sent 10/12/13 Poverty is not an easy problem--a new aspect

Subject: sent 10/12/13 Poverty is not an easy problem--a new aspect

1. "How Poverty Taxes the Brain" --new research
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/08/how-poverty-taxes-brain/6716/

2. "Why the Rich and Powerful Have Less Empathy" --psychologist
October 7, 2013
http://www.alternet.org/why-rich-and-powerful-have-less-empathy

"Rich People Just Care Less" --more research
by Daniel Coleman October 5, 2013
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/rich-people-just-care-less/?_r=1

This is a fascinating little subsidiary to the main point of the article:

....Social distance makes it all the easier to focus on small differences between groups and to put a negative spin on the ways of others and a positive spin on our own.

Freud called this “the narcissism of minor differences,” a theme repeated by Vamik D. Volkan, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia, who was born in Cyprus to Turkish parents. Dr. Volkan remembers hearing as a small boy awful things about the hated Greek Cypriots — who, he points out, actually share many similarities with Turkish Cypriots. Yet for decades their modest-size island has been politically divided, which exacerbates the problem by letting prejudicial myths flourish.

love,
Larry

--
http://billmoyers.com/segment/wendell-berry-on-his-hopes-for-humanity/
or, same 39 min video, start with downloading:
http://ge.tt/api/1/files/3GPFdfu/0/blob?download

sent 10/12/13 "My Hero: Wendell Berry on His Hopes for Humanity | Moyers & Company | BillMoyers.com"

Subject: sent 10/12/13 "My Hero: Wendell Berry on His Hopes for Humanity | Moyers & Company | BillMoyers.com"

This is from one of my beloved Anons. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please watch this. He is a true hero and light for our time.

http://billmoyers.com/segment/wendell-berry-on-his-hopes-for-humanity/  October 4, 2013
--------------------------------------------------------------------

LAS: At about 25min Wendell Berry shares one of many important thoughts.  I want to point this one out in particular because I've been asked "What should I do," and I've mostly been evasive.

Wendel Berry: "... [Y]ou commit yourself to to saying 'alright I'm not going to do any extensive damage here until I know what it is that you are asking of me.'  And this can't be hurried.  This is the dreadful situation that young people are in and I think of them and I say, 'Well the situation you are in now is a situation that's going to call for a lot of patience.  And to be patient in an emergency is a terrible trial.'"  After a bit he goes on with much more, starting with learning all you can about where you are.

At about 31 min 28 sec Bill Moyers points out that going by the numbers of family farms, most of us are farther than ever from a connection with the foundations of nature than we've ever been.  Wendell Berry then admits, pressed by Bill Moyers, paraphrasing heavily, that yes waiting for people to move back out into the landscape [to build a more diverse and healthier agriculture] may take a long time.  Bill Moyers asks, "Do we have a long time given what agribusiness is doing?  Wendell Berry responds "We don't have the right to ask that question.  We have to ask what's the right thing to do and then go ahead and do it."

That could apply to a lot of problems, I think.

I have developed the greatest respect for Mr. Wendell Berry in a very short time.  He is quite a surprise, really, in a number of ways.  He is one of the very best.  I add my request to that of Anon: Yes, please watch this.  39 min 39 sec.

I've uploaded this to ge.tt where you can get it if you'd like to use your local software to watch it.  It's an mp4 file.  This does not go to a page.  It starts a download or brings up a dialog ("where do you want it?") box.
Wendell Berry with Bill Moyers October 4, 2013
http://ge.tt/api/1/files/3GPFdfu/0/blob?download

Larry

sent 10/9/13 Building a Better World, One Block at a Time

Subject: sent 10/9/13 Building a Better World, One Block at a Time

Much or most of this that people have done locally in the world is news to me.  Perhaps it is news to you too--good news.  And perhaps there are others you know who might be inspired.

"Building a Better World, One Block at a Time"
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/10/building-a-better-world-one-block-at-a-time/

Here's a new book that's cited in the article:
The Power of Just Doing Stuff: How Local Action Can Change the World by Rob Hopkins (2013)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Just-Doing-Stuff/dp/0857841173/

Larry

sent 10/7/13 Climb Ev'ry Mountain--song sung BIG

Subject: sent 10/7/13 Climb Ev'ry Mountain--song sung BIG

My father had a big voice and was a serious soloist.  He performed on many many occasions.  I remember him singing with his powerful voice the song "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" on more than one occasion.  He meant it.  And he himself never gave up.  He did quite well at living up to his own ideals.  Many people looked to him for wisdom. Mostly he encouraged other people to figure things out for themselves. :-)

Having just acquired the double album this is from I heard this particular performance for the first time a little while ago. Hearing this may call for a bit of preparation.

Play with the play button at
http://ge.tt/9HDvDxt/v/0?c
or go directly to downloading the mp3 file:
http://ge.tt/api/1/files/9HDvDxt/0/blob?download

Larry

sent 10/7/13 Brazil and logistical problems with cutting off U.S. surveillance

sent 10/7/13 Brazil and logistical problems with cutting off U.S. surveillance

You may have heard that the people of Brazil are really upset over the recent disclosure that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is doing a lot of surveillance on them as well as everywhere else.  I think that upset may well have negative economic consequences for most of us here in the U.S.

I have been a member for a few years now of a good web hosting discussion site for geeks in various aspects of the business of web hosting, http://www.webhostingtalk.com

Today I happened upon this page at Web Hosting Talk:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=598353478f3580efcdc0edfbd5315b3e&p=8866497#post8866497

...which led me to this page:
http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/brazils-dreams-for-domestic-data-centers-would-be-logistical-nightmare

... which led me to this UN speech by Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff which I am downloading but have not yet seen.  I've heard it was quite something.  You might be interested if you've missed it so far.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhcKqJKtaPg
I certainly have sympathy for the Brazilians and their upset with any sort of government surveillance much less surveillance by a foreign government.  I don't like government surveillance either, though of course "I have nothing at all to hide," at least no more to hide than have others who say those words without really thinking about what they're saying.  This is just one more strange aspect of an increasingly strange world altogether, as I'm sure you've been noticing right along with me.

