is a labor and human rights
attorney living in Pittsburgh and teaches
International Human Rights Law at the
University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Dialogue Between the Government and FARC in Colombia
Fredler Jean-Louis and Chedlin Gerve
Photo by Joyce Rothermel
8 - NEWPEOPLE October 2012
Thwarting Democracy: The Commission on Presidential Debates
by Edith Bell
Petition to Challenge Corporate Power needs
volunteers for petition drive, starting on Election Day
Challenging Corporate Power is a phenomenal
undertaking. Today we see the unwarranted influence
of corporations on everything from foreign policy to
domestic environmental policy, from price setting and
bailouts to favorable corporate tax policies, and
trumping rights of human citizens, communities,
cities, states, even nations.
We cannot expect our official representatives in the
government to change the situation, because they are
beholden to these powers. It has to be a grassroots
effort to amend the U.S. Constitution, since by law
corporations have the same rights as human beings.
Peoples Right vs. Corporate Rights, Democracy vs.
Corporate Rule is the issue.
It is up to us ordinary people to use our numbers to
start working on it.
The talk by David Cobb and George Friday of
Move To Amend in Pittsburgh in July resulted in the
formation of an informal coalition of people, some
choosing the “lesser of two evils”? In fundamental
ways, when we vote, we’re only maintaining the
status quo. It’s blatantly obvious that both the
Democratic and Republican parties are in bed with
corporations and the business elite (just look at
Federal Election Commission data). Thanks to the
Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, it’s very
clear, the more money you acquire and hand out to
buy your interests, the more free speech you have.
Even though I’m not hailing this as the solution
for our rotten election system, one way to actually
have a political choice in this country is to allow all
candidates on the ballot to debate each other. In
2008, four candidates were on the ballot in
Pennsylvania—McCain, Obama, Nader
(Independent), and Barr (Libertarian)—but how
many people actually knew Nader and Barr were
running until they were face-to-face with the ballot?
With the exception of Perot (whom I discuss below),
third party candidates have been barred from
presidential debates since 1987, when the
Commission on Presidential Debates seized control
of the whole presidential debating process. In the
2012 election cycle, there will be at least four
candidates on most of the ballots: Obama, Romney,
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party), and Jill Stein
(Green Party). Think of how interesting and
challenging it would be if these latter two were
added to the mix to discuss their plans for America.
Republicans and Democrats must be forced to
debate third parties. The Commission on
Presidential Debates (CPD) is simply a non-profit
private corporation created by the Republican and
Democratic parties in 1987—forcibly replacing the
League of Women Voters (LWV), who allowed
third parties to debate—to make sure no third parties
could debate against them.
According to George Farah, author of No Debate
and spokesperson for the non-profit Open Debates
(opendebates.org), much of the money that finances
the CPD presidential debates comes from private
corporations that have "regulatory interest before
congress." Anheuser-Busch and Brown Brothers
Harriman New York (a bank) are two of the biggest
sponsors of this year’s debate events (there are ten
sponsors total in 2012). Tobacco giant Phillip
Morris was a major sponsor in 1992 and 1996.
Commission co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf—the
nation’s leading gambling lobbyist and the President
of the Gambling Association—has even said,
"We’re not going to apologize for trying to influence
political elections." Nancy Neuman, former
president of the LWV, explains the difference
between her organization and the CPD quite clearly:
One of the big differences between us and the Commission was that the commission could easily raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions. They did it very quickly in 1988. Even though I would go to some corporations, I would be lucky to get $5,000. Why? Because under the commission's sponsorship, this is another soft-money deal. It is a way to show your support for the parties because, of course, it is a bipartisan commission and a bipartisan contribution. There was nothing in it for corporations when they made a contribution to the League. Not a quid pro quo. That's not the case with the commission.
According to the CPD website, in order for a
candidate to qualify to debate, she/he must 1) be
constitutionally eligible, 2) be on enough ballots to
be able to win, and 3) have at least "15 percent of
the national electorate as determined by five selected
national public opinion polling organizations…"
The first two criteria are reasonable, but it’s the third
one that exposes the true face of the CPD. In the
past, getting 15 percent has been impossible, and
this arbitrary number was chosen exactly for its
impracticality in a world where mainstream media
almost never reports on third parties. You may recall
that Ross Perot debated in 1992 with just 9 percent
of the vote. This is because Clinton and Bush (I)
allowed it. In 1996, even though Perot again had 9
percent of the vote at debate time, Clinton and Dole
refused to let him speak. Why? Because Clinton was
soaring in the polls and didn’t want anything to
change. The Republican and Democratic campaigns
agree on and sign a secret, private, "legal" contract
months in advance. This “contract” decides who
gets to debate, how many debates there will be, the
format including what topics can be raised, and even
which passive moderators will host the debates.
This election season third party candidates like
Green Jill Stein (on at least 37 states and D.C.) and
Libertarian Gary Johnson (on at least 47 states and
D.C.) are already on enough ballots to make
winning the presidency a mathematical possibility.
What they’ll never get is the irrational 15 percent of
the national electorate that corporate money buys.
Let’s remember that Abraham Lincoln’s
Republican Party was a third party formed to contest
the extension of slavery into the territories. They
decided not to ignore the slavery issue, and Lincoln
won the election in 1860. In just this way, third
parties can help shift conversation away from a
limited sphere of ideas and toward acknowledging
genuine failures of the existing system.
Joshua Zelesnick teaches a writing course on the
“Citizen” at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA.
He is a poet and activist and is on the volunteer
organizing committee for the Adjunct Faculty
Association, which awaits union recognition.
by Benjamin Eckert
Born in 1946, Steve Biko
was a student organizer and
activist for the anti-apartheid
movement in South Africa.
While studying medicine at
the University of Natal,
Biko began organizing stu-
dents to work toward political self-reliance in the face
of racially-motivated oppression. There, he helped
found the South African Students Organization
(SASO). Much of Biko's work in SASO grew into
what is now known as the Black Consciousness
Movement. Biko's influence was so great that he was
expelled from the university and banned by the gov-
ernment. It was prohibited to quote him.
