Posted on 01/29/2009 7:30:27 PM PST by Ultra Sonic 007
Most students at Columbia do not have first hand knowledge of war. Military violence has been a vicarious experience, channeled into our minds through television, film, and print.
The more sensitive among us struggle to extrapolate experiences of war from our everyday experience, discussing the latest mortality statistics from Guatemala, sensitizing ourselves to our parents' wartime memories, or incorporating into our framework of reality as depicted by a Maller[?] or a Coppola. But the taste of war -- the sounds and chill, the dead bodies -- are remote and far removed. We know that wars have occurred, will occur, are occurring, but bringing such experience down into our hearts, and taking continual, tangible steps to prevent war, becomes a difficult task.
Two groups on campus, Arms Race Alternatives (ARA) and Students Against Militarism (SAM) work within these mental limits to foster awareness and practical action necessary to counter the growing threat of war. Though the emphasis of the two groups differ, they share an aversion to current government policy. These groups, visualizing the possibilities of destruction and grasping the tendencies of distorted national priorities, are throwing their weight into shifting America off the dead-end track.
"Most people my age remember well the air-raid drills in school, under the desk with our heads tucked between our legs. Older people, they remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. I think these kinds of things left an indelible mark on our souls[?], so we're more apt to be concerned," says Don Kent, assistant director of programs and student activities at Earl Hall Center. Along with the community Volunteer Service Center, ARA has been Don's primary concern, coordinating various working groups of faculty, students, and staff members, while simultaneously seeking the ever elusive funding for programs.
"When I first came here two years ago, Earl Hall had been a holding tank for five years. Paul Martin (director of Earl Hall) and I discussed our interests, and decided that ARA would be one of the programs we pushed." Initially, most of the work was done by non-student volunteers and staff. "Hot issues, particularly El Salvador, were occupying students at the time. Consequently, we cosponsored a lot of activities with community organizations like SANE (Students Against Nuclear Energy)."
With the flowering of the nuclear freeze movement, and particularly the June 12 rally in Central Park, however student participation has expanded. One wonders whether this upsurge comes[?] from young people's penchant for the latest 'happenings' or from growing awareness of the consequences of nuclear holocaust. ARA maintains a mailing list of 500 persons and Don Kent estimates that approximately half of the active members are students. Although he feels that continuity is provided by the faculty and staff members, student attendance at ARA sponsored events -- in particular a November 11 convocation on the nuclear threat -- reveals a deep reservoir of concern. "I think students on this campus like to think of themselves a sophisticated, and don't appreciate small vision. So they tend to come out more for the events; they do not want to just fold leaflets."
Mark Bigelow, a graduate intern from Union Theological Seminary who works with Don to keep ARA running smoothly, agrees. "It seems that students here are fairly aware of the nuclear problem, and it makes for an underlying frustration. We try to talk to that frustration." Consequently, the thrust of ARA is towards generating dialogue which will give people a rational handle on this controversial subject. This includes bringing speakers like Daniel Ellsberg to campus, publishing fact sheets compiled by interested faculty, and investigating the possible development of an interdisciplinary program in the Columbia curriculum dealing with peace, disarmament, and world order.
Tied in with such a thrust is the absence of what Don calls "a party line." By taking an almost apolitical approach to the problem, ARA hopes to get the university to take nuclear arms issues seriously. "People don't like having their intelligence insulted," says Don. "so we try to disseminate information and allow the individual to make his or her own decision."
Generally, the narrow focus of the Freeze movement as well as academic discussions of first versus second strike capabilities, suit the military-industrial interests, as they continue adding to their billion dollar erector sets. When Peter Tosh sings that "everybody's asking for peace, but nobody's asking for justice," one is forced to wonder whether disarmament or arms control ensues[?], severed from economic and political issues, might be another instance of focusing on the symptoms of a problem instead of the disease itself. Mark Bigelow does not think so. "We do focus primarily on catastrophic weapons. Look, we say, here's the worst part . Let's[?] work[?] on that. You're not going to get rid of the military in the near future, so let's at least work on this."
Mark Bigelow does feel that the links are there, and points to fruitful work being done by other organizations involved with disarmament. "The Freeze is one part of a whole[?] disarmament movement. The lowest common denominator, so to speak. For instance, April 10-16 is Jobs For Peace week, with a bunch of things going on around the city. Also, the New York City Council may pass a resolution in April calling for greater social as opposed to military spending. Things like this may dispel the idea that disarmament is a white issue, because how the government spends its revenue affects everyone."
The very real advantages of concentrating on a single issue is leading the National Freeze movement to challenge individual missile systems, while continuing the broader campaign. This year, Mark Bigelow sees the checking of Pershing II and Cruise missile deployment as crucial. "Because of their small size and mobility, their deployment will make possible arms control verification far more difficult, and will cut down warning time for the Soviets to less than ten minutes. That can only be a destabilizing factor[?]." Additionally, he sees the initiation by the U.S. of the Test Ban Treaty as a powerful first step towards a nuclear free world.
