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Standing for peace since January 1, 2003

Still standing for peace on March 26, 2008, marking the death of the 4000th U. S. military service member in Iraq.

Quote of the Week

Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Michigan Friends Center Fund Raiser

Michigan Friends Center is holding its annual fund raiser Friday, September 24, music and storytelling by Shari Kane & Big Dave Steele with Davy Rothbart. For event details, see the CANOPAS Events web page. Or, download a flyer for yourself or to post.

The Center has been a great institutional supporter of CANOPAS over the years, offering its beautiful facility free of charge for CANOPAS events many times. A good attendance at the fund raiser by CANOPAS members would be a great way to return the favor.

Arlington Michigan on Memorial Day.

On Memorial Day, May 31, 2010, CANOPAS members worked with Veterans for Peace to set up “Arlingon Michigan”, a display of crosses, one for each member of the U.S. military from Michigan who died in Iraq or Afghanistan. The display of about 475 crosses was at Pierce Park in Chelsea. Here are two pictures of the event thanks to Larry Horvath:

Sadness on Memorial Day

Arny Stieber, May 18, 2010

Memorial Day is the saddest day of the year. I make this statement as a father, a retired business person with an MBA and as a military veteran (Army, infantry, Viet Nam).

We are raised to honor the military. We are told that the military is “service” to our country. We are told that we must defend our freedom. We are told to wave the flag and support the troops. We are never told to ask questions, nor to seek answers.

In 2003 I woke up to my military experience. After months of reading and contemplation I formulated two questions—why war?, and why do we so proudly send our children to kill other children? These two questions have driven me to explore areas that are taboo for the corporate news media and thus our culture.

I found Howard Zinn and his book “The People’s History of the United States”. I found two time Medal of Honor recipient Marine Major General Smedley Butler and his booklet “War is a Racket”. I found hundreds of other authors, film makers, groups and individuals. They all have added to my mosaic of life and have helped answer my questions.

I contend that if there was no profit from war and the process of war, then there would be no war. Military contractors are a major segment of our economy and several of them also own much of our media. Weapons are our number one export product. We have military bases in over 140 countries. Thousands of other corporations profit from military spending, which is currently over one million of our tax dollars per minute. Additional war “supplementals” of hundreds of billions of dollars are passed by Congress with little debate.

I contend that war is part of the world chess game of financial power and that the military is a pawn. Thus Memorial Day, with its parades, flag waving, jet fly overs, and speeches is a tribute to the success of the financial powers in controlling our culture. It is a very sad day.

Peace Group Celebrates, Announces Spring Film Series

Elizabeth Hammer, March 13, 2010

The Chelsea Area Network of Peace Activists and Supporters (CANOPAS) February meeting included a celebration of the receipt in January of the Carrying The Dream award. The award is presentd annually by One World One Family to a community person or group who has worked to make Martin Luther King’s dream of a more just world a reality. CANOPAS was honored for its continuing work in raising community awareness of peace as an issue of justice. Martin Luther King is remembered for saying “Without peace, there can be no justice.”

After the celebration, CANOPAS planned a community spring film series focusing on issues of peace.

The series will begin on Wednesday, March 24 with the movie The Lemon Tree, which is an Israeli commercial film about a Palestinian widow’s efforts to retain her family’s lemon grove in the midst of the ongoing conflicts in that area. On April 21, the movie will be Pray the Devil Back To Hell, a documentary showing how, in 2003, the women of Liberia used peaceful demonstrations to bring an end to 15 years of civil war. On May 19, Rethink Afghanistan will be the film looking at alternate ways of managing that country’s political strife.

All films will be shown at 7 pm in the community room at Key Bank, 1428 Chelsea-Manchester Road. Light refreshments will be served, and discussion will follow. The public is welcome.

CANOPAS Receives 2010 Carrying the Dream Award

January 18, 2010

One World One Family has awarded CANOPAS their eighth annual Carrying the Dream Award. The award is presented each year to the person or group that has made a significant contribution to advancing the understanding of the world's different cultures, respect for diversity and non-discriminatory attitudes and practices in Chelsea, Michigan and to furthering the dreams and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On behalf of One World One Family, Joanne Ladio said, “CANOPAS certainly furthers Dr. King's dream of peace. I've read that his opposition to the war in Vietnam probably brought him more negative reaction than his struggles for civil rights. You all have remained a constant witness and we're happy to present this award.”

