Maybe we're both wrong...

Our local high school paper recently published a thoughtful op-ed "Maybe we're both wrong". The topic discussed is likely a necessary foundation for world peace. Please read. Thanks!

Greg Mortenson Embodies Peace in Action

Greg Mortenson is one of the best examples of peace and service in action.

His book "Three Cups of Tea, One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time" has now been a NY Times bestseller for 101 weeks and is published in 28 countries!

The Central Asia Institute which he directs has built and is helping to run 78 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Greg recently won the 2009 Austin College Leadership Award. You can read more about this at:
http://www.austincollege.edu/NewsDetail.asp?NewsID=1764&ItemID=6985

The Young Adult version of "Three Cups of Tea" and a children's book "Listen to the Wind" will be released on January 22nd, 2009. (For more info see: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/)

Greg and Amira Mortenson (his daughter) will be on the NBC Today show on Thursday January 22nd to talk about the two new books that are being released that day. On 1/22/2009, you can watch it online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633

Israel Is an Oppressor

A tragedy is taking place in Gaza. Jimmy Carter recognized that Israel was committing a human rights crime in Gaza last year May 2008 if not earlier (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/08/israelandthepalestinians).

This year there are calls for a UN court ruling against Israel (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/14/israel-gaza-un-court-palestine).

People in Gaza are trapped and this situation was caused by Israel (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/opinion/08khalidi.html?scp=11&sq=gaza&st=cse)

It's a very hard problem yet Israel and Palestinians must make peace or be doomed to war forever. The US could do much more to encourage peace. Under Obama, I hope it will.

Department of Peace

Yoko Ono supports a Department of Peace, see:
http://imaginepeace.com/news/archives/5520

I've posted the following to the "Department of Peace" discussion:

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The State Department really is the current Department of Peace. It's mission as stated in it's current strategic plan (see http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/dosstrat/2007/) is:

"Advance freedom for the benefit of the American people and the international community by helping to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world composed of well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty, and act responsibly within the international system."

I believe that doing the above is the best way to accomplish Peace. Economics has a huge part in Peace as does helping other sustainable governments succeed. This all best belongs in the State Department. I'm a very strong believer in Peace and have been demonstrating in Peace Rallies since the Iraq war began.

So my vote for a Department of Peace is really a vote to better staff and fund the Department of State (rather than the "Defense Department" or "Department of War").

For more about my efforts to support Peace, please see http://SunnyvalePeace.org, http://timoey.com, and http://timoey.blogspot.com.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Halloween Peace

Sunnyvale Voices for Peace had an enthusiastic monthly meeting on the street corner this past Friday from 6 to 7 pm. Many of us came in Halloween costumes and we had a new family show up and another newcomer promise to come next month.

November will hopefully be a celebration rally for a new more peaceful President that the rest of the world respects (Obama). December will be our annual Santa Hat peace rally.

Here are some pics from yesterday's costume peace rally.

9/11

Sept 11, 2001 was a sad day. On that day many regular citizens were killed in four coordinated terrorist attacks.

To prevent such future tragedies, we need Unity.

From the 9-11 Commission Final Report:
"We call on the American people to remember how we all felt on 9/11, to remember not only the unspeakable horror but how we came together as a nation—one nation. Unity of purpose and unity of effort are the way we will defeat this enemy and make America safer for our children and grandchildren."

Lincoln said "United we stand, divided we fall." At that time he spoke of just one nation.

Today unity just in our nation is not enough. We as a world must follow this same mantra if we, humankind, are to ultimately survive.

I highly recommend that every US Citizen read and re-read the full 9-11 report. It has many lessons for all of us. It can be found at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/Index.html

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

The Girl Effect

A number of organizations have concluded that girls are the key to solving World Peace and World Hunger. They are right.

To learn more, go to http://girleffect.org, watch the video, and read. For even more background, read the book Three Cups of Tea.

It's that simple.

Recap from Aug 15 Rally

We had a great turn out today -- around 17 people total. In particular, a group of young and enthusiastic high schoolers from the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church joined us for our Peace Rally today!

Check out these pictures!

For families of soldiers at war, endless worry

Hi all,

If you have not already, I encourage you to read "For families of soldiers at war, endless worry" in the Sunday 1/6/2008 SJ Mercury News.

You can also read it online at http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion

Here is the letter I sent to letters@mercurynews.com regarding the editorial and the other letters so far:

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I am outraged when others tell me that I can only support our troops if I support the war. That is FALSE. It's falsity is proven many ways. The outpouring of letters from people supporting the troops but not the war proves it. Almost all taxpaying Americans support the troops but a large majority of them are against the war (as shown in numerous polls). I personally support our troops (through taxes and donations) but do not support the war. I salute Stephen Wright's son for doing his patriotic duty while at the same time I work to end this stupid war.

The waste of lives and resources due to the Iraq war is atrocious. 9/11 resulted in 2,752 people dead. The Iraq war has killed nearly 4,000 American troops, wounded 40,000 American troops, killed over 400,000 Iraqi civilians, and cost over 483 billion US dollars so far.

Furthermore, President Bush lied to fool the rest of us -- there were no weapons of mass destruction and Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

Democracy is based on people choosing for themselves. Forcing democracy on others is so undemocratic and hypocritical it almost leaves me speechless. I want my country to be a noble role model for others, not a big bully.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA

Poetry in Motion -- Is Democracy...

We had about 16 peace rally people this past Friday July 6, 2007 including 6 who helped with our Poetry in Motion project where 6 individuals held 6 signs that collectively formed a poem. The rally was at a busy intersection in Sunnyvale. We had US flags and peace signs waving. We got hundreds of positive honks, hundreds of other cars whizzing by with no comment, and just one person who gave us the finger.

Here is a picture of the signs that the 6 people held during the rally.

The poem itself reads:

Is Democracy...
...forced on others?
...freely chosen?
...for the people?
...by the people?