Perspectives on Social Issues
(September 2005)
Practicing 'Just Peacemaking'
"Ten Practices of 'Just Peacemaking':
- Support nonviolent direct action.
- Take independent initiatives to reduce threat.
- Use cooperative conflict resolution.
- Acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and seek repentance and forgiveness.
- Advance democracy, human rights, and religious liberty.
- Foster just and sustainable economic development.
- Work with emerging cooperative forces in the international system.
- Strengthen the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights.
- Reduce offensive weapons and weapons trade.
- Encourage grass roots peacemaking groups and voluntary associations.
(From Just Peacemaking, edited by Glen Stassen (Pilgrim Press, 1998)"
"Winning the Peace" by Glen Stassen, Sojourners Jan 2005.
Improving Wisconsin's State-Tribal Interactions
"On June 28, 2005, Governor Jim Doyle signed the state-tribal consultation policies of 12 Cabinet agencies that will improve government-to-government communications between the State of Wisconsin and the Tribal Nations of Wisconsin. A significant step forward, the policies will work to improve communication, avoid duplicitous programs and services, and save money for state and tribal governments.
‘The creation of these policies marks an end to the day when state government acted without talking to its tribal governments,’ Governor Doyle said. ‘Having these procedures in place to guide state-tribal interactions will benefit all of Wisconsin's citizens by eliminating the delays and miscommunications that can occur whenever two governments are not working with one another.’ Recognized as separate, sovereign nations by the United States Constitution, the Tribes of Wisconsin retain their right to self-government. As a result, tribal citizens hold dual citizenship with their tribe and the State of Wisconsin."
"Governor Signs Consultation Policies with 11 Tribal Nations", HONOR, May/June/July 2005.
States and Cities Act to Raise Minimum Wage
"With the federal minimum wage stagnating since 1997, the states are stepping in to bring wages up. Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Wisconsin became the latest states to raise their minimum wages this year [2005], bringing to 17 the number of states with minimums higher than the federal rate. Hawaii and Maryland may follow soon; their legislatures also passed raises this year. Five states now raise their minimum wages automatically with inflation. Last fall, Florida and Nevada voters overwhelmingly voted to join Oregon and Washington in indexing the minimum wage to inflation (see YES! Spring 2005), while Vermont's legislature in June passed a bill to do the same.
Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage has fallen to 40 percent of its 1968 value. In March, Senator Edward Kennedy introduced an amendment to the federal bankruptcy bill that would have raised the federal minimum, but it was stripped from the final bill.
Cities are also taking action to raise wages. According to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), 130 municipalities have passed living wage laws raising pay rates to as high as $13 an hour for employees of firms that contract with the cities.
In Chicago, in the wake of debates over Wal-Mart's push to enter the city, Alderman Joe Moore is sponsoring a 'Big-Box Living Wage' ordinance that requires chain stores like Wal-Mart to pay workers $10 an hour and provide benefits."
"Workers Win Minimum Wage Benefits," Indicators, YES! A Journal of Positive Futures, Fall 2005.
Communities Experience New Life after Base Closures
"Is closing a base necessarily the economic catastrophe communities fear? The evidence suggests that it isn't. The Defense Department estimates that the areas surrounding the 97 major bases closed during the past four rounds (in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995) have so far replaced almost 85 percent of the civilian jobs lost. An independent study released in May by the Government Accountability Office concluded that most of those communities ‘are faring well compared with average U.S. rates for unemployment and income growth.’
Recovery takes time -- five to 10 years in most cases -- and there are hurdles and frustrations along the way. ‘But there is life after a base closure,’ says Tim Ford, executive director of the Association of Defense Communities, a nonprofit organization that has been advising cities and towns facing closings over the past 30 years."
"Don't Fight It: It Might Just Work Out," Business, Time, Aug 29, 2005.
Impact of Cattle Ranching on Latin American Forests
"Cattle ranching is the leading cause of forest destruction in Latin America, according to a June 2005 study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). By 2010, reports FAO, more than 1 million hectares of forest will be lost in Central America, 62 percent of it to ranching. In South America, a staggering 18 million hectares will be lost, 70 percent to ranching. Even the region's ‘protected’ areas are at risk: the Maya Biosphere in Guatemala and at least three national parks in South America are expected to have land cleared for pasture.
FAO's latest findings echo a report released by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in April 2004. According to CIFOR, rapid growth in Brazilian beef sales overseas has accelerated destruction of Brazil's Amazon rainforest. Total forest loss increased from 41.5 million hectares in 1990 to 58.7 million hectares in 2000.
But Latin America's meat production doesn't have to harm the environment. With support from U.S.-based Conservation International and Brazil's Biodynamic Beef Institute, farmers from six cattle ranches covering 161,900 hectares in Brazil's Pantanal region are learning to raise organic beef and to preserve the region's native grasses. To become certified, they must raise only native cattle breeds and can't use any antibiotics or growth hormones or destroy any of the local vegetation for grazing. By raising cattle in a way that is compatible with the surrounding environment, farmers can help protect the region's rich biological diversity."
"Cattle Ranching Eating Up Latin American Forests" by Danielle Nierenberg, Environmental Intelligence, WorldWatch, Sept/Oct 2005.
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Gratitude to the Institute for Peace and Justice
for use of their Pope Paul VIth graphic. |
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