"Black man, you are on your own" was the rallying
cry as the movement fought against the oppressive
forces of the South African government. The struggle
reached a breaking point on June 16, 1976, when
thousands of high school students in an area known as
Soweto in Johannesburg took to the streets to protest
the introduction of Afrikaans (a West Germanic Lan-
guage) in their schools. Approximately 700 people
were killed by South African Security forces. The
event became known as the “Soweto Uprising”. The
harsh reprisal ignited unrest throughout the country,
strengthening the resistance. Aware of his role in
uniting political dissenters, the South African authori-
ties increased their efforts to silence Biko. On Sep-
tember 6, 1977, he was arrested in Port Elizabeth. He
fell into a coma after being beaten and tortured for 22
hours while in police custody. On September 11,
1977, he was transported to a prison hospital in Preto-
ria where he died the next day. His death sent shock
waves around the world and brought to light many of
the horrors of apartheid. Over 10,000 people attended
his funeral. The police in the incident were never
charged. Few figures have inspired as many people to
work for social change as Stephen Biko. Biko left his
mark on the history of South Africa, and on the global
discourse of social justice. He awakened the con-
sciousness of a people to begin to fight against their
oppressors. He paved the way for the eventual elec-
tion of Nelson Mandela in 1994. His legacy is an in-
spiration and an obligation.
October 9th is the last day you can register to vote.
People have fought and died all over the world for us
to be given the chance to pick those who might lead
us. We have an obligation not just to those activists
such as Steve Biko, but to ourselves and our commu-
nities, to ensure we get involved to protect our rights
that they fought and died for.
Benjamin Eckert, a 22 year old student at CCAC
Boyce, helped register students to vote, and was an
active participant in Occupy Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of Creative Commons
About Steve Biko
October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 9
Activist Culture & Events
by Harvey Holtz
Part I - Theorizing
“The ideas of the ruling class are in every
epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is
the material force of society is at the same time
its intellectual force.” (Marx and Engels, 1846.)
While it is essential to understand the impact
of the forces that Marx and Engels refer to, we
must realize that there are gaps in our society
where alternative, resistant, and transformative
structures exist as well. This is my purpose for
creating Capital’s End, a space where our
combined efforts can be directed towards
transformative change.
In the economic sphere, new relations of
production (class relations) are being born within
the belly of capitalism. Worker cooperatives,
employee stock option plans, credit unions and
public banks, as well as resilience circles,
sustainable agriculture, and a wide variety of
other models represent these new forms of
production and distribution. Unlike many reforms
that take the values and relations of capital for
granted, alternative reforms can be somewhat
autonomous of capital and pave the way to a new
economy and a new society.
These new economic reforms are ideological
as well as material. Capital’s End is designed to
focus on social forms of transformation that are
part of the broader society. As an organizing tool,
Capital’s End is also designed to help alleviate
the alienation (fragmentation) that many of us
experience in our work and in our lives.
Although there is variation in the degree of
fragmentation among our different forms of
active work, our work is often a “means to life”
instead of life itself. We separate our “active
work” from our lives, especially the “joie de
vivre,” that is a result of our dancing, (as
Goldman says) singing and playing.
Moreover, alienation takes the form of the
fragmentation of our struggles, which can appear
as unconnected to the theory that may link them -
instead of having a praxis that connects theory
and practice (“active work”) in an unending
spiral. Additionally, it would also be helpful to
have a social structure that connects all of our
groups like Capital’s End.
Our work often does not provide enough space
for building deep friendships, other than the
limited instrumental and entertainment
relationships that dominate capital. Deep
friendships are built through face-to-face contact
and shared experiences over long periods of time.
Deep friendship builds the forms of trust, and
primary ties, antithetical to capitalist social
relations.
Capital’s End is a way to build a strong basis
for community, along with creative essential
solidarity that is fuel for our “active work.”
Capital’s End intends to be a somewhat unique
step in that direction.
Sustaining ourselves in the best of health begs
for our integration with nature, our control over
our own work, social relations of friendship,
community and solidarity, and the integration of
our work lives with the rest of our lives,
especially with our “joie de vivre.”
To conclude, “active work” is inclusive of all
of those creating and working for social change. It
includes nothing less than those involved in
transition, activists, anarchists and others.
CAPITAL’S END to Begin at the ISTANBUL GRILLE
Part II – Practicing
How Can Change Happen?
Capital’s End is designed to provide a space
where the full diversity of “active work” groups
and individuals working for change may: (a) have
a social space to share ideas across issues, to
build concrete bridges and to form deeper
analyses; (b) help to create the deep friendships
that allow a trust that enhances our possibilities;
and (c) form a culture that binds us theoretically,
practically and personally. We must, however,
maintain the essential independence and
differences that create diversity of structures and
ideas and the independence of groups. Each event
will be dedicated to a particular theme.
The structure will be the responsibility of the
Capital’s End “active work” group. The content
of the program will be the province of the “active
work” group that is conducting that week’s cafe.
The First Cafe: will feature a COSTUMED
HALLOWEEN PARTY on Saturday, October 27,
2012, beginning at 7:30 PM.” The theme of the
first café will be “The New Society.” It will
focus on models for a new society and/or the
various institutions in that society. Ideas might
include those that focus on a sustainable
agriculture, anarchism, a new capitalism,
socialism, communism, etc. One idea might be to
choose to come as (be) a person in that new
society (I hope that includes interesting garb.),
come together as a collective, but come in
whatever makes you smile.
Subsequent events will take place on
Sundays, beginning in November. The tentative
subjects of November’s programs include:
November 4 - “The New Economy;” November
11 “Climate Change and Sustainability;”
November 18 “War;” and November 25 “Active
work” groups.
