For a long time, U.S. foreign policy, many U.S. politicians, and much of our mainstream media have been demonizing Iran. The truth is very different. See this quick comparison between Iran and the U.S.: Iran-U.S. Comparison
The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s June 2010 TV program is about Pakistan. The US war in Iraq seems to have dropped out of the news, but are those problems really solved? Or has a sleight-of-hand maneuver of public relations trickery shifted our attention from the “bad” war in Iraq to the “good” war in Afghanistan? And why has the US war in Afghanistan escalaated into Pakistan, where the US is attacking people – including many innocent civilians – in a country that is supposed to be our ally? The American people are long overdue in understanding Pakistan and the realities […]
Understand Korea. Don’t bomb it. During much of 2017 Trump has vented anger and ignorance against North Korea. He has rejected diplomacy and threatened to utterly destroy the nation and kill 10 million or more of its citizens. Decent people know we must reject Trump’s terrorism. Also, we must reject the U.S.’s 65-year-long history of threatening war (including nuclear war) against North Korea. It is within this long-standing history of U.S. foreign policy’s ignorance and violence that Trump was able to vent his own ignorance and cruelty. If you want to resolve a conflict with someone, it is necessary to […]
Africa is a gigantic continent with a rich history. Africa’s creative and adaptive cultures have sustained themselves for thousands of years in a vast variety of climates and ecosys-tems, ranging from harsh deserts to dense jungles. Our school systems and mainstream media have failed to inform Americans about Africa. Much of what Americans think we know about Africa is simplistic, distorted, or not true. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s August 2010 TV interview features three guests who share their experiences, information and insights: • Jens-Dieter Stahmer is well known and well respected in the greater Thurston County area and beyond. […]
The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s September 2010 TV program adds to the information we had provided in our September 2008 TV program. Both interviews examined some of the flaws in the government’s official story of what had happened on September 11, 2001. A growing number of people – including many scientists, architects, engineers, pilots and other professionals – have continued to analyze and provide new information beyond what we knew for the 2008 program, so in September 2010 we presented some of that new information along with some persistent critiques of the government’s official story. On the very next day […]
In the early morning of June 28, 2009, about 100 soldiers from the Central American nation of Honduras forced their way into the bedroom of Honduran president Manual Zelaya, kidnapped him while he was still in his pajamas, and forced him into exile in another country. This military coup – backed by conservative business leaders – overthrew a freely elected president. Latin American nations unanimously denounced this military coup against democracy. U.S. politicians and news media have distorted the realities, so the American people do not understand what really happened, or why. The crisis has continued ever since. Human rights […]
n 1981 the United Nations established the International Day of Peace to encourage individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. In 2002 the United Nations General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. For 2010, volunteers from the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation, Veterans for Peace Chapter 109, the Rachel Corrie Foundation, Media Island International, Earthbound Productions, and other groups collaborated to produce a truly stunning and inspiring display and international conversation. These events marked the International […]
Throughout our nation’s history, we had occasional wars and then de-mobilized afterward. But after World War II we launched the Cold War and maintained a permanent war status. We also created a “permanent war economy.” Massive military spending year after year – decade after decade – since the 1940s – has distorted and disrupted the U.S. economy and hurt our society in many ways. This is the topic of the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s December 2010 TV program. Every year Congress makes decisions about how much money to spend for which purposes. For example, Congress could spend less on nuclear […]
One of the recurring themes in the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s TV series is that we are all interconnected. No matter what issue we address on one program or another, we find ourselves affirming our common humanity – across nations, across social and economic groups, and so forth. Olympia FOR’s TV program for April 2011 took a fresh look at people who are in the military on active duty – and veterans who have served in the military. While the peace movement opposes wars and our violent foreign policy, we recognize that the individuals who serve or have served in […]
The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s July 2011 TV program examines the growing movement for democracy in northern Africa, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf states, and throughout much of the Arab world. The movement really took off in early 2011 and is continuing up through our taping date in June 2011, so it has been referred to as the “Arab Spring.” As usual, the mainstream news media and mainstream politicians have failed to understand or talk about some of the most important aspects of this, and they have described some aspects inaccurately, especially reflecting U.S. government bias, rather than understand […]
Although Korea is in the news, most Americans do not know the real history. In the early 1950s the U.S. fought a bloody war in Korea. No peace treaty was ever signed — just a ceasefire. The U.S. military has been based in South Korea ever since the early 1950s, and the U.S. has been persistently threatening war — including nuclear war — against North Korea. What history led us up to the Korean War? What has been happening since? Neither our politicians nor our mainstream news media have told the truth to the American people, so the Olympia Fellowship […]
Our culture wants us to be afraid of Muslims, homeless people, immigrants – and young people. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s August 2011 TV program gives you an opportunity to meet four teen-agers and a 21-year-old who is working with them. You can decide whether to fear them – or to respect them. But don’t decide until you have had the opportunity to get to know them during this hour. Every year starting in 2001 the Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation’s staff and volunteers have developed and carried out some creative and ambitious training for a select number of Puget […]
While the peace movement opposes wars and our violent foreign policy, we recognize that the individuals who currently serve in the military – or who have served in the military – deserve human rights just like anyone else. When the military establishment hurts them, they need to protect their rights. Also, some active duty troops and veterans find various ways to work for peace – sometimes at great personal risk. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s October 2011 TV program examines these concerns and focuses on Coffee Strong, the GI coffee house that operated for several years near Fort Lewis, which […]
Since 1988 our local community has built and sustained a strong relationship with a sister community in Nicaragua. The Thurston – Santo Tomás Sister County Association (TSTSCA) has built peace and across thou-sands of miles of distance by interacting face-to-face with back-and-forth delegations and by collaborating on practical projects in Santo Tomás. While the Reagan Administration was making war on Nicaragua, people in Thurston County and Santo Tomás forged relationships of mutual understanding and respect. Bypassing governments, we just went ahead and did what was needed – and what was right. In March 1987 the second episode of the Olympia […]
When discussing current events – in news media and in comments by politicians and ordinary people – we often hear people speak negatively about other people’s religions. They make broad accusations based on the actions of one or a few persons. Actually – even though some individuals fall short – the authentic beliefs and teachings of various religious faiths actually support profound respect for all human beings, profound compassion, and peace. The Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation’s June 2012 TV program explores humane truths in four different faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. We explore how the scriptures and other writings […]
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