One World One Family conferred the award at its annual Martin Luther King Day program in Chelsea the evening of Monday, January 18. The program also featured Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, a columnist for multicultural issues for AnnArbor.com. Congressman Mark Schauer also awarded One World One Family and CANOPAS with Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition.

Click on the images below to see the awards in detail

Afghanistan Escalation Protest

Ron Clark, December 2, 2009

It was a rainy, chill night standing with nine other wet souls on the corner of Fifth and Liberty. But CANOPAS was represented in the demonstration.

Pinwheels for Peace

Six CANOPAS members joined Chelsea Girl Scouts in celebrating the International Day of Peace, making and installing roughly 100 pinwheels and painting the rock at Pierce Park, Sunday, September 20. It was a sight to see.

Indefinite Detention, Plus Accountability for Torture

Jan Bernath, June 27, 2009

Dear Senators Levin and Stabenow,

I am most concerned about the indefinite detention of prisoners whose guilt or innocence is not determined being considered by our CURRENT administration. As you know, many of these people ended up where they are due to being handed over by people who received money to produce suspects. This indefinite detention does not represent our country's values.

Further, I want those iwho are responsible for making the torture "legal" by our PREVIOUS administration brought to justice. This undermines our country's credibility and is NOT the country we should be. Unless people are held accountable and prosecuted under the law for these unspeakable acts, we cannot stand on our core values.

Please let me know what EACH of you are doing about both of these issues that puts our country in a perilous position. Make both of these grievous situations right.

Memorial Day Heroes

Lynn Meadows, June 2, 2009

Memorial Day gives us a particular time to pause and consider. We honor all those many thousands of young men and women who have died in wars and conflicts. I would like to challenge us to consider if the results have truly justified these deaths. It also took great courage for those conscientious objectors to go beyond popular thought and honor the highest command: Thou shall not kill. I believe that when we are truly a civilized nation, we will not need MIGHT to be RIGHT.

n the Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery our President said, We have laid a wreath at the grave of the �Unknown Soldier� in times of War and times of Peace� I ask �What times of Peace?� MLK, Rosa Parks and others have shown us another way.

Is it time to move beyond the model of Might makes Right, and begin to consider alternatives to solving political problems? Do we teach our children to look for peaceful ways to reconcile differences? Do we model diplomacy and problem solving in our board rooms and social organizations? Can we begin to work with similar solutions in our relations with other governments? When will our country outgrow its �Wild West� mentality? That will be a day to Celebrate!

Memorial Day Peace Presence

Lynn Meadows, May 25, 2009

I could not believe that we would not be marching! We had planned on it all along. Someone even checked with Palmer to make sure it would be available. I could not believe that I was the only one who questioned it--other than Libby (who did get several direct responses to her thoughtful comments when they were sent out.) I kept planning on marching with SOMEONE. Then I finally got a message from Arny saying he would be out of town. And then Mike's family death. When I reached Bob, the last Vet for Peace that I knew, he had to work. THEY weren't marching! So I called Palmer and asked if we could carry the banner even if he did not want to march. He said "Sorry." (Is it HIS banner? I was under the impression that he had offered to do it for US.)

Finally last night I called other CANOPAS as I could. Talked and listened, talked and listened. Still I felt that *I* needed to represent a Presence of Peace on this very "Military" celebration day! All I have these days is one small "Peace Sign" on a stick and some flags. So I was on "our" corner at 9:30 this morning, dressed in black, with what I had. Marijo came and joined me. Then Sandra Zanaki came too. (She couldn't understand why we weren't marching.) The 3 of us stood there with 1 small peace sign and 2 small American flags until the street was bare. I will say,we did not get much response. (But I did not have the spirit to do my usual waving and smiling.) One toot and wave as I arrived, another woman expressed "get a life" is all that I was aware of. But I did what I could.

I still am amazed at this turn of events. How did this happen?