Although each event will be dedicated to the
evening’s theme, we intend that the program
connect to the cafe’s stated goals. Capital’s End
will also require continual critique so that our
aims and our programs can evolve through this
face-to-face interaction. The TENTATIVE
program concerns the topic of the evening and its
relationships, as well as essential diversities and
includes: (a) a definition of the topic and active
goal, (b) group political, community karaoke and
dancing (c) the performances of local, diverse
bands, (d) scheduled poetry/rap, (e) open
microphone encouraging creative cultural
production, (e) the display, discussion and sale of
art, (f) a “call to arms” by the presenting group,
(g) for the good of the order. Additionally there
will be space for critique as well as space for
“active work” groups to distribute literature.
THE ISTANBUL GRILLE is a place for fine
TURKISH dining. You might also consider
dinner before the event or at any other time - tell
Josh that Harvey sent you.
The ISTANBUL GRILLE is located at 4130
Butler Street / Pittsburgh 15201 – the phone
number is (412) 251-0441. One might consider
dinner at the Istanbul on Wednesday’s - as a place
to socialize to achieve a critical mass for
community and friendship on a second
evening. Eventually, we might have our own
place.
The goal of Capital’s End is to begin a
dialogue and a practice, not to state truth or what
HEALTHY YOUNG ARTISTS—GIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE A VOICE! by Julie Sokolow On Friday evening, August 24th, Healthy Artists, threw a one-of-a-kind party at Assemble, uniting health care advocates, young
people, and artists. Health care advocates, Molly Rush and Be Well! Pittsburgh’s Jude Vachon took the stage. Their talks covered
issues such as the Affordable Care Act, Single-Payer, and Voter ID issues. The talks
were followed by a creative workshop in which young people and artists created art
around the issue of health care reform and presented their ideas to the audience.
Afterwards, local conceptual artist/folk-singer Jenn Gooch performed, followed by the
indie glam-rock Dazzletine. The host of the event was the unique organization,
Healthy Artists. The group produced a free to watch, online documentary series in which young Pittsburgh artists
discuss their lives, their work, and their experiences with the current health care system. The topic of health care
particularly affects the young artist demographic; many artists work non-traditional jobs and part-time jobs that do not
provide health insurance. Additionally, the largest uninsured pool in the U.S. is comprised of young people in the 19-
29 year age range. Healthy Artists aspires to give voice and exposure to these young artists, while bringing vitality and artistry to a serious social justice issue
that has yet to fully connect with a youthful population. To watch the series and learn about future events, visit: www.healthyartists.org.
Julie Sokolow is a filmmaker, musician, and writer, living in Pittsburgh, PA. She is currently directing a feature documentary entitled Aspie Seeks
Love and she also produces the Healthy Artists documentary series.
Thinking about giving to
Thomas Merton Center ?
Then give on Wednesday,
October 3rd and have your
donation matched by
Pittsburgh Foundation as
Part of the citywide Day of
Giving 2012.
Donations must be made online beginning October 3,
Come as a member of your new society. Come as you like. All are welcome. - sustainable agriculturalist, anarchist, new capitalist, socialist, communist, a collective, or any others –
Live local music, poetry/rap, talk, collective “political” karaoke, open microphone, display and sale of art, a “call to arms,” and an
opportunity to build friendships, community and solidarity.
FINE TURKISH CUISINE
“My dinner was so good, I had to either lick the plate or forsake Dr. Atkins.” (HH)
Enjoy the soup of the day, the salads, the hot and cold appetizers, the succulent dinners and the daily desserts – the lamb gravy was exquisite, “Eggplant Moussake” is the signature dish.
Arrive hungry for “a nosh” or a meal during the café, or dinner before the café or at any other time. (Tell Josh that Harvey sent you.)
Josh Gokalp, the owner, has provided us with a beautiful and valuable space at no cost to us.
The Istanbul Grille
4130 Butler St. Pittsburgh, PA 15201
For dining reservations, call (412) 251-0441 ISTANBULGRILLE.COM
The RSVP will help Josh plan adequately for food and drink - - - - and BYOB. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital’s End provides a social space for the full diversity of individuals and groups working for social change: (a) share ideas across issues, build concrete bridges, form analyses; (b) create the deep friendships of trust that enhance our active possibilities; (c) build a culture that binds us theoretically, practically and personally, while maintaining the essential independence and differences that celebrate diversity and independence. Each café will be dedicated to a particular theme .
Subsequent cafes will be on Sundays, beginning in November. The tentative subjects will include: November 4 - “The New Economy;” November 11 - “Climate Change and Sustainability;” November 18 - “War;” and November 25 - “Active Work” groups.
policies of international institutions such as the
World Trade Organization, the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Her
organization, Global Exchange, was instrumental
in organizing the protests against the World Trade
Organization in Seattle in December 1999 and is
a leading advocate of the concept of "fair trade"
that puts labor and environmental needs over
corporate profits. In May 1998 Global Exchange
was credited in the Washington Post as a group
that has "put labor rights on the human rights
agenda."
Ms. Benjamin has become a key figure in the
anti-sweatshop campaigns to change the garment
and shoe industry. When the Clinton
Administration formed the Apparel Industry
Partnership to come up with standards to
eliminate sweatshops, Ms. Benjamin interceded
by urging the Partnership to address the rights of
garment workers to earn wages that cover their
basic needs. She has since become a leading
national figure in the effort to pressure U.S.
companies to include a living wage provision in
their corporate Codes of Conduct.
Global Exchange's campaign focusing on the
giant sports shoe company Nike put the national
spotlight on factory conditions overseas, exposing
the long hours, low pay, unhealthy environment,
and physical abuse that young women workers
endured in Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Global
Exchange mobilized US Congress people, college
students, women's groups, environmentalists,
civil rights organizations and athletes to pressure
Nike to agree to independent monitoring of their
overseas factories and to increase the pay of the
factory workers. The Campaign achieved its first
major victory in May 1998, when Nike agreed to
independent factory monitoring by non-
governmental organizations and raised health and
safety standards in the factories. The Campaign is
still mobilizing the garment and shoe industry
around a living wage and the workers' right to
freedom of association.
