by Glen Anderson During 2012 the Olympia FOR started organizing vigorous action to deal with the escalating disruption of global climates  We staffed information tables at public events in June and October.  In August, four members of the Olympia FOR’s Steering Committee (Glen Anderson, Kerri Griffis, Bourtai Hargrove and Ted Nation) started working very hard along with Larry Kerschner and Ellen Finkelstein to organize the Western Washington FOR’s Fall Retreat (Sat. Nov. 10 in Lacey), which focused on the climate crisis and especially toward preventing a huge number of very nasty trainloads of coal from moving through our community for exporting to Asia. Many Olympia FOR people participated in the WWFOR Fall Retreat, including some who had not attended previous…

by John Repp In Christopher Boehm’s earlier book Hierarchy in the Forest: the Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior (1999), he describes how hunter-gatherer and horticultural societies created egalitarian societies. The band or tribe members co-operated to prevent “alpha” type males from dominating their group. Having language helped them achieve this political equality. Boehm is an anthropologist and a primatologist and has studied egalitarian band, tribe and village customs and chimps in the wild. Without language that allows them to communicate and better cooperate, chimps end up with hierarchical societies. Human’s egalitarianism is not exactly “natural”–i.e., DNA driven–but is made possible like abilities like language facilitated by DNA. Egalitarianism is the result of actions and a culture–i.e., learned behavior. It is a…

by Larry Kerschner There are two books that I have read recently that I recommend.  The first is How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil.  Kurzweil created the flat scanner and the text-to-speech and speech-to-text programs we use every day among many other inventions.  This book looks at the possibility (and likelihood) of creating a synthetic neocortex that in many ways could surpass the human mind.  He bases his predictions on the idea that the human brain is basically a pattern recognition device and its basic function is to predict the future.  Recent science shows that we perceive the bare outline of events and reconstruct memories in an ordered sequence, and our ability to fill in the blanks provides…

Idle No More began in Canada in October 2012 when four First Nation women felt an urgency to address Bill C-45. Idle No More “calls on all people to join in a revolution which honors and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water. We must…live the spirit and intent of the treaty relationship, work towards justice in action, and protect Mother Earth.” This grassroots movement has spread throughout Canada and into the U.S. with social media, flash mobs, demonstrations. At a Seattle event, signs read “Respect Existence or Expect Resistance” and “When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty.” See www.idlenomore.com.

WWFOR is working with several coalitions to respond to the “fiscal cliff.” The work continues in 2013. It is unacceptable to reduce spending on the backs of hard-working Americans, the elderly, veterans, the poor, children and disabled when we clearly have other options that are far more ethical. Please sign the Jobs Not War petition at www.jobs-not-wars.org. On Dec. 15, 2012, a delegation met via video conference with key DC aides for Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell. (Photo by Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm) We can save 100s of billions: Reduce budget for U.S. overseas military bases by 20%:  $200 billion End the war in Afghanistan Now:  $83 billion in 2013 Cut unnecessary and wasteful Pentagon spending:  $100 billion a year…

Seabeck Annual FOR Conference Thursday July 4 – Sunday July 7, 2013 “Harnessing Outrage and Compassion to Awaken the Power of Nonviolence” Featuring Keynote speaker Kazu Haga (Social Justice activist, Bay Area coordinator of Positive Peace Warrior Network, and Kingian nonviolence trainer to youth, prisoners, and community activists around the country.) Plus workshops, music, fellowship, & fun! wwfor@wwfor.org or 206-789-5565  

Morgan and Graves (Bob Morgan and Lynn Graves) Musical Concert Friday, February 8, 2013 7:30 – 9:30 PM Free admission The Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Café 8310 Greenwood Ave, N.  Seattle, WA 98103 (206) 436-2960 In this concert Bob Morgan and Lynn Graves will feature their engaging original songs interwoven with selections from a wide range of musical traditions. They accompany each other on fiddle, guitar and vocal harmonies. They always include at least some music for peace or justice. For many years running Bob and Lynn, FOR members, have volunteered at the FOR Regional Conference at Seabeck to provide sound reinforcement; back-up Tom Rawson in song leading; and other activities.  They led caroling at the Seattle FOR Holiday…

by Ellen Finkelstein Thinking about WWFOR, resilience, and harnessing our passion and values.  Resilience is: (1) the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity. (2) ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy. In this Pacific Call, Mike’s article talks about bringing together FOR allies to act more successfully on concerns about horrific costs of war and the impact on those most vulnerable. We have an opportunity to act to make a difference in coming weeks and to build the foundation for future action. Glen’s article speaks to FOR values & priorities about the planet. The Nov 10 WWFOR Fall Retreat addresses climate crisis &…

by Mike Yarrow After the elections Congress will meet in “lame duck” session to enact the $1 Trillion in cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act over the next decade in addition to the $1 Trillion in caps on spending already made.  These cuts, “the Fiscal Cliff,” are set to go into effect January 1, 2013. The cuts are supposed to come 50-50 from the Pentagon and domestic programs.  However, the Pentagon budgets increase each year so even with the “cuts” the Pentagon budget is likely to increase over the next decade.  In addition military contractors are pushing for far fewer Pentagon cuts.  The House has already passed a budget with increases for the Pentagon!  The Pentagon experiences over $100…