Larry

sent 10/6/13 "Reasons to Lose Sleep over the Shutdown and Obamacare"

Subject: sent 10/6/13 "Reasons to Lose Sleep over the Shutdown and Obamacare"

Well please don't go losing too much sleep, but this is a good article to read for further background on how things are working.  By the way, you may notice some extreme-sounding statements about Republicans, which statements I take to mean as being about the Republican leadership and big monetary support.  May I point out that extreme-sounding statements sometimes turn out to be just plain true.  According to my current understanding of things, the extreme-sounding statements about Republicans (the money and the leadership) are just plain true:

"Reasons to Lose Sleep over the Shutdown and Obamacare"
Common Dreams, October 6, 2013.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/10/06
This is by Scott McLarty, "media coordinator for the Green Party of the United States and for the DC Statehood Green Party."  I do not recall having been aware of him previously.  It's that his statements are supported by evidence I've read elsewhere over the years and including to the present.

I am pleased to live in one of the states that opted in to the Medicaid expansion provision of the ACA.  Somewhere, I don't know that it's in the above article, I caught mention of the idea that the budgets of one or more states of the rural South may not have the room to come up with the 10 percent kick-in required from states as a share of their extra Medicaid costs.  I don't know what to say about that, except it's sad if it is true that any state does not have that much budget.  But I wonder whether isn't a lack of political will to increase those state budgets by that much, with them just fighting the whole idea of "the government" telling anyone what to do and not do, among some other what might be called political issues that those same people tend to have to the detriment of everyone including them, in my own opinion for whatever it's worth.  Anyway, I am sorry for those people, but I personally do not owe them anything and have no funds whatsoever to give to them.  My family and neighbors around here come first, and I struggle to have money for gifts just for them when it becomes appropriate.  So sorry, except really I do not spend much time feeling sorry.  I feel it's out of my control, so there's nothing for me to feel sorry about.  So good luck with that, and I'm not saying don't give them money; pending them being able to manage some major improvement in their circumstances, let us at least pray for them and perhaps send them good luck wishes periodically.  I don't think it could hurt anyway. 

Larry

sent 10/6/13 old friend Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler at Daily Kos

Subject: old friend Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler at Daily Kos

Our old friend Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler expressed a preference that I might have mentioned to you that it was he who just made that needed comment to me about the big problem with fast-tracking that proposed biggest-one-yet free trade agreement, the problem of up or down with no possible changes to it.  Since I was about to write about him anyway, it's no problem to have added that into this. :-)

Dr. Andrew Bard (Andy) Schmookler is a scholar and activist worthy of great respect.  Sure, of course keep on being critical, but I think it is worth spending time with what he has to say on a very wide range of topics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Schmookler

Dr. Schmookler's own site is NoneSoBlind, you may recall--I was active there for several years--but he has also been writing at Daily Kos of late.  Daily Kos is a seriously great site that I have not been visiting often enough.  That might change now that I've started reading some of what Dr. Schmookler has written there.  And yes I have seen some good comments and responses at Daily Kos. Here is one in particular:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/03/1243883/-It-s-Deeper-Than-You-Think

Here's the list:
http://www.dailykos.com/user/AndySchmookler/history

Having known him on line for a number of years, I have to warn you that Dr. Schmookler tends to strongly different opinions from mine when it comes to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East especially.  It is NOT something that he necessarily talks about often at all.  But Dr. Schmookler tends to support the Israeli government and military much less critically than I do and to feel that it is America's job to support Israel in everything.  And by "support Israel" I mean "spend a lot of money."  Israel's bad behavior has been costing us here a lot of money, and I mean a lot of money.  A further result is that we have become pretty unpopular in the rest of the world.  I am sad about that, really.

My purpose here is to turn you ON to Dr. Andrew Bard (Andy) Schmookler, not to turn you off--except for that one thing to look out for if it should happen to arise.

Larry

sent 10/5/13 another BIG worry for ya--the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Subject: another BIG worry for ya--the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
[I have added to this post two significant followups, both dated 10/6/13]

Yes this promises to affect you and yours, bigtime.  It's about the secret behind the scenes development of a new so-called free trade agreement among Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.  Those who have been developing it are seeking a fast-track process for its adoption by Congress, so that our legislators will not have time to read it after it is released and before voting on it. 

This new treaty would override local laws in the various countries including laws of the states and local areas, mainly including laws that have been developed for the protection of workers and residents.  Free trade agreements in general have worked out to be bad news for the people of the United States in general, with resulting job reductions and wage reductions, good only for the wealthiest few.

We are called upon to act to oppose this new development:

It is time to end the era of rigged corporate trade and begin fair trade that respects all people and the planet, and that is developed in an open and transparent manner. Join the Fair Trade Brigade either in Congress or where you live. Tell your member of Congress to vote "no" on fast track and pass a resolution locally that declares your community to be a TPP-free zone. Visit FlushtheTPP.org for more information on what you can do.

October 2, 2013
http://truth-out.org/news/item/19135-the-trans-pacific-partnership-we-wont-be-fooled-by-rigged-corporate-trade-agreements
and
September 27, 2013
http://atimes.com/atimes/Japan/JAP-02-270913.html

I haven't acted on this yet except to send this to you for starters, but I expect to do more.  I expect that this may occasion another mass call-in to federal legislatures such as the mass American uprising that stopped the U.S. military attack on Syria.  We did not need that, and we do not need this either.

Larry

 -------------------------------
(This article likely shows a good consequence of the government shutdown)
"For Obama, domestic politics make foreign policy that much harder"
October 4, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/10/04/for-obama-domestic-politics-make-foreign-policy-that-much-harder/

========================

Subject: a needed comment Re: another BIG worry for ya--the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) [sent 10/6/13]

The first of these two comments from Anon points out something that I should have pointed out in the first place, about the major consequence if Congress were to agree to use "a fast-track process" toward enacting and buying in to this super-ugly "Trans-Pacific Partnership" (TPP).

from Anon: If I remember correctly, and it’s quite possible I don’t, “fast-track” isn’t about not giving the legislators time to know what it says, it is about not giving Congress the space to make changes in it that would need to be re-negotiated.  Just an up or down vote.

LS: I think it's both, since the contents are being kept secret until the last minute, apparently.  But what you point out is the more important concern in fact:  After approving "fast-track," Congress agrees there will be no changes and no discussion of what about the document ought to be changed.  That is talked about in the principle article linked below.  I have an idea that at least some legislators would want to question the overriding of laws of the states and localities, for one obvious example. 

Anon: The main point you make, about overriding laws in particular places, is quite worrisome.  As I recall, the implications of such a thing is to facilitate a kind of race to the bottom.  At least I think that’s what’s happened in other cases.

LS:  Right.  Thank you for taking the time to emphasize these important things.