Since the September 11, 2001 tragedy, Medea
has been working to promote a U.S. foreign
policy that would respect human rights and gain
us allies instead of contributing to violence and
undermining our international reputation. In 2003
Benjamin co-founded the left wing feminist anti-
war group Codepink: Women for Peace, which
advocated an end to the War in Iraq, the
prevention of future wars, and social justice.
Her work for justice in Israel and Palestine
includes taking numerous delegations to Gaza
after the 2008 Israeli invasion, organizing the
Gaza Freedom March in 2010, participating in the
Freedom Flotillas and opposing the policies of the
Israel lobby group AIPAC. In 2011 she was in
Tahrir Square during the Egyptian uprising. In
2012 she was part of a human rights delegation to
Bahrain in support of democracy activists; she
was tear-gassed, arrested and deported by the
Bahraini government.
In 1999 Ms. Benjamin helped expose the
problem of indentured servitude of garment
workers in the US territory of Saipan (the
Marianas Islands), including a billion-dollar
lawsuit against 17 U.S. retailers profiting from the
workers' plight. She also launched a campaign
focusing on the giant retailer Gap, exposing their
abuses in Saipan and elsewhere around the world.
Ms. Benjamin has also been a key advisor to the
student anti-sweatshop movement, helping to
shape a model university Code of Conduct and
monitoring guidelines.
With the garment, shoe and toy industries
moving so much of their production to China, in
1999 Ms. Benjamin, along with the International
Labor Rights Fund, spearheaded a campaign to
promote workers' rights in China. The Human
Rights Principles for US Businesses in China has
been endorsed by major companies such as
Reebok, Levi Strauss and Mattel, and a NGO/
Company Working Group has been set up to
oversee the practices of US companies in China.
For over twenty years, Ms. Benjamin has
supported human rights and social justice
struggles around the world. She was instrumental
in building US. support for the movement to
overthrow General Suharto in Indonesia and has
been fighting for the right of self-determination
for the people of East Timor. She has been
involved in supporting the Peace Process between
the Zapatista rebels and the Mexican government,
has fought to lift the embargoes against Cuba and
Iraq, and was active in cutting US military aid to
repressive regimes in Central America.
Her books include the following :The Peace
Corps and More; 175 Ways to Work, Study and
Travel in the Third World and Bridging the
Global Gap; A Handbook to Linking Citizens of
the First and Third Worlds. These books examine
the myriad ways North Americans can get
involved in sustainable development-including
working overseas, ethical tourism and alternative
trade, sister cities and material aid, human rights
activism, and changing US. corporate and
government policies. Medea also edited and
translated the award-winning book Don't Be
Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from
the Heart, the moving story of a campesina
leader.
She also helped produce the public TV
documentaries The Fight for Land and Liberty,
Indonesia: One Struggle, One Change, and the
anti-sweatshop video Sweating for a T-Shirt. Her
books on Cuba include Cuba: Talking about
Revolution, The Greening of the Revolution:
Cuba's National Experiment in Sustainable
Agriculture, and No Free Lunch: Food and
Revolution in Cuba Today. Benedita da Silva: An
Afro-Brazilian Woman's Story of Politics and
Love, is the life story of Brazil's first poor, black
woman senator. Her most recent book, Drone
Warfare, Killing By Remote Control is a
comprehensive look at the growing menace of
drone warfare, with an extensive analysis of who
is producing the drones, where they are being
used, who are "piloting" these unmanned planes,
who are the victims and what are the legal and
moral implications. But this book is also a call to
action, with a look at what activists, lawyers and
scientists are doing to rein in the drones, and
ways to move forward.
Ms. Benjamin received a Masters degree in
Public Health from Columbia University and a
Masters degree in Economics from the New
School for Social Research. She lives in
Washington, DC.
To register for the dinner, be a sponsor, or to
become involved in planning, please call the
Thomas Merton Center at 412-361-3022 or visit
the website at www.thomasmertoncenter.org.
Francine Porter is a TMC Board Member and
Coordinator of Codepink Pittsburgh, Women
for Peace.
Medea Benjamin to Receive Merton Peace & Justice Award
2011 Thomas Merton Dinner
Raffle Ticket Winner Report
by Bette McDevitt
If you are a member of the Merton Center,
you will be receiving in the mail, a packet of
raffle tickets, with some nice prizes. We’ve
found a good mix, and stayed with it; the first
prize is two nights at the Edison Hotel in New
York City, a sweet hotel, located steps from
Times Square, and where August Wilson always
stayed; a custom made bike from Bike
Pittsburgh; a big bundle of tickets to theaters,
museums and sporting events, and a basket of
bottles of wine. Look at the website for the
Hotel Edison, www.edisonhotelnyc.com, and
you’ll want to make the trip yourself.
Nancy Crew, who along with her husband,
Ray, won the tickets for various events and
attractions in Pittsburgh last year. She said her
favorite was the dinner cruise on the Gateway
Clipper. “You live here in Pittsburgh, and think
you know it, and then you see it from the water,
and it’s a beautiful sight.” The Crew’s gave the
rest of the tickets, including museum entrances,
to out of town visitors.
We had such a good response from the
museum, theaters and sport venues that we made
two prizes. Rosemary Coffee, the second
winner, gave away the Zoo and Carnegie
Science Center free admissions to friends with
young children, but she very much enjoyed
using the ones to theater presentations
downtown. “I am still taking advantage of the
set of tickets to the Heinz History Center, with
which I visited the museum itself twice, as well
as Meadowcroft west of the city. It has been a
great opportunity to extend some of my cultural
horizons,” she said.
Helen Ortmann won the bike from Bike
Pittsburgh and donated it to Occupy Pittsburgh
to run errands. When the camp was dismantled,
it was probably passed on to someone who
doesn’t use a car.
The winner of the hotel prize was unable to
use the award, due to illness, and regrets that she
did not give it to a family member, before the
expiration of the prize, which was one year form
the date of issue.