Positive Things Are Not Actually Happening

Libby Hunter, May 22, 2009

Palmer, this is in reply to your sentences: "our country is relying less on armed intervention and torture, as it restores reliance on diplomacy, the Geneva Conventions, habeas corpus, and the rule of law. But the balance is still tenuous in my opinion,..."

i keep reading (beneath the mainstream media surface) the most disturbing reports that the positive things you mention are actually not happening. as much as i'd love to believe they are. just this morning i rec'd an email from amnesty international stating:

"Obama's administration keeps defending illegal, immoral and ineffective policies. Policies like the Justice Department's continued use of the "state secrets" argument to withhold even basic information from defendants. Or re-vamping the widely discredited military commissions to try suspects."

my belief at this point is that obama is really just another politician. slick words to please "libs", but established policies will continue, with some being ramped up or strengthened. we've all read or heard at this point that troop levels are increasing, not decreasing as he promised way back when.

here are some articles, among many to be found, written by people trying to speak the truth - which is hard to come by in mainstream media. it may be there now & then, but important things are underreported or information "modified." i've gotten to the point where i don't rely on NPR or air america for accuracy and a true picture of what's going on. they exist in part to prop up the system.

all this is obviously my opinion only, and i'm open to any new ideas at any time.

if you have time to scan or even read these, i think you may be dismayed that our new president is not as concerned about the things you mention as we all had hoped. his actions don't match his words, at any rate.

one last general personal comment on vigils, demos, protests, parade actions, etc etc: it's gotten to a point for me that i'm usually ready to step outside of my comfort zone to express dissent. even here in A2 it's a lonely business. where wealth has increased, dissent seems to disappear. like i said, i'm USUALLY ready to take action. not always, but i'm always disappointed in myself when i don't. i think that when we step back and join the majority complicit population, we are not true to our own beliefs, and not helping to push back against the propaganda which is squelching democracy.

"Who Runs America? The Impotent President" 5/14/09
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts05142009.html

"The Grant Park Dream Has Died" 5/20/09
by Paul A. Moore
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/grant-park-dream-has-died
What a difference four months make. On November 4, 2008, tears "tears flowed like a mighty river" from half a million pairs of eyes in Chicago's Grant Park, where Barack Obama made his victory speech. Today, "Obama has no intention of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq and ending that war," "there will be no genuine single payer national health care system under this president," and Obama invites "voucher and charter school boosters to the White House." The dream has turned into a hoax.

"The March of Folly Continues The Afghanistan Escalation" 5/21/09
By NORMAN SOLOMON
http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon05212009.html

"Caught in a Lie, U.S. is Using White Phosphorus in Afghanistan as a Weapon" 5/20/09
By Dave Lindorff
http://blog.buzzflash.com/lindorff/238

"Obama and the Warlord Courting Hekmatyar" 5/21/09
By GARY LEUPP
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/21894

"The Drones Are Coming: New War On Civilians" 5/15/09
By Ramzy Baroud
http://www.countercurrents.org/baroud150509.htm

No Banner in Memorial Day Parade

Palmer Morrel-Samuels, May 20, 2009

I have decided not to walk with the banner on Memorial Day this year, and want to let you know what has precipitated my change of heart. I had (as you know) planned to update and carry the banner, which by the way, now stretches an additional 50 feet to accommodate all the recent casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, I now understand something that I had not realized until I spoke with a number of acquaintances here in town. I took some time to talk at length with, and listen to, the person at the American Legion who organizes our parade in Chelsea, as well as several other veterans in town that I know and respect. All three veterans were unambiguous about their reaction to the banner, and I have to admit their opinion surprised me: In their view, there was no way to carry the banner without having it be deeply offensive to many in the community. I had expected that carrying the names of the dead would be controversial and thought provoking, but I frankly had not realized that it would be deeply offensive. After all, I had reasoned, if my attitude is one of respect—as it is, having lost a close relative in the military myself—wouldn't that be enough to make my meaning clear? Apparently not. One of the veterans I spoke with said that he didn't know of a single person who didn't see the banner as a political protest; another said that he wouldn't want his name carried on a banner down the middle of the street. So, despite my intentions, it became clear that carrying the banner during the Memorial Day parade was, in general, not viewed as thought provoking and respectful, but merely as divisive and offensive.

I am as adamantly committed to promoting peace as ever; and I certainly am relieved to see that our country is relying less on armed intervention and torture, as it restores reliance on diplomacy, the Geneva Conventions, habeas corpus, and the rule of law. But the balance is still tenuous in my opinion, so I'll keep adding names to my banner, and will consider unfurling it on other days, in other places, in hopes that it will engender a bit more insight, and a bit less offence.