Larry

======================

Subject: another big part of the problem with the TPP proposal Re: another BIG worry for ya--the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) [#2 sent 10/6/13]

There's another big thing I just thought of: Any such treaty that proposes to affect 40 percent of the world's economy would, I think, "necessarily" involve an increase in the size and activity of the U.S. military and probably an increase in the size of police forces in the U.S. as well, to "supervise" it all.  I don't know about you, but I do not think that would be a good thing at all, especially since it would be some of the huge number of people whose lives it would be making worse who would be trying to fight back.  And if you happen to think it is a good thing, might I at least ask, do you have lots of extra money lying around with which to pay for all that new and extra U.S. military activity in the world, with all its related business contracts, not to mention local taxes for increased police activity in the U.S.?

Larry

sent 10/5/13 Where Ted Cruz Is Coming From (Teaparty)

Subject: Where Ted Cruz Is Coming From (Teaparty)

October 4, 2013
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/where-ted-cruz-is-coming-from

This interesting piece leaves out mention of the fact that the reason the "folks back home" feel the way they do about things has to do with local TV ads plus major influence through the funding of fundamentalist evangelical Christian churches by big money interests who are willing at least to give lip service to fundamentalists' interests in limiting females' decision-making and control over their bodies and in homophobia.  All in all, as we have learned over the past 10 years, the fundamentalists have to listen to a lot of lies about big economic matters in return for some support, especially financial support, of their concerns having to do with sex and traditional power over other people via a purely propaganda concept known as sin.  This sort of interaction between big money and fundamentalist evangelical Christian churches started getting off the ground around 1973. (See Roe v. Wade and other cases from around that time having to do with allowing contraception to be available.)

Larry

sent 10/4/13 8 Reasons Democrats Should Refuse a Shutdown “Grand Bargain”

Subject: 8 Reasons Democrats Should Refuse a Shutdown “Grand Bargain”

This is good, speaks for itself.  I suggest reading it even if you are already convinced.  It will give you more to say.  As I said, it's good.
http://ourfuture.org/20131003/8-reasons-democrats-should-avoid-a-grand-bargain-over-the-shutdown

One thing that does not get mentioned often enough and that Richard Eskow did not mention, I suspect because it is difficult to understand--and it really is difficult to understand, is that because of our fractional reserve basic money system, DEBT MUST KEEP ON RISING YEAR AFTER YEAR for the dollar to continue to be worth anything and for the economy to survive.  Now, theoretically it is not that public debt must continue to rise.  It is the sum of public debt and private debt that must continue to rise.  So if public debt does not rise then private debt must rise.  That means IF PUBLIC DEBT DOES NOT RISE THEN YOUR DEBT MUST RISE.  That assumes you are at least barely well enough off that someone will lend you money.  Realistically, taxes are the bigger of the two concerns ONLY for people who have immense incomes.

In the past I have sent out much by way of clear and graphic demonstrations of how that works.  If you need convincing that treating government debt like household debt is plain ignorant, let me know and I can send you privately an educational video or a link to an educational video.

Below, repeated on purpose, is a message I sent four (4) days ago.  I plan to call my Senators again periodically to reinforce that they have my backing in solidly refusing to give in to the Republicans more than they already have, which is too much already.  Except for a few people, which does not include you or yours, in the longer run any more compromise with Republican leaders would be much worse than this "shutdown."  That's what Richard Eskow said in detail in that article, and I have no doubt that he's right.  Problem is of course, the Republican leaders, driven by those who fund the Republican TV advertising and who fund the Tea Party Republicans especially, are not about to stop it with their lying.  Sorry, but I am calling a spade a spade there.  It is too difficult for me to believe they are all just ignorant.

Larry

On 9/30/2013 2:30 PM, Larry Scott wrote:

Subject: Budget--Call Democratic Party Senators NOW if you get this today

-------------------------
This is for those who live in states that have at least one Democratic Party federal Senator.  If you do not live in such a state I apologize for disturbing you today.  The leaders from your state may or may not be partly your fault.
-------------------------

Please call your Democratic Party Senator or Senators asap, like right now, if you get this today.   Ask them to hold up against what the Republicans want in today's big budget discussion--to NOT give in.

If you don't know their names and contact information, this is the FCNL link we used a couple of weeks ago to look up government officials to help in the big win against an immediate U.S. military attack on Syria.
http://www.capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/
Now it is time for a call to Senators.  It has the contact information for your officials.  Putting in my zip code to begin has worked fine.  Then click on a Senator's picture to get to a graphic of a rectangle with tabs, one of which is "Contact."  Get the phone number.  Then go back and click on the picture of your other Senator and get his or her phone number.

It took me more than one try to get a live person today, which is extremely unusual.  Again, when you do get somebody, the message is as simple as my first paragraph: "I am John/Susan Doe from [city, state].  I am calling to encourage the Senator to hold up AGAINST what the Republican leaders want, to NOT give in to them."  I did not stop until I had that all said.  Then I was asked for, and gave, my zip code.  Try to help make sure the assistant gets your zip code.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.

Larry

sent 9/30/2013 Senator Bernie Sanders on U.S. health care

Subject: Senator Bernie Sanders on U.S. health care

U.S. health care being under the heaviest attack the Republican leadership and their friends and biggest supporters can manage, that being the big issue in what is going to happen at midnight tonight with the budget, this is a timely article by the great Senator Bernie Sanders.  Yes we do have at least one great man for a Senator in this country still, more than one, actually.  Senator Sanders advocates eloquently for a single-payer health care system, and he is announcing the introduction of a new bill for that.  But he is NOT advocating for killing President Obama's Affordable Care Act in the meantime.  He says the Affordable Care Act "is a start."

"A single-payer system, like Medicare, is the cure for America's ailing healthcare" by Senator Bernie Sanders, September 30, 2013
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/30/single-payer-cure-healthcare-reform

Larry

sent 9/16/13 A Hopi Elder Speaks

A Hopi Elder Speaks

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader."

"This could be a good time!" "There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel like they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. "Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. "The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

-- attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder

Hopi Nation

sent 9/12/13 Syria: below is the text of my reply back to my House Representative

Subject: Syria: below [this introductory part] is the text of my reply back to my House Representative

My Representative from the House in Washington wrote me yesterday, replying to what I had written to him last week, with a statement that he had decided, for the good reasons he gave, to vote NO on the question of the U.S. military attacking Syria.

Aside from the discussion about other congressional lobbies, which was not included, my reply to my representative follows suggestions that came out of the hour-long FCNL telephone conference that was held last evening:

1. Ask your Senators and your member of Congress please to learn about and keep some attention on the many traditional international diplomatic institutions that exist.  See also what I wrote below.

2: Also ask them to take time to collect up a group of colleagues and take the train up to visit the UN General Assembly meeting later this month--to mingle with a few representatives from foreign lands.