Sell the tickets to your friends, or you can
buy them up for yourself. Either way, it’s a great
chance to benefit the Merton Center. We count
on you, our friends, to keep the doors open to
Pittsburgh’s peace and justice center.
Bette McDevitt is a member of the Merton
Center dinner planning committee and the
editorial collective.
Source: Alex Wong/Getty Images South America.
Members of Codepink Medea Benjamin (L) and Gael
Murphy (R) protest during a hearing before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
12 - NEWPEOPLE October 2012
Activists Working to End the Wars The Inhumanity of Drone Warfare
by Michael Drohan
On Tuesday, November 8, we in Pittsburgh
will have the great opportunity to hear Medea
Benjamin, author of "Drone Warfare: Killing by
Remote Control," speak at the 40th Anniversary
Dinner of the Thomas Merton Center. (Register
online at www.thomasmertoncenter.org.)
Shortly after the initiation of the Afghanistan
War, Benjamin visited that unfortunate land and
witnessed the reality behind the “precision
bombs” on which United States military forces
were becoming increasingly reliant. An entire
mythology has been built up around the so-called
wonder of drones. Benjamin explodes
systematically these myths and exposes the naked
reality and savagery of drone warfare.
The new frontiers for the use of drones are the
Yemen and Pakistan. The New America
Foundation recently published an article entitled
“The Year of the Drone” in which it detailed the
number of drone strikes in northwest Pakistan
between 2004 and 2012. In that timeframe there
were 302 reported drone strikes killing between
1,845 and 2,836 individuals of whom 17 percent
were estimated to be civilians. The context of this
phenomenon is that the war against the Taliban in
Afghanistan has spilled over inevitably to
Pakistan, and in a very real sense the United
States now finds itself at war with Pakistan.
The Pashtun people, who comprise most of the
Taliban, stretch across Afghanistan and Pakistan;
and, for them, the national boundaries between
Pakistan and Afghanistan are mere imperial relics
infringing on their tribal lands. The Pakistani
government, needless to say, does not want to
embroil itself in a civil war by attacking its own
tribal people while the U.S. government/military
is “ losing patience," in the words of Leon
Panetta, with Pakistan’s unwillingness to make
war with the Pashtuns. But let there be no doubt,
the U.S. is at war with Pakistan or at least with
part thereof, even if there are no boots on the
ground. The new warriors are drones, operated
from McCree Airbase in Nevada, and their
operators are Air Force men turned geeks who
never see the battlefield.
Down through the centuries warfare has gone
through several radical turning points from the
days of hand-to-hand combat to today’s latest
revolution with drone and robot warfare. In the
20th century, through air warfare and above all
nuclear warfare, human beings crossed a
threshold of savagery and brutality hitherto
unimaginable. In the Second World War, the
mass killing of civilians by carpet bombing and
the destruction of the cities of Nagasaki and
Hiroshima with atom bombs represents the depth
of savagery and barbarity to which humanity had
descended. But now comes the age of the drones
and the robots, and we have not yet grasped the
full dimensions of what this has unleashed on
humanity.
In his book “Blowback,” Chalmers Johnson
many years ago laid out the broad context in
which it is helpful to view and understand much
of what has happened in the sphere of warfare in
the 21st century. According to Johnson, in the age
of overwhelming imperial military power
dominating the entire globe, the resistance of the
relatively powerless and dispossessed is
constrained to the unconventional military
methods of what is called “terrorism”.
These methods consist of violent attacks on
institutions and symbols of power within the
powerful states by very angry inhabitants of the
dominated world.
Once again the victims by and large are
innocent civilians such as in the Trade Center in
New York City on September 11, 2001. This
form of resistance has popped up in many corners
of the world since the beginning of the 21st
century with the resulting perception that
terrorists are everywhere and have to be combated
ruthlessly. Most of them are alleged to be part of
an international network known as Al Qaeda.
One of the anomalies of the situation is that
the elimination of one “terrorist” gives rise to the
appearance of ten others in his/her place. This has
been the case especially in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
now Pakistan. The powerful countries of NATO,
led by the United States, seem to have little
comprehension of the multiplication of enemies
that their actions give rise to. In the midst of this
incomprehension, strikes with drones that take out
the occasional alleged terrorist give the illusion of
success and power. The drone strikes also give
the illusion of total pinpoint accuracy, where only
the designated enemy is “taken out." On several
counts, however, their success is not only illusory
but false. In both the real battlefield and the
virtual one, the identification of enemy
combatants has proven to be false on many if not
most occasions.
When troops on the ground and intelligence
agents in far away offices have little or no idea of
the culture or language of the people they have
identified as enemies, misidentification can be
expected to be the norm. Bombing of wedding or
funeral parties can be expected to become routine.
The responding outrage and hatred of the
presence of foreigners is little assuaged by
perfunctory regrets and apologies.
Michael Drohan is a member of the Thomas
Merton Center Board and chair of the Editorial
Collective.
Photo courtesy of www.cndcymru.org
October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 13
by Tim Cimino
Humanity could use a powerful new tool to
boost our ability to address our problems. This
article introduces a powerful new educational
structure called super programs. First, some
preparatory thoughts:
1. Imagine if superheroes like Superman really
existed. They’d protect and help humanity.
2. In a sense, superheroes really do exist and
have been helping humanity for thousands of
years. Great ideas are superheroes. Advances
such as agriculture, coin money, written
language, democracy, the Scientific Method, and
most recently, the Internet are like superheroes
because they are: a) super powerful; b)
egalitarian (willing to help anyone who uses
them); and c) practically immortal.
3. Superheroes aren’t perfect. For example,
written language at first created an elite and the
Scientific Method made possible horrific
weapons and complex ecological problems.
4. Super ideas are often undervalued at first.
Perhaps hunter-gatherers ridiculed the first
farmers since a hunter could instantly get food
but a farmer must wait months and worry about
insects, drought, and thieves. Papyrus could be
ruined when the Nile overflowed. Coin money is
not so useful as the actual chicken or potatoes.
