A review by John Repp: A review of a book written by Douglas P. Fry. The Human Potential for Peace: An Anthropological Challenge to Assumptions about War and Violence   New York: Oxford University, 2006.      Too many Americans hold these “truths” to be self-evident: “That there has always been war and there always will be. It’s human nature.” Many of us have probably heard such words in our work for an end to war. Unfortunately, these beliefs have power and are an obstacle to achieving a more peaceful world.  There is evidence for the idea that there has always been war. The history of civilization and our Western literary canon from its earliest works such as The Bible are full…

by Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm: It was the 1st day of the 2nd week of the Peace Activist Trainee (PAT) program, their 5th day knowing each other, and their 1st time stepping foot into a City Council meeting. But they stood their ground firmly as they presented a  message (equipped with a pie chart of survey results they had gathered) asserting their own call for peace and public rights as “the future generation of taxpayers.” Seven high school students arrived with passion and energy at the July 11th Seattle City Council meeting supporting Councilman Nick Licata’s resolution to reduce and redirect U.S. war spending. The tone was set for this year’s PATs: they were going to be active activists. The PAT program,…

In the last issue we reported that you can now support WWFOR by going to the website www.wwfor.org  and clicking on the “donate” button.  We had hoped that easier giving would increase the much needed financial support for our mission.  Unfortunately almost no one  has taken advantage of this opportunity.  WWFOR depends upon the generous support of our members.  Knowing that we could rely on certain monthly donations makes budgeting much easier.  Please consider switching your giving to this mode and also consider increasing your amount slightly.

FOR USA   PO Box 271, Nyack, NY  10960   845-358-4601  www.forusa.org   publisher of Fellowship Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action    www.gzcenter.org  IFOR (International Fellowship of Reconciliation)  www.ifor.org   Justice Works! PO Box 1489, Lake Stevens, WA 98258  206-309-2087 www.justiceworks.info   email: justice_works@yahoo.com Olympia FOR chapter   360-491-9093   website www.olympiafor.org Pacific Call  Next issue deadline is October 20, 2011.  Contact Larry Kerschner   peacepoet@gmail.com    360-880-4741 WWFOR — office    Ellen Finkelstein, organizer  206-789-5565   email: wwfor@wwfor.org    web: www.wwfor.org Tacoma FOR website: www.tacomafor.org

    Death penalty abolitionists typically head to Walla Walla, WA to protest an execution at the Washington State Penitentiary. However, in October 2011, Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (WCADP) Steering Committee member, Emily Hammargren, will make the trip from her home in Olympia to Walla Walla to run a marathon against the death penalty. The Walla Walla Marathon officially has no connection to death penalty abolition efforts, but Emily will use the 26.2-mile run as a tool to personally raise funds for WCADP.    The publicity generated by this project will also increase awareness about the damage that the death penalty causes in our society. She is training to run a marathon on October 16th, 2011 to raise funds for  WCADP and increase awareness of the damage that the death…