03. Resources are being added to this FCNL page: http://fcnl.org/issues/syria/

-----------sent September 12, 2013-------------
Note: You will find the links for references in this in

http://larryatblogspot.blogspot.com/2013/09/sent-91113-new-hope-for-more-democracy.html

Dear Representative xxxxx  xxxxxxxxx,

I want to thank you for having taken the position you did against a U.S. military attack on Syria and for the carefully thought out statement that you sent me.  I find nothing in it whatsoever to criticize.

But as I seriously hope you agree, this is not very likely to be the end of that matter.  Journalist Robert Naiman wrote a day or so ago, "We were told by the government of Israel, the government of Saudi Arabia, and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee that it was absolutely essential that the United States strike Syria militarily to send a signal to Iran that the U.S. was willing to use force to confront Iran's nuclear program."

I remember well that toward the end of the Bush years, I believe it was, or perhaps a bit later, I shared with my own few hundred private readers a news article concerning survey of individual congresspeople on the question of what were the most influential lobbies in Washington.  Interestingly, it turned out that the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is a completely U.S. organization of Zionist Jews, was the second-most influential congressional lobby of all, second only to the AARC lobby.  For Zionism click here.  Though the members of AIPAC naturally do not like hearing it, according to surveys it is a minority of American Jews who are serious Zionists.  It's that minority that belongs to AIPAC.  I have no reason to believe that the AIPAC lobbying problem has changed much if at all.  The top leaders of AIPAC happen to include some big bankers.

Most likely you have already become aware of the above long since.  What could possibly be news to you is that it is all rather widely known now.

It appears that you have resisted so far the influence of the Saudi and Israeli governments and that of AIPAC.  Thank you, and I applaud you for that!

I am aware of much of what is on your plate to worry about these days.  Nonetheless, I ask you, seriously, to do what you can to learn about and to encourage the reinforcement with additional personnel as may be necessary, strengthening of existing albeit a bit rickety international diplomatic institutions.

I also ask that you get a group of your colleagues together and take the train up and visit the meeting of the UN General Assembly later this month, mainly to intermingle and get to know some people from other countries, as was the congressional tradition not so long ago.

Thank you for what you have done and thank you in advance for whatever more you are able to do.

Respectfully yours,

Larry

Larry A. Scott
--
http://larryatblogspot.blogspot.com
(I started that public blog in May 2013.  So far I have had time to add mostly just my writings since then.  I do not permit public comments.)

sent 9/11/13 new hope for more democracy in America

Subject: new hope for more democracy in America

What happened in the past few days, the American people succeeding in forcing the President to back off on attacking Syria was historic.  It sets a new precedent.  This looks like an excellent discussion about what it means for the future.

"With War Off the Table, It’s Time for Syria Ceasefire, Negotiations, and Talking to Iran"  September 11, 2013
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/11-5
Robert Naiman is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy. Naiman has worked as a policy analyst and researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. He has masters degrees in economics and mathematics from the University of Illinois and has studied and worked in the Middle East.

Note Mr. Naiman's attribution of responsibility for advocating FOR a U.S. military attack on Syria to the government of Israel, the government of Saudi Arabia, and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is a completely U.S. organization of Zionist Jews.  For Zionism click here.  Again, it is a minority of American Jews who are serious Zionists.  It's that minority that belongs to AIPAC.  I mentioned AIPAC to you just recently, for the umpteenth time. 

You might recall my sharing the fact a couple of years or so ago--perhaps it was as far back as toward the end of the Bush years-- that a congressional survey in Washington had told us that AIPAC is the second-most influential congressional lobby of all, second only to the AARC lobby.  I have no reason to believe that that has changed.  The top leaders of AIPAC happen to include some big bankers.

I am not very familiar with Robert Naiman and so must say, while I may approve of what he says here, I do not necessarily agree with anything else he's ever said elsewhere. :-)

Larry

sent 9/11/13 Syria: video commentary on the big speech last night and on what can happen now

Subject: Syria: good commentary on the president's speech last night

This is an outrageously good and honest commentary on President Obama's speech last night against the real background, why the American people were able to prevent him from proceeding with the military attack on Syria that he wanted, and hope for the future.

"Rania Masri and Chris Hedges On Obama's Syria Address"
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10703

"The 5 Most Ludicrous War Claims in Obama’s Syria Speech"
http://www.progressive.org/5-ludicrous-war-claims-obama-syria-speech

By the way, I thank you for anything you may have been able to do to help add to the massive opposition that represented most Americans, it appears, to President Obama and the U.S. military attacking Syria right now.

Larry

sent 9/11/13 Syria: War Postponed; FCNL telephone conference tonight

Subject: Syria: War Postponed; FCNL telephone conference tonight

This is the text of an email I just received from the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Note that the conference call tonight September 11, 2013 at 8pm EST is still on. (712) 432-1500 and then the access number 380565#

As always, feel free to forward this wherever you like, particularly to people whom you may have asked to help against an imminent attack by the U.S. military on Syria.

---------------------from FCNL September 11, 2013 11:24AM EST----------
Dear Larry A Scott,

President Obama's speech last night offered his reasons for military action in Syria. Overwhelmingly, the U.S. public opposes military strikes and favors diplomatic and political action to resolve this crisis. We agree. The use of military force by the U.S. in Syria counters the diplomatic possibilities and will increase violence in an already devastated and war-torn country.

You can find out more about what's ahead and what FCNL is doing on this critical issue by joining us tonight for a conference call.

Over the last two days, the U.S. has stepped back from the brink of war with Syria and has moved to supporting the kind of diplomacy that FCNL and many others have been advocating.

The immediate crisis of U.S. intervention may have passed, but there's a very long road ahead to resolving this conflict peacefully. The president made it clear that the threat of force against Syria is still on the table. Secretary of State John Kerry and other administration officials are still pressing Congress to pre-authorize military action if the new diplomatic track falters. But diplomacy rarely works at gunpoint.

The next days and weeks will be critical. The Syrian foreign minister has said his country will cease production and give up the use of chemical weapons, but many details remain to be worked out. The United Nations will be a focal point for much of this work in the next few days, and this issue will be high on the agenda when the United Nations General Assembly meets in two weeks.
A Significant Moment

I do hope you'll take a moment and appreciate that thousands and thousands of people—including many of you—have helped pause U.S. military action by taking time to write, call and visit congressional offices; to speak with others in your community; and to attend vigils.

