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Greetings!
Wishing you a joyful Advent and Christmas!
Hoping also that you can find time to reflect about social justice and the need for compassion and human sympathy in our world.
Let us try to find ways to lessen the ill will among the peoples of the Middle East. This newsletter lists several news sources to help you keep up with the rapid changes there, provides links to carefully thought-out viewpoints, and introduces you to some organizations working for peace in the area.
From the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies come three brief but thought-provoking essays. The first is about drones. The second is about the changing nature of warfare: not between armies but between armed groups attacking civilian targets. The third asks what we want America to be on the global stage of nations and peoples. What should our Christian answer be? Please write to socialjustice@catholicsofpleasanton.org
to let us know what you think.
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Upcoming Events
Thursday, January 3, 7:00 P.M.
Social Justice Committee meeting
"Cry Room", St. Elizabeth Seton church
Saturday, January 19, 9:00 A.M. - Noon
MedShare
CCOP will have groups of volunteers sorting medical supplies at MedShare in San Leandro
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, February 22-24Los Angeles Religious Education CongressAnaheim Convention Center Click on http://recongress.org/
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Three Essays from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame
Advances in High-Tech Killing
In the wake of 9/11 the United States adopted a new approach to countering terrorism, an approach made possible by two developments: adding missiles and bombs to unmanned drones and asserting the legal right to use these weapons outside combat zones. high tech
New Wars, Old Stratagies
The nature of armed conflict has changed dramatically in recent decades... In the world today there are 37 armed conflicts... all of them involving communities divided by ethnicity, language, and/or religion. new wars
Will the U.S. Remain Global Top Dog?
Should the United States attempt to sustain its position of global primacy... Will conditions permit it? Does it serve U.S. interests even to make the effort? top dog
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Brief Links
European Council on Foreign Relations, a 170-member pan-European think tank, http://ecfr.eu/Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C. bipartisan think tank, http://csis.org/ The Christian Science Monitor, which rightly describes itself as "balanced, insightful and trustworthy", http://www.csmonitor.com/
A regular feature of the Christian Science Monitor is its "DC Politics Decoder", Decoder.
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Take Action Now!
Call 1-866-596-7030
1. You will be asked to call your representative and both of your senators to give them the MESSAGE below.
2. You will then be connected to the Capitol Switchboard where you will be asked for your state to be connected to your senators or for your zip code to be connected with your representative
3. When you are connected ask to speak with the staff person for appropriations to convey the following
MESSAGE
* Work with colleagues in a bipartisan way to consider everything to resolve our fiscal crisis including increased revenue, fair and just entitlement reform, as well as cuts in unnecessary military and other spending.
* Protect poverty-focused international relief and development assistance in fiscal cliff negotiations.
4. Remember to call all three of your congress members
If you prefer to send emails Click here.
URGENCY
The phone call you make today could save a life tomorrow. The window of opportunity to protect poverty-focused international assistance from steep cuts during fiscal cliff negotiations is closing. Make sure your voice is heard!
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The Middle East
News Sources
PBS Newshour, KQED Television, 3:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M., Monday through Friday
BBC World News, KQED Television, 3:59 P.M., Monday through Friday
Viewpoints
Palestinian question key to Mideast peace, say Catholic leaders, VATICAN CITY (CNS), Catholic
Iron Empires, Iron Fists, Iron Domes, (Thomas Friedman), Friedman 12/05
For Israel, Gaza Conflict Is Test for an Iran Confrontation, NY Times
Organizations working for Middle East peace (listed by Michael Lerner in his book, "Embracing Israel/Palestine")
Tikkun, ("to heal, repair and transform the world"), Tikkun
J Street, the Political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans, J Street
Churches for Middle East Peace, CMEP
Christian Peacemaker Teams, CPT
Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, ICAHD
Islamic Society of North America, ISNA
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