Seabeck Conference 2015 – Registration
Pre-registration is required! Online Registration for Seabeck 2015 is available through our partner Oregon FOR at http://forseabeck.org Note that if you register online, you will be given the option of mailing in a check, or paying online. In the latter option, there will be a processing fee. Or else you can register by mail by downloading the registration form (PDF), printing (2 pages) and mailing it to: Louise Lansberry, Seabeck Registrar 2007 NE 107th St Seattle WA 98125 Help us spread the word by downloading and posting the flyer in your local coffeehouse, church, or community center. Further Information Western Washington FOR: 206-789-5565 wwfor@wwfor.org www.wwfor.org Oregon FOR: Janet Hawkins 503-244-7703 janetchawkins@msn.com www.ofor.org To contact the Conference Registrar directly: Louise Lansberry…
Seabeck Conference 2015 – Keynote Speakers
Keynote 1: “Transformational Justice: Weaving the Tapestry of a Harmonious Ecosystem That Affirms ALL Lives.” Between corporate domination and pathological individualism, the US society has paved a path wrought with devaluation of nature and humanity. However, there are many signs that people are recognizing that we are headed in the wrong direction and are pushing back against oppression and re-envisioning systems and community. Through intentional efforts toward systems change coupled with local efforts to build cohesive, sustainable communities, hope is emerging that we can transform the harmful economic, political, cultural, and social norms in a way that affirms all lives and our collective interdependence with nature. Currently the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice, Jacqui Patterson, MSW, MPH,…
Seabeck Conference 2015 – Workshop Descriptions
1 – 10 Ways YOU Can Advance a Sustainable Planet that Uplifts All Rights for All People! Whether it’s our full time job, a group to which we belong, an activity we do occasionally, and/or the way we live our lives, we all have a role to play in creating and sustaining an equitable and sustainable planet. This workshop will provide guidance on large, medium, and small ways we can each contribute to the society in which we want to live, including sharing examples of ways that communities, groups, and individuals are already executing these roles and activities! Jacqueline Patterson 2 – The Gospel Is Not a Neutral Term. How can people of faith radically oppose the systematic oppression of…
Mike Yarrow Peace Fellowship
by Bruce Pruitt-Hamm The WWFOR has launched the Mike Yarrow Peace Fellowship (MYPF), a $1,000 grant for a year-long Fellowship that includes a week-long training intensive for high school and college students. The Peace Fellows for 2015-16 have been selected. The MYPF launched its second annual cycle in late June of 2016. Applications for 2017 must be received by June 1, 2017. There are 3 ways to get your application: 1) You can view and save the application form as a MYPF Application-PDF or 2) download it as a Word document with this link: MYPF Application-Word or 3) use our contact form to request that we email you the application. Call Janis Pruitt-Hamm at 206-466-2924 or email jpruitthamm@gmail.com for further information or to submit your application (by June 1, 2016).…
Larry Kerschner, Letter to the Editor The Chronicle (12-09-14)
A recent letter in the Chronicle asserted that Korean people eat cats and dogs after torturing them. A check with my Korean friends found that Koreans don’t eat cats. Some older Koreans do eat dogs, which are raised to be eaten just like cows and chickens, but most young Koreans find this as unpleasant as most Americans. I recently returned from Jeju Island, South Korea. I went with a group of friends to stand in solidarity with villagers of Gangjeong Village who are opposing the building of a naval base. The base is supposedly a Korean Navy base but a look at the plans clearly shows that wharfs and docks are fitted to the size of US naval vessels. The…
WWFOR Fall Retreat – Economic Justice for the 99%
Our annual Fall retreat on Saturday November 8 will bring people together from throughout our region to stimulate grassroots progress toward economic justice. View the 2014 Fall Retreat flyer. More at https://wwfor.org/projects/fall-retreat-2/
January 14: Climate Crisis Rally in Olympia
Climate Crisis Rally with brief speakers & human mural from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm on the State Capitol steps in Olympia. The public is invited to participate in a rally supporting the climate and urging the Washington State Legislature and Governor Inslee to take bold action. The rally will occur on the first day of the 2013 legislative session, Monday January 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the steps of the Washington State Capitol Building. “Extreme weather patterns throughout the world, historic rates of polar ice melt, and other realities confirm scientists’ increasingly strong findings that the climate crisis is already upon us,” said Bourtai Hargrove, one of the event’s organizers. “Every person, local community, state and…
Expressions From Ellen
by Ellen Finkelstein “There is no war without the warrior /Just silent tanks, guns and mortars” (from “Not My War,” for IVAW by Pat Humphries of Emma’s Revolution) I heard 4 young veterans on the Iraq Veterans Against the War “Right to Heal” tour speak last week. I found their stories incredibly moving and compelling. It put a human face to and made me feel the reality of the horrifying statistics: 20-50% of those deployed to Iraq & Afghanistan suffer from PTSD; military suicide rate increased 150% from 2001 to 2009; 1 in 3 women in the military are sexually assaulted. While I have known about the ongoing crisis at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) and the impact on service…
Notes From the Editor
by Larry Kerschner If you have the feeling that you are being watched, you probably are not paranoid. Welcome to the NationalSecuritySurveillanceState. A recent book The Daily You by Joseph Turow shows how ads, discounts, news and entertainment are being customized and personalized on the basis of data being collected and coordinated by powerful but not well-known media agencies. When you fill out a survey, swipe your card at Safeway, download a Groupon coupon or Google any information on the Internet, these media agencies are developing an individualized profile of you despite their claim that this process is anonymous. The Department of Defense provides a “free” test to all school districts in this country called the ASVAB which is supposed…
The Wealthy Like Redistribution — Their Way
by John Repp Republicans and corporate media are always talking about taxing the rich as “redistribution of wealth” as if the capitalist economy is not itself a great redistribution engine. In its normal workings, capitalism redistributes the money and labor of poor and working people to the rich. As John Ruskin wrote in Unto the Last (1862), a book Gandhi read that changed his life, rich and poor are relative words like north and south. Most people think of wealth as an absolute and think that everyone could become wealthy with the right application of knowledge and effort. If that were true, why aren’t we all wealthy? The wealthy have an answer: the poor are ignorant and lazy. But…