Members of Congress have been eager to hear from you. Many had lengthy town hall meetings or sent out email polls to gauge their constituents' opinions. As the possibility of the U.S. entering yet another "military action" loomed, you played an important role in delivering an emphatic "no." Moreover, you have pushed for negotiations and proposals, such as the one Russia has put forward and President Obama has embraced, to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria without adding to the violence.

We don't know exactly what will happen next to resolve this conflict. But there are some things we do know:

Diplomacy is a marathon, not a sprint. Diplomacy is not a quick, straight line to a goal. There are ups and downs, advances and setbacks. Members of Congress need to hear their constituents' support for allowing diplomacy time to work. Setting arbitrary deadlines and unrealistic benchmarks for diplomacy—with the threat of falling back on military force if those are not met—would be counterproductive.
Syria can immediately sign the Chemical Weapons Convention; open its storage sites to inspection and cease production of these horrendous tools of war. But Russia has said Syria will only turn its chemical weapons over to international control if the U.S. agrees to stop threatening military action. The goal the president articulated is to prevent the use of chemical weapons and hold those who use them accountable, and the U.S. should stay fixed on that goal.
People are still dying in Syria. A political solution to the conflict in Syria must engage the League of Arab States and Iran as well as Russia and the rest of the international community. Some reports suggest that as many as 100,000 people have been killed in Syria in the last two years. The international community should explore a high-level strategy that implements a ceasefire between Syrian rebels and the Syrian government and, if necessary, a political transition process.

Please Join Us on Tonight for a Conference Call

FCNL's lead Middle East lobbyist Kate Gould will join David Culp, our lobbyist for nuclear disarmament, and Jim Cason, who leads strategic advocacy at FCNL, tonight to talk with you about the most recent information from Capitol Hill and what the U.S.'s decision to back away from bombing Syria means for prospects for peace.

To join the call, dial (712) 432-1500 and then the access number 380565#. If you have a question you'd like to be addressed, please email foreignpolicy@fcnl.org any time between now and the call time at 8 p.m. Eastern tonight. We hope you can join in!

Thank you for your work with us over the past several weeks to prevent a U.S. war with Syria. I hope you'll stay engaged on this issue in the coming days and that you'll join us tonight.

Sincerely,

Diane Randall
Executive Secretary
---------------end of message from FCNL September 11, 2013 11:24AM EST --------

sent 9/9/13 please help go viral: now please calendar alarm Wednesday morning September 11th

Subject: please help go viral: now please calendar alarm Wednesday morning September 11th

This is in two parts, which represent two different approaches for your consideration for Wednesday morning September 11th:

1. With this sent I plan to put aside the project of stopping the U.S. military and associated businesses from an attack on Syria until Wednesday morning, September 11th, two days from now, the morning after President Obama's big prime time address to the nation.*

Here is what I plan to do on Wednesday morning: I am going to get myself energized (however much coffee that may take).  I am going to start a series of communications addressed to my Senators and Representative.  I am going to call.  I am going to send them emails.  I am going to send them faxes.  If I were a Twitter user I would use Twitter also. 

I am going to say: "Our President spoke last night.  I have not changed my mind."  (It occurs to me to add, "I would take you voting to authorize an attack on Syria as a personal attack on me, my family, my friends, and all but a relatively few people in this United States of America!"--don't know whether I'll say that.  For sure I will say: "I request that you vote NO on attacking Syria."

In one or another of my planned written communications I might add--"and by the way,  I want the United States to cease immediately their arming of the rebels in Syria, which it has been doing for two years.  These "rebels," some of whom are paid outside fighters, are not friends of ours.  Most of them don't like us at all.  I want us to just stay away from all of them and let them have their sovereign rights as a separate country.  I know they are a bit inconvenient to our business interests.  In my opinion that is not an excuse for the country I was born in to start or to involve itself in a civil war there."

Repeating: This is a fast way of getting the direct contact information for your representatives by your zip code: http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/

If you need toll free for a landline, the toll free number 1-855-686-6927 will get you to the congressional switchboard, which will work.  It's just a bit more roundabout.

Reminder: There are some calling point suggestions near the top of my hyper-linked page at fcnl.org, the site of the Friends Committee on National Legislation.  They are friends of friends of mine.  For real.

2. I had written the above and then just received the following as part of an email from FCNL.  It's an option that might interest you:

"Be Part of a Special Conference Call on Wednesday

"The day after the president’s speech, join FCNL’s lead Middle East lobbyist Kate Gould and other staff on the phone to get the latest on what’s happening on Capitol Hill and how you can influence your members’ decisions up until the moment they vote.

"To join the call, dial (712) 432-1500 and then the access number 380565#. If you have a question you’d like to be addressed, please email foreignpolicy@fcnl.org any time between now and the call time at 8 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, September 11. We hope to speak with you then."

I just noticed that date coincidence, that Wednesday is 9/11 2013.  Sheesh.  Well there's nothing to be done about it.  Might I respectfully suggest using the powers of your mind to overcome it and make it totally irrelevant, which in fact it is to the question of a military attack on Syria, Syria being a country that in no way threatens us.  The controlling members of the second most powerful Washington lobby, AIPAC, feel strongly otherwise, but they are only a few people and, may I suggest, "should" have only a few votes, just their own.  They feel that Syria's pressure on Israel to leave a little something for the Palestinians is a threat to the United States.

Thank you for any possible help you can give.  I ask you to please forward this to those of your personal contacts who can be trusted not hurt you for doing so.

Larry
--
Do remember to have some fun every day.
http://carolynbaker.net/2013/09/05/necessary-and-unnecessary-wars-by-carolyn-baker/

* No my point was not to particularly suggesting actually watching the President's speech tomorrow night on TV.  Suit yourself of course.  My point is that actually watching the President's speech is not necessary.  It's the timing that matters.  "Ok, the President has spoken, and what he said did not make a difference." 

On 9/6/2013 1:02 PM, Larry Scott wrote:

[See http://larryatblogspot.blogspot.com/2013/09/sent-9613-this-weekend-attend-your.html ]

sent 9/6/13 "NSA surveillance: A guide to staying secure"; new Snowden documents today

Subject: "NSA surveillance: A guide to staying secure"; new Snowden documents today

New documents released by The Guardian and The New York Times today September 6, 2013 show that "US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and emails."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-gchq-encryption-codes-security
( or http://tinyurl.com/m47p5dc )
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryption.html?_r=0
( http://tinyurl.com/mo9gw5c )

This is a response from security technologist (big geek) Bruce Schneier (Wikipedia link) that was also published in The Guardian today.  It has his best suggestions for us:

[note 9/7/2014: More recently we saw at least two sites set up to help with staying secure, and last I heard NSA had a focus on watching who visits those two aforementioned sites.]