A Veteran's View of Memorial Day

Arny Stieber, May 20, 2009

Memorial Day is a very sad day for me. I'm a military veteran (Army, infantry, Viet Nam) and as I get further down the path, my grasp of life and humanity increases. We are all on this planet together and we are all related. The Golden Rule applies to everyone. "They" are not the "enemy". The "leaders" tell us that if we (the working class) send our children to kill all of "them", then we will be safe and our children who die or are physically and/or mentally wounded are heroes. The words of the "leaders" are hollow. They sell fear and we buy and become the pawns.

Two time Medal of Honor recipient Marine Major General Smedley Butler said "War is a racket". I agree. Weapons are our #1 export product. To keep our weapons industry going we promote conflicts and wars. We have over 700 military bases in over 140 countries. Our military is the largest violence educational institution in the world.

On this Memorial Day think about the death and destruction that is being perpetrated in our name all over the world. It's not about freedom or democracy, it's about profit. It's for "US interests". As I read about Memorial Day events I get sad. I suspect many of the people who attend are thinking like pawns.

Support Fair Immigration Policies

Marijo Grogan, May 19, 2009

I'd like to offer some information on an important story that our media is not covering. In the past year, raids on the homes of undocumented workers living in Washtenaw County have escalated at an alarming rate. Very few of these immigrants have any criminal history yet the "crime" of being an undocumented worker in this country warrants brutal tactics, intimidation, imprisonment, and the separation of workers from their families. Children born in this country are considered U.S. citizens. They are even put in our foster care system while their parents are deported.

Some of my own questions about immigration issues were answered when I recently attended a meeting of the Washtenaw interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights. Like others, I wondered if it was fair that our tax dollars should go to paying for medical and education services for undocumented worker's and their families. I learned that most of these workers pay some sort of tax including FICA which to date is estimated at having contributed an additional 6-8 billion dollars to our national wealth. These workers will never use these social security benefits.

I also learned that U.S. economic policies have contributed to the current problems we are facing with the increased immigration of undocumented workers. Under NAFTA the United States has been allowed to export many cheaper agricultural and industrial products that have undermined local family farms and small businesses in Central American countries. At the same time, while the U.S. had originally promised to create more jobs in these countries by building business enterprises, most of these markets have migrated to China and other oversees countries where the cost of labor is even lower.

How can we as citizens support fair immigration reform policies? Ask our congressional representatives to decrease tax dollars going to support enforcement and increase those going to offset imbalances in NAFTA policies and processing the backlog of visa applications. Also, it makes sense to allow those workers who have been in this country for a period of time, sometimes ten years and more, to receive green cards or take other steps to becoming legal residents and/or citizens. Feel free to contact WICIR, co-founder, Laura Sanders at 734-355-2707, for more information.

Don't Like Female Soldiers? Stop the Wars

John Gourlay, April 13, 2009

I recently saw the documentary film "Lioness", a provocative film which looks into the lives of several female soldiers who were ordered into urban combat during the battle for Ramadi, Iraq in 2003. Because it is against U.S. military policy to send women into combat, these women were not fully trained for the job, nor did they expect to do what they were ordered to do. Nevertheless, they did their jobs responsibly and with competence, just like their male counterparts. Also just like their male counterparts, some of them have suffered from post-traumatic stress resulting from the things they saw and did. Unlike the men, however, partly because of policy, the women have been written out of the history of the events, and are having trouble getting recognition for their roles, something that is critical for their military careers, and important for their own healing and self esteem.

In modern, high-tech military activity it is possible for women to equal men. For example, the Army gives male and female helicopter pilots exactly the same training, including SERE training where the pilots go through a simulated crash, enemy evasion, capture, and interrogation. The Army even teaches in flight school that females, on the whole, make better pilots than males. Women can and should be judged on their qualifications for specific jobs, not on their gender.

It is time for the U.S. military, politicians, and public to overcome the Victorian attitude that women are inherently incapable of doing many things, and that it is somehow more immoral for women to fight and kill than it is for men. If we don't like what these and thousands of other women are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, then we should object to the men doing it too, and our country and the world will be a better place for it.

Security Means Feeding the Hungry

Lynn Meadows, April 5, 2009

I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "Peace begins when the hungry are fed." A world where half of the people live in extreme poverty is neither just nor secure.