ARA encourages members to join buses to Washington and participate in a March 7-8 rally intended to push through the Freeze resolution which is making its second trip through the House. ARA also will ask United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War (UCAM), an information and lobbying network based in universities, nationwide, to serve as its advisory board in the near future. Because of its autonomy from Columbia (which does not fund political organizations), UCAM could conceivably become a more active arm of disarmament campaigns on campus, thought the ARA will continue to function solely as a vehicle for information and discussion.
Also operating out of Earl Hall Center, Students Against Militarism was formed in response to the passage of registration laws in 1980. An entirely student-run organization, SAM casts a wider net than ARA, though for the purposes of effectiveness, they have tried to lock in on one issue at a time.
"At the heart of our organization is an anti-war focus," says junior Robert Kahn, one of SAM's fifteen or so active members. "From there, a lot of issues shoot forth -- nukes, racism, the draft, and South Africa. We have been better organized when taking one issue at a time, but we are always cognizant of other things going on, and collaborate frequently with other campus organizations like CISPES and REELPOLITIK."
At this time, the current major issue is the Solomon Bill, the latest legislation from Congress to obtain compliance to registration. The law requires that all male students applying for federal financial aid submit proof of registration, or else the government coffers will close. Yale, Wesleyan, and Swathmore have refused to comply, and plan to offer non-registrants other forms of financial aid. SAM hopes to press Columbia into following suit, though so far President Sovern and company seem prepared to acquiesce to the bill.
Robert believes students tacitly support non-registrants, though the majority did not comply. "Several students have come up to our tables and said that had they known of the ineffectiveness of the prosecution, they would not have registered." A measure of such underlying support is the 400 signatures on a petition protesting the Solomon Bill, which SAM collected the first four hours it appeared. Robert also points out that prior to registration, there were four separate bills circulating in the House proposing a return to the draft, but none ever got out of committees, and there have not been renewed efforts. An estimated half-million non-registrants can definitely be a powerful signal.
Prodding students into participating beyond name signing and attending events is tricky, but SAM members seem undaunted. "A lot of the problem comes not from people's ignorance of the facts, but because the news and statistics are lifeless. That's why we search for campus issues like the Solomon bill that have direct impact on the student body, and effectively link the campus to broader issues." By organizing and educating the Columbia community, such activities lay the foundation for future mobilization against the relentless, often silent spread of militarism in the country. "The time is right to tie together social and military issues," Robert continues, "and the more strident the Administration becomes, the more aware people are of their real interests."
The belief that moribund institutions, rather than the individuals, are at the root of the problem, keep SAM's energies alive. "A prerequisite for members of an organization like ours is the faith that people are fundamentally good, but you need to show them, and when you look at the work people are doing across the country, it makes you optimistic."
Perhaps the essential goodness of humanity is an arguable proposition, but by observing the SAM meeting last Thursday night, with its solid turnout and enthusiasm, one might be persuaded that the manifestations of our better instincts can at least match the bad ones. Regarding Columbia's possible compliance, one comment in particular hit upon an important point with the Solomon bill, "The thing we need to do is expose how Columbia is talking out of two sides of its mouth."
Indeed, the most pervasive malady of the collegiate system specifically, and the American experience generally, is that elaborate patterns of knowledge and theory have been disembodied from individual choices and government policy. What members of ARA and SAM try to do is infuse what they have learned about the current situation, bring the words of that formidable roster on the face of Butler Library, names like Thoreau, Jefferson, and Whitman, to bear on the twisted logic of which we are today a part. By adding their energy and effort in order to enhance the possibility of a decent world, they may help deprive us of a spectacular experience--that of war. But then, there are some things we shouldn't have to live through in order to want to avoid the experience.
That link to the Columbia article has been around for a while, I saw it posted once or twice...but being pdf and boring, it never received the attention that maybe it deserved.
It’s good to see it transcribed and posted. What a pathetic little communist he already was...but what else could he have become with a mentor like Frank Marshall Davis?
It appears that all his friends and acquaintances were asked to not talk to the press during the campaign. The people who went along probably had mostly good things to say about him. Otherwise they would have had no particular reason to comply with the request. I think this might be SOP for campaigns. Even if people are probably going to have good things to say the campaign doesn't want reporters hounding them and digging up any surprise revelations about the candidate's past.
Now that the campaign is over these people have been released from their obligation. So we have heard from the college roommate and the teacher.
Bear in mind that 0bama and Billy the Bomber were already buddies when this was written. They hooked up in New York in 1982/3 when they were at school in New York less than a quarter mile apart from each other.