"NSA surveillance: A guide to staying secure"
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-how-to-remain-secure-surveillance
(or http://tinyurl.com/m6actds)

God bless us every one.

Larry

--
http://carolynbaker.net/2013/09/05/necessary-and-unnecessary-wars-by-carolyn-baker/  (or http://tinyurl.com/lf44yrg )

sent 9/6/13 FPIF: A quick reader on why military intervention in Syria is a big mistake–and what we should be advocating instead.

Subject: from Foreign Policy in Focus: A  quick reader on why military intervention in Syria is a big mistake–and what we should be advocating instead.

"On the Fence about Syria? Read This!"
Foreign Policy in Focus, September 6, 2013
http://fpif.org/fence-syria-read/

Larry

--
http://larryatblogspot.blogspot.com/2013/09/sent-9513-from-carolyn-baker-before.html

sent 9/6/13 this weekend attend your religious group if you have one

Subject: this weekend attend your religious group if you have one

It looks as though Congress will not be voting until next week.  President Obama has a prime time address scheduled for Tuesday.  Obviously he hopes to convince members of Congress to forget about the opposition they've been receiving to voting for a war on Syria. 

In the meantime, reading the news from other places in the world, it looks more and more as though THERE WOULD be a big war if the United States were to bring an attack against Syria.  Forget about what the military corporations and their mouthpieces say in public! The propagandists--many media members and many "big" politicians--are either innocently repeating what those who pay them tell them or they know better too and are lying themselves.  See generally, Senators Voting for Strikes on Syria Got More Defense Money.  Count on another war, an even bigger war.  If there going to be any jobs on which one can support a family, most of them are going to be war jobs.  That is not what I want for my family.  And I don't want it for your family either.

I listened on the FCNL telephone conference call for the full hour last evening.  I was a bit disappointed that there was no mention of some of the wider issues involved with our continually escalating warfare*, the biggest wider issue being our escalating destruction [diminution of the habitability] of the planet.  No mention. 

Kate Gould, FCNL Legislative Assistant on the Middle East, talked very very positively about the feedback they hearing from people in Congress, things like one assistant saying that callers are against a war on Syria 400 to 1.  She minimized/did not see fit to mention the immense pressure, significantly financial pressure, that legislators are under from the so-called military/industrial complex.

Kate Gould's emphasis was on using diplomacy with all the countries most directly involved with what happens with Syria, even including Iran and Russia, as well as through the United Nations. 

She also acknowledged the need to punish whoever it was who used chemical weapons in Syria last month.  She said that there are world legal mechanisms for that, mechanisms that will not start a war that would inevitably end up killing vastly more civilians than were killed in the chemical attack.

In the context of the prediction that the congressional voting will take place toward the middle or end of next week,  she emphasized that it will be productive for all of us to keep accelerating the pressure on Congress next week.

Then she made the suggestion that all of us might go and talk with people in our religious groups this weekend, those who can, and ask them to make phone calls and write things to their federal representatives also.  YES!

Larry

* Download link for 58 min Bush and Obama--Age of Terror video.  No web page, just download.  http://tinyurl.com/lxdgunh
--
http://carolynbaker.net/2013/09/05/necessary-and-unnecessary-wars-by-carolyn-baker/

P.S. I am adding two more sites to my resources links at larryatblogspot.blogspot.com
http://www.naomiklein.org/main
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/

See the text a September 5th interview with Naomi Klein:
http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/naomi_klein/

sent 9/5/13 FROM CAROLYN BAKER--"Necessary And Unnecessary Wars"

Subject: FROM CAROLYN BAKER-- "Necessary And Unnecessary Wars"

Just after I sent my last message to you, I saw that this had come in from my friend Carolyn Baker.  She writes me only rarely.  When she does, it's something important.  I sent you something of hers not long ago, you may recall.* 

Had I seen it first, I would have used this in my messages to you just now with Naomi Klein in the subject line.  But this is better.  Both Naomi Klein and Carolyn Baker are brilliant authors.

In "Necessary and Unnecessary Wars," dated today, September 5, 2013, Caroline Baker makes it very very clear what our real war is about, that it is not about continually escalating U.S. military activity. 
http://carolynbaker.net/2013/09/05/necessary-and-unnecessary-wars-by-carolyn-baker/

As I said.  But Carolyn Baker says it far better.  She is amazing.  And right.  Thank you, Carolyn Baker.

Just to mention, in connection with significant parts of what Carolyn Baker has to say here you might want to think about the video I uploaded for you and mentioned this morning.  Remember, that video link does not open a web page, just whatever interaction you may have set up on your computer for file downloads.  It is safe.

Larry
--
Attorney Scott archives

* See for previous messages from and about Carolyn Baker http://larryatblogspot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/sent-f1913-may-6-2013-personal.html
In past years there have been more, you may remember, but I only started my archives blog in May of this year.

sent 9/5/13 Naomi Klein September 1, 2013

Putting the point up front, this relates to my to me very obvious concern, heretofore left unmentioned, that more wars will make it even more impossible, both practically and financially, to do anything much toward the development of alternative energies and ways of living that might otherwise have a chance of slowing down the forthcoming climate disaster a bit.

Some of my friends refer to themselves as being much more "leftist" than I would say that I am.  I am a bit of a mixed bag, really, I guess.  I have never even read much of anything that Karl Marx wrote, and I did read once upon a time rad some of the novels of Ayn Rand, back before the Tea Partiers were even a glint in anyone's eye.

Over the past several years I have mentioned a number of times the book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, by Naomi Klein (September 2007).  It has been reviewed by many many people many many times.*  Naomi Klien is, to begin with, a Canadian scholar.

On September 1, 2013, Naomi Klein spoke at "the founding convention of UNIFOR, a new mega union created by the Canadian Autoworkers and the Canadian Energy and Paper Workers Union."  This is the text of her address:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/04

I do not know the percentage of workers that are unionized in Canada.  In the United States that percentage is down to seven (7) percent now.  I mention that because starting with such a small percentage of unionized workers could make Naomi Klein's ideas less practical for the United States than for Canada, and it is Canada that she was addressing this past Sunday.

But there is much food for thought there for those of us here in the United States, trust me, things that we might be able to use.

Again, repeating the top paragraph for you, this relates to my to me very obvious concern, heretofore left unmentioned, that more wars will make it even more impossible, both practically and financially, to do anything much toward the development of alternative energies and ways of living that might otherwise have a chance of slowing down the forthcoming climate disaster a bit.

