Dallas Peace Center - Swords into Plowshares Team

Area Activist on MTV Street Report

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:35:25 -0400

Shocking Video from Darfur

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:22:56 -0400

We need a miracle to safe Darfur. Let's find a way to be that miracle. In the video the children are subjected to torture called the sand bath. They are beaten(you can hear their screams ) and forced to crawl and lie on their cheeks on 102 F hot and boiling sand . A child was begging for water and he was laughed at and mocked and ordered to put his cheek back on the sand.

Supreme Court ruling cripples Guantanamo trials

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:15:43 -0400

By Tim Reid in Washington

The future of President Bush’s controversial military trial system for terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay has been dealt a potentially terminal blow by the US Supreme Court.

In its third rebuke of the Bush Administration’s treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the court ruled that the 270 foreign terror suspects have the right under the US Constitution to challenge their detention in civilian courts on the American mainland.

The 5-4 ruling did not order the military tribunal process to be halted but it could trigger a chaotic rush to civilian courts that in practical terms will leave the question of what to do with men such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the September 11 mastermind, in the hands of the next president.

12,000 US vets per year attempting suicide

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:41:08 -0400

By Les Blumenthal
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The Veterans Administration has lied about the number of veterans who’ve attempted suicide, a senator charged last month, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year when the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800.

"The suicide rate is a red-alarm bell to all of us," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Murray also said that the VA’s mental health programs are being overwhelmed by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, even as the department tries to downplay the situation.

"We are not your enemy, we are your support team, and unless we get accurate information we can’t be there to do our jobs," Murray told Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield during the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.

Expose Exxon Protest at Meyerson Sympony Hall

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:14:06 -0400

Enough of ExxonMobil’s unhealthy profits

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:21:15 -0400

by Jane Dale Owen

No doubt the ExxonMobil Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 28 will open with great fanfare celebrating last year’s $40 billion in profits, and all the company is doing to make the world a better place. But not all shareholders are so thrilled about ExxonMobil’s performance. My family members and I are shareholders in ExxonMobil, and many of us are very concerned about the devastating effect the largest privately-held oil company in the world is having on the health of people living near our refineries and chemical plants, and on the planet.

My grandfather was Robert Lee Blaffer, co-founder of Humble Oil, the parent company of ExxonMobil. He was a gentleman and humanitarian who volunteered at hospitals in his spare time. He would be appalled by the way the company has ignored the health effects of industry pollution, especially for low-income and disadvantaged people who live near oil refineries and chemical plants. In the Political Economy Research Institute’s recent “Toxic 100” report released in April, ExxonMobil ranks 10th among the worst corporate toxic polluters in the United States. This is unacceptable considering the company’s huge profits.

Exxon Enough

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:35:19 -0400

The Exxon Enough! coalition, comprised of the Dallas Peace Center, Consumers for Peace, CLEAN (Citizens League for Environmental Action Now) and many concerned individuals, are saying:

	of your pollution that harms the health of people living near your refineries and plants on the Texas Gulf Coast
	of your profiteering from the Iraq War, while people die, the wounded and displaced are neglected, and you engage our troops in your attempt to grab huge Iraqi oil reserves
	of your excess, windfall war profits while we pay outrageous prices for gas prices and watch economies around the world crumbling
	of the denial that burning petroleum products fuels global warming

How to say

News Conference & Enviromental Justice Hearing

Tuesday, May 27

Munger Place United Methodist Church

5200 Bryan St., Dallas

11:00 a.m. – News Conference
Noon – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Environmental Justice Hearing: State and national representatives have been invited to hear from experts and victims about the environmental justice issues related to emissions from ExxonMobil’s refineries and chemical plants in the Texas Gulf Coast.

U.S. urges Sudan to stop hostilities

Mon, 12 May 2008 10:17:56 -0400

Hundreds of Darfur rebels near Sudan's capital, clashing with security forces

The Associated Press

CRAWFORD, Texas - The Bush administration said Saturday it was "very concerned" about the outbreak of violence in Sudan between Darfur rebels and government troops and urged both sides to exercise restraint.

"We are very concerned about the situation," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Texas where President Bush was attending his daughter's wedding.

"We would urge that both sides cease hostilities, whether it is the rebel group or any response from the government. We want to see a calm and order restored."

Peace Protest in Denton, Activist Charged with Trespassing

Wed, 07 May 2008 17:27:45 -0400

Rockefeller family seeks change in Exxon leadership and greater focus on renewable energy

Fri, 02 May 2008 10:22:00 -0400

The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
NEW YORK: Members of the Rockefeller family took a fight with Exxon Mobil Corp. public Wednesday, challenging the oil giant spawned by their namesake to split the roles of chairman and CEO and focus more on renewable energy.

The family members, who describe themselves as the company's longest continuous shareholders, said they are concerned that Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil is too focused on short-term gains from soaring oil prices and should do more to invest in cleaner technology for the future. Separating the leadership roles, they argue, would better position the company for challenges to come.

Freeze Mob Protest War at Denton's Jazz Festival

Thu, 01 May 2008 10:22:06 -0400

Secrecy Surrounds Death Penalty

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:29:02 -0400

15 April 2008

At least 1,200 people were executed in 2007 and many more were killed by the state, in secret, in countries including China, Mongolia and Viet Nam.

The figures come from Amnesty International's yearly statistics, Death Sentences and Executions in 2007, issued on Tuesday, which say that at least 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries and at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries. Up to 27,500 people are estimated to be on death row across the world.

The figures also show an increase in executions in a number of countries. Iran executed at least 317 people, Saudi Arabia 143 and Pakistan 135 – in comparison to 177, 39 and 82 executions respectively in 2006.

The story of the little blue car

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:58:22 -0400

By Paulette Cooper

This is the true story of the little blue car. I was visiting my four-year old grandson, Oscar, and was telling him the story of a little girl in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons Camp) in Darfur, Sudan. I told him that she was so excited because she had a toy. One toy. That’s all—one toy. The toy? It was a small piece of string. She was thrilled to have it. He looked at me in utter disbelief.

“But, Nana, that’s not fair,” he said. He jumped up from the dinner table, ran over to his toy box, dug through it, and brought back the little blue car. He handed it to me and asked me to give it to someone when I went to Darfur. I promised him I would.

When I gave the little blue car to the boy in Darfur, he could not believe it was for him and tried to give it back. I placed it once more in his small hand, wrapped his fingers around the little blue car, squeezed his hand, and walked away so he would know it was his to keep. Our driver took the photograph. Oscar is happy to know that his little blue car was delievered to a child in Darfur.

One example of one little boy making a very big difference in another little boy’s life half way around the world. One person can make a difference in Darfur.

British fear US commander is beating the drum for Iran strikes

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:56:15 -0400

By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 2:43am BST07/04/2008

British officials gave warning yesterday that America’s commander in Iraq will declare that Iran is waging war against the US-backed Baghdad government.

A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran’s intervention in Iraq could set the stage for a US attack on Iranian military facilities, according to a Whitehall assessment. In closely watched testimony in Washington next week, Gen Petraeus will state that the Iranian threat has risen as Tehran has supplied and directed attacks by militia fighters against the Iraqi state and its US allies.