At the beginning of the screening of "Rethink Afghanistan" at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, I challenged the mostly "anti-war" audience to really look at the film critically and to examine the extent to which it would be genuinely persuasive to

someone that did not already agree with the premise that the U.S. military role in Afghanistan was a bad thing.   The film, produced and directed by Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Foundation can be seen at their website, http://rethinkafghanistan.com/ in segments that are added to as the war continues to go on.  Since our screening on 2/14/10, more segments have been made available that challenge the rationale of Obama's declaration to add another 30,000 troops.  

By David Hartsough

On the first anniversary of the war on Gaza, known as Operation Cast Lead, close to 1,400 people from more than 40 countries came to Cairo, Egypt planning to go to Gaza and help end the siege, a total blockade which began in 2007 and continues today. Unfortunately, under extreme pressure from Israel and perhaps the United States, the Egyptian government did not allow most of us to enter Gaza. However about 90 from the Gaza Freedom March did get into Gaza from Dec. 30, 2009 to January 2, 2010. I was privileged to be part of that group.

For many years, today's date in U.S. calendars seemed to be an odd, cynical juxtaposition of politically and socially-inflected observances: Presidents' Day, right in the middle of Black History Month. One the one hand, white powerful men were being honored at the same time as those who had fought enslavement, dispossession, and imprisonment at their hands. That is, it felt an oxymoron until the dramatic election of Barack Obama. The new issue of The New Yorker magazine brings us back to the thrilling feelings many of us felt one year ago at Obama's inauguration -- when Rev. Joseph Lowery closed the momentous program with a stirring invocation -- through an extraordinary photo spread honoring African Americans leaders (or their descendants) of the civil rights movement.

About 15 minutes is all it takes, maybe less. From Manhattan, you take the Holland Tunnel to New Jersey's Route 9/1, a left on to North Avenue and a quick right on to Dowd Avenue, and there: you've arrived at the Elizabeth Detention Center. You wouldn't be the wiser if you missed it, though.

To give you a lay of the land, the Elizabeth Detention Center is a windowless converted warehouse owned and operated by the for-profit Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private corrections company in the United States. The facility is huddled amongst the other masses of industrial buildings just down the street from the Anheuser Busch Company and across the street from the Newark International. It's hard to believe the inconspicuous facility houses 300 detained asylum seekers and other non-criminal non-citizens. These people are hidden but not forgotten.

I had lunch this week with a labor union organizer from Iran seeking support for the rights of workers in Iran. One of his biggest fears was that the implementation of additional sanctions would serve the interest of Iranian leadership making the case for foreign intervention as the reason for solidarity across all sectors in Iran. While it may appear that factions in Iran are sharp and irreconciliable there is a clear warning that movements in the direction of reform, and the well-being of the Iranian public, would be severely affected by new sanctions. Jim Fine's assessment below extends that analysis and provides background we should have in hand on the state of the sanctions legislation in Congress.  Mark C. Johnson

From Jim Fine at FCNL:

The Colombian military and police have, by far, the worst record of human rights abuses in the Western Hemisphere. Over the last 7 years, more than 2,000 innocent civilians have bee killed by the Colombian army and then presented as guerrilla or paramilitary killed in combat to bump up the body count numbers and qualify for bonuses, vacation time and promotions.  The Army has also been involved in the execution of horrific massacres of innocent civilians, including children such as Santiago and Natalia Bolivar and Deiner Guerra (18 months old, 5 and 11), chopped up with machetes in February 2005 along with their parents, all San Jose de Apartado Peace Community members.

Even though we might be made blind to the evil afoot, we will not be silent. This is the lesson of modern history. We will sing a new song as strangers in a strange land: Let My People Go. While the Egyptians, Israelis, and Americans conspire to keep us from seeing the conditions of life in the world’s largest prison (sorry, no visiting hours this month), there is a chorus, a voice, 43 nations rich, which is lifted in greater harmony and crescendo than ever before to call for raising the siege of Gaza and thereby increasing the security of Israel.

Iran is experiencing a very important and delicate time in its modern history.  These days there are hot conversations among Iranians, both inside the country and in the diaspora as well as among many who are interested in the future of the Middle East.  There are many arguments in trying to figure out that among different groups and players within the Iranian political theater who is right and who is wrong?  Which one, the “Greens” or the government is betraying the most important elements of the Revolution of 1979?

The three parts slogans, which became three ideological pillars of the Revolution has been Independence, Freedom and Islamic Republic.  31 years ago these three slogans was repeated over and over from variety of groups within the Iranian political spectrums.

Mark Johnson, director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and several other FOR members were among more than 200 national leaders of religious organizations who wrote to Speak of the House Nancy Pelosi today calling for passage of the Fair Elections Now Act. In response to last month's extraordinary 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court on the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, faith communities across the religious spectrum, faciliated by Common Cause, contacted Congress today to express their deep concern for swift action. The letter reads:

February 3, 2010

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

Martin Luther King scholar Richard Deats -- who was also close friends with the King family and a member of the national commission to create the Dr. King Holiday -- was the featured guest on a national webinar hosted last week by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. An audio file of the program will soon be available on FOR's website for on-demand listening.