Our security depends on more than military might; it depends on other people's security, well being and a hope that replaces fear and anger. We cannot remove the threats of war until all people share in global security. Only then will we remove the fear that leads inevitably to conflict and violence. Ending the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., requires a surge in diplomacy and development, not military escalation

CANOPAS to Co-sponsor Peace Films

John Gourlay, January 26, 2009

CANOPAS and Veterans for Peace have decided to co-sponsor a peace movie and lecture series the fourth Monday of each month at the McKune Memorial Library in Chelsea. Veterans for Peace had been conducting the movie series on its own, but it is hoped by both groups that CANOPAS can bring more ideas, publicity, and participation to it.

The first co-sponsored movie will be on Monday, February 23, at 6:30 p.m., a showing of "Winter Soldier". "They went to war and did what their government told them to do. Then they came home and told their stories. This documentary covers the first Winter Soldier testimony in Detroit in 1971 (Viet Nam) and the 2008 Winter Soldier testimony in Silver Springs, MD (Iraq). The weapons have changed, but the effect on the soldiers is the same." See below on this page for a personal reflection by Arny Stieber about the Winter Soldier events.

The second date in the series is Monday, March 23. The event for this day is still being planned, but will either be a talk on the subject of the Israel-Palestine issue, or a showing of the movie "A Force More Powerful". Save the date.

Winter Soldier

Arny Stieber, February 4, 2009

They came from across the country. Mostly in their 20s. Sharply dressed, intelligent, articulate. They came to tell their stories. Stories not told by the government or the corporate media. These young men and women, after experiencing mayhem, death and destruction, needed to tell the world what was going on. And they did for four days. It was March of 2008 in Silver Springs, MD. The event was called "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan. Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations".

Strange name "Winter Soldier." It comes from Thomas Paine. In 1776 he wrote: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." The crisis then was the tyranny of the British Empire. In this era it is the tyranny of the US Empire.

The original Winter Soldier hearing took place in Detroit in late January of 1971. The government had crammed the Viet Nam war down the throats of the people for too long and Viet Nam vets spoke up. They told about the brutality, death and destruction and its effect on the people on both sides. The major media didn't want to hear it. Fortunately an independent group filmed it. You can see this hearing on DVD, www.WinterSoldierFilm.com.

I was in the military in Viet Nam in January of 1971. When I got home in March of 1971 I did my best to block out everything military. I was successful until January of 2003 when I accidentally watched the movie "Platoon". I came in just as a US patrol was entering a village. I saw the kids, and it all came back. I could feel it. I could smell it. I erupted, not in violence, but in research. One of my discoveries was Vvaw.org and Winter Soldier.

When I heard that Iraq Veterans Against the War (ivaw.org) was planning a Winter Soldier hearing I knew I had to be there. I put the word out and found several other veterans who wanted to go. I drove from MI to MD with Bob Davis. Bob is a WW2 vet, had a recent hip replacement, and has a smile that rarely quits. He had also been the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor during most of Viet Nam, and the hearings were at the National Labor College.

We spent four days helping out and listening to the testimony of these young active and former military people. Many of them augmented their statements with video. The corporate media were invited, but none showed. Foreign media were there and so were independent media.

The auditorium was packed with veterans and military families all four days. Hearing the stories was much more than deeply emotional. Speaking from the heart - some angry, some fighting back the tears, some both - these young people talked about war - real war - not the video game, Hollywood movie version. And they showed the video clips. I wanted to grab every politician who voted for war, every flag waver, every businessperson who makes money on war, every religious person who does not speak out against war, and stick their nose in it.

I encourage the viewing of both Winter Soldier hearings. The technology of war changes. The inhumanity stays the same. War is not a movie or a video game. The effects are life long. The recent Winter Soldier can be viewed at ivaw.org. They also have a newly released book. DemocracyNow.org has many clips on their web site. The most extensive video coverage is at FreeSpeech.org.

These young folks - from 1971 and 2008 - showed true courage and true patriotism. They did what their government told them to do. Then they stood up and said, "this is wrong". They stood up when the government was telling them to sit down. They stood up and spoke out. That is, they did what a democracy demands. No summer soldiers or sunshine patriots here. They are Winter Soldiers.