Furthermore, there is not only an obviously huge conflict between funding more wars and paying for development of alternative energy and evolving our personal solutions, for most of us there is also a huge conflict between funding more wars and paying for health care either with public funding or privately!  (And not to mention public education)  If we're not already down the tubes, more wars will certainly do it.  Do remember there is no one attacking the United States at the moment.

Larry
--
Attorney Scott archives

* Briefly, Naomi Klein and a team of 26 researchers looked very carefully at sequences of events in over 200 other countries since the 1950s perhaps, at the earliest, but most since the 1970s.  The countries are mostly tiny parts of the world that do not often come to our attention.  Bottom line, super-rich individuals and small groups of individuals have made unimaginable amounts of money by first working hard to destabilize countries economically--turning them into places where people were starving where they weren't previously--and then "rescuing" those countries from complete starvation with loans whose terms of repayment made it impossible for their governments to put in place social safety nets as good as they'd had before that particular super-rich person or group of  super-rich people came along in the first place.  My understanding is that critics of The Shock Doctrine have not been able to undercut the massive research that went into it.

By the way, I wonder whether or not any relation between the events in the 200 or so countries detailed in The Shock Doctrine and the more recent events in Syria is obvious to anyone else.  Those events did not just start, though I for one haven't paid much attention until now.  In fact the U.S. military has been assisting other countries in feeding arms and other help to the rebels in Syria for the past two years or so.  The U.S. basically started the whole thing, or at least got it off the ground.  "Just sayin'."

sent 9/5/13 update; conference call; video: Bush and Obama--Age of Terror

Subject: video: Bush and Obama--Age of Terror

From the FCNL Legislative Assistant on Middle East Policy this morning: "In the past two days, I’ve talked with staff in dozens of congressional offices. Overwhelmingly, staff report that they are hearing strong opposition from constituents to any U.S. military strike against Syria. Your advocacy is having an effect, but staff say members of Congress are also under tremendous pressure to support military action."

You can be very sure that that tremendous pressure is coming from huge private business interests.  The FCNL and all the others who are part of the effort to stop this are not saying well let's give up.  They are saying let's keep it up and do more.  Here is the phone number if you would like to listen in with them tonight, September 5th, at 8 pm EST:  213-342-3000.  Enter the access code 283096

This morning I got a comment back from a friend, saying, "We citizens maintain some humbleness as we admit we know only a part of the whole..."

I know a great deal.  I admit I do not know every detail.  If you think you can imagine some particular hypothetical detail that I might not know that might affect my unequivocal decision that the U.S. attacking Syria would be a very bad idea, do let me know.  Yes that's a challenge.

It might help if you were to download and watch this video, Bush and Obama--Age of Terror first before you try to come up with something.  As I said, I know a lot.  After watching this 58 minute video two nights ago I knew more than I did before that.  It is the tenth and last in Oliver Stone's series, The Unwritten History of the United States. It was made late last year or early this year.  It seems complete and up to date, including not only the Middle East but also current U.S. efforts and plans related to China.

NOTE: The above link to the video download does NOT open a web page.  If you have your settings fixed so that all downloads go to a particular spot, like your Desktop, then it will do that.  Otherwise clicking the link immediately presents a download dialog, the kind where you choose what to do with a download, where to put it under My Computer, etc.

-----------------------------------
One more article:
"Tomgram: Engelhardt, Alone and Delusional on Planet Earth"
by Tom Engelhardt, September 3, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/kbe2kyk
You may be familiar with Tom Engelhardt of The Nation Institute.  He is most always brilliant.

Larry

P.S. The posting of the video is an exception under the copyright law--educational, not for profit.

sent 9/4/13 personal report, acting against a U.S. military attack on Syria

Subject: personal report, acting against a U.S. military attack on Syria

I found this particular page useful in finding all kinds of contact information for elected officials as well as help with emails and letters:
http://www.capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/

Today 1) I called both the local and Washington offices of all three of my elected Hose and Senate officials, 2) emailed all three through the FCNL site starting from the page linked above, and 3) sent them messages via their own web sites, again found through the page above.  Tomorrow I plan to send them faxes, possibly to both the offices of all three.   There are suggested paragraphs for emails that you can use some of if you wish.  They recommend keeping it short.  Later in the week I hope to do some or all of it again.

Everyone I talked with said they've been getting A LOT of calls.  This will give you some idea.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/357594/representative-matt-salmon-syria-authorization-will-fail-20-votes-jonathan-strong
You can't assume that congressman Matt Salmon is correct that it is inevitable at this point that the authorization to attack Syria will fail.  But there is hope no matter what the propaganda on television says.

Lets do our best to forestall another little war that will most likely lead to a very big war no matter what the propagandists say trying to get a start on it.  Please GO GO GO.  You can manage some time, yes you can.  And you can urge others to help.

Thank you.

Larry

sent 9/4/13 articles One Week to Stop a War PLEASE a) REVIEW THESE RESOURCES, b) CALL and c) TAKE THIS VIRAL

Subject: articles One Week to Stop a War PLEASE a) REVIEW THESE RESOURCES, b) CALL and c) TAKE THIS VIRAL

Here are the articles that I promised yesterday.  See below.  Each of the these three (3) articles approaches the problem of stopping a U.S. attack on Syria from a different angle.*

If you have not done so yet, please get off your butt and ACT.  Start with making this email viral and then calling your federal representatives to put pressure on them to say no to an attack on Syria.  With so much opposition, there might be hope if we can show them how much opposition there really is.  See useful resources in my email of yesterday.

Thank you.

Larry

----------------------
''Nobody Wants This Except the Military-Industrial Complex'"
John Nichols on September 4, 2013 - 12:19 AM ET
in The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/blog/176017/nobody-wants-except-military-industrial-complex
That is where the push is coming from, through President Obama and lots of money to the media.  That is who President Obama's advisers are--people who are looking at making lots and lots more money out of "terrorism."  Poll results in show about 60 percent of Americans against an attack, including majorities of both major political parties.

------------------------------
"Calling Off America’s Bombs" by Jeffrey Sachs, September 3, 2013
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-america-should-not-attack-syria-by-jeffrey-d--sachs
You may recall a video of Jeffrey Sachs from me not too long ago, speaking brilliantly on the economy.  "Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, is also Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals. His books include The End of Poverty and Common Wealth."