Now to the particular new idea:
5. If people could learn more efficiently, it would
affect every area of life. Imagine more
efficiently learning relationship skills, health
habits, mental health habits, and career skills.
Better skills and habits can help the organizations
you belong to, as well.
6. Almost all organizations on earth are on the
bottom two rungs of a Ladder of Empowerment
that I developed in the 1980s (see below).
Teaching someone to fish is equal to teaching
one skill or knowledge area. Only a few courses
and books teach learning how to learn.
7. If people could operate on the top two rungs as
well as the bottom two, it would dramatically
increase their capacity to learn and change their
lives – and the world.
8. Trying to learn without having all the
ingredients is like trying to bake a cake without
all needed ingredients. Don’t make me eat that
cake! In other words, your learning will be
partial; it won’t stick; you’ll fail to apply it in all
relevant cases; or it will be a struggle.
9. I couldn’t find a list of the ingredients needed
for learning on Wikipedia or anywhere on the
Internet. So I created a list and put it at
LOVELYPLAN.ORG. Surprisingly, between 15
and 25 ingredients are needed, depending on the
learning task.
10. I believe that I’ve created a whole new class
of educational structures. I named them
superprograms. The Basic Program link at
LOVELYPLAN.ORG contains a ready-to-use
superprogram.
11. Ongoing personal support is a key ingredient
in superprograms. It makes change much easier.
12. I don’t have data to prove superprograms are
superior. But it stands to reason that consciously
re-gathering all needed ingredients is better than
winging it. Also, Rung Four is very high-
leverage.
13. If superprograms really can increase
humanity’s capacity (and your own capacity) it’s
urgent that it be developed and used as soon as
possible.
14. A long list of benefits you can get in the next
few months is at the website – even if
superprograms don’t spread around the world.
15. A WARNING: Decent people will tend to
think, “I will wait and see, and maybe use
superprograms when I get around to it.
Meanwhile, irresponsible corporations. power-
hungry individuals, and oppressive governments
will tend to think, “Superprograms will give the
most power to the first people to exploit them.
Therefore, I will investigate superprogram as
soon as possible!” – Thus, it’s imperative that
decent people jump in as soon as possible.
16. In other words, the decent people of the
world are in a three-way race: They’re racing
against the accumulated impacts of their bad
economic, political and environmental habits
AND they’re racing against the oppressive
governments and irresponsible corporations.
17. You may think I’m overstating the potential
power of this idea. But superhero ideas are often
simple. The Internet is complex, but agriculture
is basically putting seeds in the ground. Written
language is simply marks that stand for
something. Simplicity is another reason why
super-ideas are often discounted.
18. Six other original superhero ideas are at
LOVELYPLAN.ORG.
19. Ultimately superprograms and the rest of
Lovely Plan are about making the best, most
loving use of your life and time – for your own
sake, and for others.
Tim Cimino was once an agricultural research
chemist. He now directs Group Genie, a
creativity team and action network.
A New “SUPERHERO” Upgrade for Humanity
by Anne E. Lynch
This month, let’s explore the fascinating term “intersectionality.” In Pittsburgh, all too often the environmental justice groups don’t partner with racial justice groups, even though environmental racism is rampant in our area. Economic justice groups don’t have disability rights groups in-volved in campaigns, even though people with disabilities are paid lower salaries for doing the same work. One of the most hopeful things I’ve seen in my experience as a Pittsburgh activist was during the lead-up to the G-20 protests in September 2009. For the first time, I saw all these disparate groups in the same room, working and talking together. The Merton Center was instrumental in making sure all were welcome at the frequent open meet-ings. I had hoped to see this continue, but after the G-20, we all went our separate ways again. Intersectionality is, very basically, many groups with different key issues or foci working together to have a bigger impact. For example: women’s groups working with LGBTQ groups to ensure that all women, cisgender and transgender, have access to quality health care. Fair housing groups working with people with disabilities to ensure that safe, affordable housing is accessible. Racial justice groups being true partners in the environmental justice movement. Working on an intersectional level shows pol-icy makers and other parties that their constitu-ents aren’t just interested in one particular item, and that they’re willing to work together to create a better world. How can we see this happen more frequently in our region? First of all, we have to ensure that, when we’re looking at problems to solve, we think about all possible angles of who the problem affects.
Are you working to promote economic justice? Are women, people with disabilities, and people of color sitting at your table? Are you working to improve relations between community members and the police? Are there LGBTQ people, fre-quent targets of hate crimes, at your table? Are you working to fight pollution? Are people of color, who are more often affected by the place-ment of polluting sites, at your table? If they’re not, you need to invite them in! Start with a phone call and try to set up an actual visit. In-person meetings are the best way to show your commitment to reaching out to a broader coali-tion. Invite them to a meeting. If they cannot make an already-scheduled meeting or get to the location of a meeting, work to accommodate them by asking what days/times/locations would work for future meetings. Make sure they knows you truly want and appreciate their time and effort. Secondly, after you’ve got everyone affected at the table (no small task in and of itself!), you have to ensure that everyone at the table knows that their opinion and voice is valued. Actively listen when people speak, and wait to respond until they’ve concluded. Ask people who aren’t talking much what their thoughts are. Don’t im-mediately assume that the way you’ve always done something is going to work for everyone in the room – be willing to adjust your plans, and be open to new ideas and tactics. We’ll continue to explore intersectionality in future months. The one thing I want you to take from this column is that working on an inter-sectional level makes all of our movements
stronger, so it’s worth the effort!
Anne Lynch is Office Manager at Three Rivers Community Foundation.
many other locations. At the Merton Center and the
East End Community Thrift Shop at 5123 Penn
Avenue, you can be helped and get postage if
needed. TMC encourages your support of the
important efforts of the Black Political
Empowerment Project and the
Pittsburgh NAACP in their non-partisan Election
Protection and Get Out the Vote. To volunteer, call
Celeste Taylor at 412-452-2120.