Yup. You’re right. In my haste I must have been thinking of something else, though darned if I know what the hell it could be! :-)
Neither does it agree with this anonymously written AP interview with the Pakistani roommate, nor the story in "Dreams" of how Obama shacked up with a white woman in NYC for quite some time.
Recalling Obama's Younger Days
It's almost comical, after supposedly rooming with Obama and remaining his friend through those years, that Boerner apparently didn't have one photo of the two of them together -- the only thing that associates them in those pictures is the carpet.
The weirdness just keeps piling up.
It was printed in March ‘83 — Obama was a senior at Columbia.
When I was in, we hated clinton with a passion just like the military is going to hate 0bama.
While flipping through the channels on inauguration day, I caught zero doing the review of the troops, and he had a look of utter disdain on his face..... In comparison, he made clinton look as if he loved the military.
Bookmarked. We are in a real rocket ride folks. I pray to God that I’m not radioactive ashes in the stratosphere by the time I’m 45.
I remember this from my college Persuasion classes:
Inoculation Theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoculation_theory
Inoculation theory states that to prevent persuasion it is necessary to strengthen preexisting attitudes, beliefs, or opinions.
First, the receiver must be warned of an impending attack. This establishes threat (or a recognition of vulnerability) and initiates defenses to future attacks. Therefore, the idea is that when weak argument is presented in the inoculation message their process of refutation will prepare for stronger persuasion later.
It is critical that the attack is strong enough to keep the receiver defensive, but weak enough to not actually change those preexisting ideas. This will hopefully make the receiver actively defensive and allow them to create arguments in favor of their preexisting thoughts. The more active the receiver becomes in his or her defense the more it will strengthen their own attitudes, beliefs, or opinions (McGuire, 1964).
>>>We have been better organized when taking one issue at a time, but we are always cognizant of other things going on, and collaborate frequently with other campus organizations like CISPES and REELPOLITIK.” <<<
CISPES is Citizens in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. Obama was involved with CISPES while at Occidental College with the Chandoo Brothers.
Mohammed Hassan Chandoo was the friend that Obama stayed with in Pakistan.
That is one tortured sentence !
bttt
Obama and his minions may be concerned that news is about to break, and are trying to confirm Obamas whereabouts and soften the blow by releasing information.
Check out #63, 65, 69 and 70, also.
Tks for the PING...Seems someone has already planned a strategy for controlled release of bad info...
This is so much more than the BC.
Billy the Bomber’s dad was loaded $$$$. He was on the board of major corporations and was probably very wealthy. He must have hired Billy an expensive lawyer to get him off on that technicality. I think the old man was also a big lib.
Leo’s is hammering Obama’s attorneys laughable attempts to bring in factcheck.org as evidence. Leo also said cases by active military is the ticket. Leo points out the military may already be getting restless.
http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=3310#comment-4309
I wonder if this is the same Wahid Hamid mentioned in the article. Age is about right.
c)Copyright 2008, Food Business Week via VerticalNews.com
PepsiAmericas, Inc. (NYSE: PAS) announced that Wahid Hamid was elected to the company’s board of directors, effective July 23, 2008.
In making the announcement, PepsiAmericas’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. Pohlad said, “The addition of Mr. Hamid to PepsiAmericas’ board ensures that our company will continue to benefit from a diversity of experiences and opinions.”
Mr. Hamid, 49, is Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy for PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which ranks among the world’s largest convenient food and beverage companies. Its businesses include Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker Foods. Mr. Hamid is responsible for strategic initiatives including mergers and acquisitions. Before taking his current role, Mr. Hamid was Chief Financial Officer for PepsiCo Americas Foods, where he led the finance agenda for the sector and was responsible for accelerating key strategic initiatives. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Mr. Hamid spent 15 years with The Boston Consulting Group, in a variety of roles including leading their consumer goods and retail practices across Asia Pacific. Most recently, Mr. Hamid was Senior Vice President and Director.
“Wahid’s industry and financial expertise will be of great value to PepsiAmericas as we continue our growth strategy,” said Pohlad. “He is an accomplished strategist with a deep understanding of our business. We look forward to working with Wahid and to his contributions to the PepsiAmericas’ board.”
PepsiAmericas is the world’s second-largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages with operations in 19 U.S. states; Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia; and the Caribbean. For more information on PepsiAmericas, please visit www.pepsiamericas.com. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) beneficially owns approximately 44 percent equity interest in PepsiAmericas.
Keywords: PepsiAmericas.
This article was prepared by Food Business Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Food Business Week via http://www.verticalnews.com VerticalNews.com.
Many thanks, LucyT
Ping.
However, this piece (nor any of the others written by folks who knew him that seemed to have all surfaced yesterday) sheds no light on the natural born citizenship issue, nor on his religious affiliation during his college days, nor his possible financing by Islamic terrorist-connected groups.
Ping!!!
Please see my post # 79.
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