Jeffrey Sachs speaks here of the complicity of the United States, other countries in the Middle East and Europe in the current situation in Syria.  He gives some details of that story: 

"America’s motivations are not entirely clear. Perhaps there is no underlying foreign-policy logic, but only carelessness. If there is a kind of logic, however weak, it seems to revolve around Iran and Israel, rather than Syria per se. There are many dictatorships in the world that the US does not try to overthrow. On the contrary, many of them are ostensibly America’s close allies. So why does the US continue to back a deadly rebellion in a civil war that is continuing to escalate dangerously, now to the point of chemical-weapons attacks?

"To put it simply, President Barack Obama’s administration has inherited the neoconservative philosophy of regime change in the Middle East. The overriding idea is that the US and its close allies get to choose who governs in the region. Assad must go not because he is authoritarian, but because he is allied with Iran, which, from the perspective of the US, Israel, Turkey, and several Gulf countries, makes him a regional threat.

"In fact, the US has probably been lured into serving these countries’ own narrower interests, whether it be Israel’s unconvincing vision of its own security or the Sunni countries’ opposition to Shia Iran. But, in the long term, US foreign policy divorced from international law cannot produce anything other than more war.

"The US should reverse course...... ."

-------------------------------
"If America wants Assad to respect international law, it must respect it, too"
By Rep. Raul Grijalva, Michael Shank, September 01, 2013
FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/09/01/if-america-wants-assad-to-respect-international-law-it-must-respect-it-too/

"....We agree that there is no excuse for President Assad’s actions. If the Assad government is responsible for the hundreds dead from last week’s chemical weapons use, Assad will have violated international laws like the 1925 Geneva protocol prohibiting the use of biological and chemical weapons.

"That still doesn’t allow America, or the UK, or France, to invade the country....

"If the administration wants to avoid undermining almost a century of international law, and four decades of Congressional legislation, President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and Ambassador Samantha Power are going to have to make the case to Congress and to the Security Council.

"America, that is the hard work that is necessary. There is no excuse for a half-baked case and there is no excuse for claims of urgency when tens of thousands of Syrians have already died with little fanfare in Washington.

"If America wants the Assad government – or any other government for that matter – to obey by the strictures of international law, the West must set the standard for responsible adherence.

"Invading Syria now not only fails on that front but also further undermines the West’s ability to forge agreement around this entire premise. And what a crime that would constitute."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*As soon as I can get it uploaded I will share the link to a wonderfully done 58 minute documentary I watched last night.  It was made late last year or early this year.  It seems complete and up to date, including not only the Middle East but also current U.S. efforts and plans related to China.  It's called Bush and Obama--Age of Terror.  I will leave it as a surprise who made the documentary--quite an amazing person.

Larry
--
Attorney Scott archives

sent 9/3/13 One Week to Stop a War PLEASE a) REVIEW THESE RESOURCES, b) CALL and c) TAKE THIS VIRAL

Subject: One Week to Stop a War PLEASE a) REVIEW THESE RESOURCES, b) CALL and c) TAKE THIS VIRAL

I have been reading most of the day.  There is a vast array of voices and people our there working to forestall the seemingly-imminent attack on Syria.  I think we have a chance.  The Friends Committee on National Legislation is only one small part of that vast array.  Small or not, their resources in this message from them that I am forwarding to you below are the very best.  I have fixed all the links so that they work but will not identify you as me.

I will send a short list of excellent and relevant articles a bit later, perhaps tomorrow.  If you receive this email and you're not on my list you can find the followup at my blog site.  There are no comments and there is therefore no login required.

Please a) review these resources, b) call and c) take this viral.  Thank you for whatever you can do to help.  Please lean on it this time.

Larry

Dear Larry A Scott, What Congress hears from you today or tomorrow could determine whether the U.S. bombs Syria. Please call your local congressional offices now and tell them to vote against any U.S. military action. We expect Congress to vote early next week on an authorization for the use of military force in Syria. Many members of Congress have grave doubts about the president's proposal for military action in Syria. But they are also under tremendous pressure to approve a congressional resolution authorizing the use of military force. They are looking to their constituents—to you and others in your community—to help them decide how to vote. Take Action: Call Your Local Congressional Office Today Please call the local offices of your senators and representatives (look up the telephone numbers on our website). Here are some points to make on your call: I oppose U.S. military action in Syria. Military action will not stop the killing in Syria or bring those responsible for the use of chemical weapons to justice. Diplomatic engagement with all regional stakeholders is what is called for right now. The U.S. shouldn't respond alone to the use of chemical weapons. Our country should work through the U.N. and the International Criminal Court. What is the member's position is on authorizing military force against Syria? Are there any local public events happening where I could express my views to the member directly? Please call today and forward this email to 3 friends who might be willing to call too. After You Call: Go Public Please consider writing a letter to your local newspaper and posting comments on the newspaper's website. Let your community know that war is not the answer to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and, most importantly, mention the names of your senators and representative by name in the letter. Join Us Thursday at 8 p.m. FCNL's lead Middle East lobbyist Kate Gould and other staff will be on the phone this Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern to provide updates and answer your questions on efforts to stop a war with Syria. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us! The number to join the call is 213-342-3000, and the access code is 283096. Please invite others in your community to join in as well. You Are Making a Difference The president's decision to seek congressional authorization for military action in Syria offers a critical opportunity for you to express your views. It's clear that public support in the U.S. and among U.S. allies is very low for military engagement in Syria's civil war. Your advocacy over the past days and weeks has been a part of this opposition. Now the president has launched a full court press to win congressional backing for this war. This is the week to let our representatives know that they should oppose this new war, that bombing Syria will not protect civilians or bring an end to the humanitarian crisis. As Executive Secretary Emeritus Joe Volk writes, diplomacy, not military action, is the best way to keep the Syrian people safe. And U.S. military action could potentially increase the level of violence while doing little to deter future use of these terrible weapons. We can all agree that the use of chemical weapons is wrong, but we must work with our elected officials to press for effective ways to prevent future uses of these weapons. Thank you for your advocacy this week to send a strong message to your members of Congress that War Is Not the Answer. Together our voices make a difference. Sincerely, Diane Randall Executive Secretary Our FCNL team has assembled an impressive set of resources that can help in the effort to prevent a new war with Syria, including: A letter to President Obama explaining why military action is not the solution and highlighting some of the many other voices saying military action will not stop the violence in Syria or even bring those using chemical weapons to justice. Advice on how to call and tweet members of Congress. A Fox News op-ed by FCNL's Michael Shank and Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ), "If America wants Assad to respect international law, it must respect it, too." A list of Catholic, Jewish, Quaker and other faith groups that are against military action, and a list of the more than 140 members of Congress who are reluctant to go to war. Find all these resources and more on our website.