Opportunities to Become More Involved
Building a Community of Activists
by Marcia Bandes
Mere Citizens takes us back in time to the 1980’s when nuclear proliferation was at its peak and President Reagan was determined to roll out a first strike capability. Citizens across the country were forming groups to protest this race to what many believed to be nuclear war. In Pittsburgh, concerned citizens formed The River City Nonviolent Resistance Campaign. They were not politicians, corporate executives, rich, or otherwise local leaders. They were teachers, parents, graduate students, lawyers, workers, and thus mere citizens. Drawing heavily upon original source documents, such as the minutes from meetings, newspaper archives, and interviews with the participants, Liane Norman, who was also a participant, captured the thought process and research that went into targeting Westinghouse, Rockwell, and the Software Engineering Institute; the tactics they used; and the friendships and mutual respect that evolved over time among the participants. The River City Nonviolent Resistance Campaign compared these corporations’ contributions to the development of first strike nuclear missiles to the corporate complicity identified as war crimes or crimes against humanity during the Nuremberg trials. This comparison led to meetings between River City and Westinghouse executives. Norman’s coverage provides insight that is as relevant today as it was then. River City met weekly to develop and execute tactics that kept the campaign fresh and in the news for nearly ten years. Creative tactics included
creation of a ribbon of banners that connected Rockwell in the US Steel building with both the Federal building and the Westinghouse building to graphically demonstrate their ties. River City members disrupted shareholder meetings, were arrested for civil disobedience and teamed with many organizations and church groups for a weekly leafleting effort alternating between Rockwell and Westinghouse. The book includes many examples of the hand drawn leaflets that were used to educate and keep the risks of nuclear war on people’s minds. But I believe that the key factor that kept River City active beyond the normal life of similar groups was members’ commitment to learning and sharing information among themselves and others. One member, Jonathan Pressler, authored The Other Westinghouse: Weapons and Waste. Though a surprisingly quick read, Mere Citizens: United, Civil and Disobedient offers a thought provoking review of a non-violent campaign and a glimpse at the people that kept it alive for nearly a decade.
Marcia Bandes is a member of the Thomas Merton
Center.
This book is available for purchase at the Merton Center for $19.99. The Center will receive a portion of the book sale price.
Help Book ‘Em
Send Books
to Prisoners
Make a small monthly
contribution and
Help Free a Prisoner! (Please sign up to be a monthly supporter.)
$5 a month: Trusty with a key
$10 a month: Friend with a file in a cake
$15+ a month: Member of a parole board
Go to www.thomasmertoncenter.org,
and click on Join/Donate and scroll
down to Book ‘Em. All donations are tax-
deductible and will be used to mail books.
Thank you from the men and women in
prison who love to read!
Mere Citizens Book Review
Meet MIKE ROSENBERG...
TMC is pleased to introduce Mike
Rosenberg who, as an
intern, has joined
our staff at the
Thomas Merton
Center.
Mike was born
and raised in Silver
Spring, MD—just
outside of
Washington, DC.
Mike has lived in
Pittsburgh for the
past three years while he has been pursuing a
bachelor’s in social work at the University of
Pittsburgh, where he is in his senior year.
Mike has an interest in community organizing
and smart-urban planning. He intends on
working in those fields upon the completion
of his schooling. While at the Center, Mike
will be working on online calendar, e-blast,
membership, and whatever else needs to be
done. Please stop in sometime and introduce
yourself to Mike. In addition to his studies,
Mike is an avid cyclist and works at Pro
Bikes in Squirrel Hill. Keep an eye out for
him riding his bicycle around town. Mike is
also active in the undergraduate social work
club at Pitt as well as his fraternity, ZBT.
After his graduation from Pitt in the
springtime, Mike plans riding his bicycle
home to Maryland via the Great Allegheny
Passage. Following that, Mike will be
attending graduate school to earn a master’s
in social work.
...And SHAHID KHAN
TMC is also fortunate to have another intern
join our staff! Shahid
Khan will be working
with Mike and other
TMC staff and
volunteers to help
build a more peaceful
and just world. More
from Shahid...
Nice to meet you!
I am Shahid Khan.
I am a second year
Masters student at the
School of Social
work, University of Pittsburgh.
I am an intern at Thomas Merton Center.
My area of concentration is COSA
(Community Organizing and Social
Administration). As a social worker I am
interested in many things such as raising
awareness in people about social issues and
injustices.
I believe that organizations like TMC have
and are still playing an important role in doing
so. I also believe that such organizations
present an excellent learning opportunity for
the students who are interested in running an
NGO or a non-profit organization in the
future.
Please stop in at TMC and introduce
yourselves to Mike and Shahid, when you
have a spare moment, as they get to know
more about our activist community!
Shahid Khan
Mike Rosenberg
Meet TMC’s New Interns!
SPECIAL THANKS TO RICH FISHKIN! TMC would like to thank Rich Fishkin for his recent donation of a video projector! The projector comes
at a time when the Center is seeing an increased need for this resource! Rich has produced three video programs about Occupy Pittsburgh and they have been
shown on Pittsburgh Community Access TV - PCTV 21 - many times. He also taped TMC’s New People Awards this past spring when Occupy Pittsburgh
was recognized for their heroic community organizing work. You can view Rich’s videos at www.youtube.com/user/richfishpgh. Copies of his videos are
available for purchase for $15 a piece. Email Rich at [email protected] or call(412) 856-7723. Rich is a professional videographer who shoots
weddings and special events. Please contact him if you would like to hire him for your event!
WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP TO BUILD THE MOVEMENT! TMC needs a flat screen TV with USB and network capability. Call us if you can help!
Catholics in Alliance for Common Good
www.catholicsinalliance.org
Catholics United
www.catholics-united.org
Conference of Major Superiors of Menhttp
cmsm.org
Colomban Ctr for Advocacy and Outreach
columban.org/jpic
Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph
www.sistersofsaintjosephfederation.org
Franciscan Action Network
www.franciscanaction.org
Franciscan Friars (Eastern Province)
www.franciscanseast.org
Good Shepherd Sisters
www.goodshepherdsisters.org
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
lcwr.org
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
maryknollogc.org
National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
www.networklobby.org
Pax Christi USA
paxchristiusa.org
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
www.sistersofmercy.org
Catholics Vote for Common Good
commongood2012.org
Local Bread for the World advocates meet with Senator
Casey representative, Jackie Erickson, on September 18,
2012 to speak about the need for healthy and accessible
food for all the poor and vulnerable living in our
community and around the world.
Links to Voting Records for Review Before Elections:
October 2012 NEWPEOPLE - 15
by Michael Drohan and Diane
McMahon
From among the present Board of
the Center, the following members’
tenure expires at the end of 2012.
Kathy Cunningham; Michael
Drohan; Wanda Guthrie; Francine
Porter; and Molly Rush. All of these
members have agreed to stand
again for the next two year, 2013-14
period.
The following are the new
candidates for the Board to
complete the slate:
Ed Brett: Ed is a Professor
Emeritus of La Roche College
where he served for 28 years in the
History Dept. He has been a
member of the Merton Center since
1984 and has been a key activist
especially around the wars in
Central America during the 1980s
and 1990s. Among his educational
achievements are a Ph.D. from
Rutgers University, an M.A. from
Louisiana State. and a B.A. from
Loyola College, New Orleans. He
has authored many books on
subjects related to Central American
history.
Kitoko Chargois: Kitoko is a
senior at Chatham University and is
doing her degree in Print Journalism
and Photography. She is already
familiar to the Center having been
an intern during the last Semester.
During her internship, she did
invaluable work for the Center as
she produced the weekly eblast,
wrote articles for the New People
and reported on several issues for
the paper. Presently, she is editor
for Chatham’s College newspaper
and is active in many student
organizations.
Ken Joseph: Ken is an Attorney
who practices with Pepper
Hamilton. His practice is focused on
real estate transactions, particularly
those involving the development of
affordable housing. He has a B.A.
from St. John’s College, Annapolis
and a J.D. from Duquesne
University. He has volunteered as a
legal observer for the National
Lawyers Guild at the protests in St.
Paul at the Republican Convention
and for the ACLU on numerous
occasions in Pittsburgh. He is
presently a Cornerstone Sustainer of
the Merton Center and serves on the
governing bodies of other
organizations in the city.
Chris Mason: Chris was a
prominent member of Occupy
Pittsburgh in the Fall of 2011. She
helped to organize the encampment,
facilitate general assemblies and
provide social media support.
Presently she works with the
Birmingham Foundation which
makes grants to non-profit
organizations that provide health
and human service programs in the
South Pittsburgh area. She received
her education at CCAC and
Duquesne University in Liberal Arts
Studies. She also studied
documentary film production at
Pittsburgh Filmmakers.
Joyce Rothermel: Joyce was
Executive Director of the Greater
Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
from 1987-2011. She was a co-
founder of the Food Bank, which
was born out of the Merton Center’s
outreach to the needy and hungry in
our city. Prior to going to the Food
Bank, she served for 10 years on the
Staff of the Merton Center in many
capacities including the production
of The New People. Her education
includes a B.A. in Education from
St. John’s College, Cleveland and
an M.A. in Education from Dayton
University, Dayton, Ohio. She was
a founding member of the
Pittsburgh Haiti Solidarity
Committee and is a member of
numerous peace and social justice
groups in the city.
Tyrone Scales: Presently Tyrone is
pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in
Social Work at the University of
Pittsburgh. Prior to that he received
an Associate Degree at CCAC in
Social Work. He has worked as an
intern with United Cerebral Palsy,
Pittsburgh, and has volunteered with
Aseracare Hospice and other non-
profit organizations in the city.
Shernell Smith: Shernell presently
works at CMU in the Office of the
Dean of Students Affairs on
Multicultural and Diversity
Initiatives. Prior to her present
position, she worked as Coordinator
for Student Development and House
fellow Student Development also at
CMU. She received her Bachelor's
Degree in Biological Sciences at the
University of Central Arkansas and
her Master of Higher Education at
the University of Arkansas,
Fayetteville. She is already familiar
to us at the Center for the invaluable
help she provided in organizing the
Merton Award Dinners of 2010 and
2011.
There is still time for additional
names for the slate. If there is
anybody whom you would like to
nominate for the Board please
submit his or her name to the
Thomas Merton Center before
October 15, 2012.
TMC 2013 Slate of Board Candidates
Building a Community of Activists
“Becoming Nonviolent Peacemakers: A Virtue Ethic
for Catholic Social Teaching and US Policy”
by Eli Sasaran McCarthy
by Joyce Rothermel
As we continue to celebrate
our 40th anniversary at the
Merton Center, we are excited to
host a book signing pot luck
reception at the Center on
Sunday, October 14, 2012 from 3
- 5 PM. Our guest is Eli Sasaran
McCarthy, author of Becoming
Nonviolent Peacemakers:
A Virtue Ethic for Catholic
Social Teaching and US Policy
and adjunct professor of Justice and Peace Studies at Georgetown
University. Eli is the son of Connie Totera-Hutchinson, TMC
member from Beaver County. He will be joining us to discuss, sell
and sign his new book for all who purchase it.
Lisa Cahill from Boston College's Theology Department has this
review: "This is an excellent book. It is highly original and
intellectually precise, while remaining grounded in the Christian life
and passion for social change. McCarthy cuts across standard
divisions of just war theory and pacifism to create a public and
political peacemaking ethic of virtue for an era in which Christian
action for global justice is not optional. He ties the ethic to both
national and international policy. A tour de force."
Another review comes from Alan Goulty, former British
Ambassador to Sudan: "McCarthy's deep discussion of the
challenges of nonviolent peacemaking should be essential reading
for all would-be peacemakers and, more especially, for all those who
still see lethal force as the answer to international problems."
Please plan to attend the reception and bring an appetizer, dessert
or beverage to share as we continue to toast the Center's 40th year!
Joyce Rothermel is co-chair of the TMC 40th Anniversary