STANISLAUS CONNECTIONS
Working For Peace, Justice, and A Sustainable Environment
Online Edition: May 2004 Vol. XV, No. IX
A Modesto Peace/Life Center Publication
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ACTIONS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
sponsored
by Peace Life Center Middle East Committee. Public invited
Modesto
Peace/Life Center Vigil for Peace: Fridays May 7 & May 21, 4:30 -
5:30 p.m. at Tenth Street Plaza, across from Brenden Theaters. Bring
signs that relate to this central theme: cut funding for wars and
weapons; create jobs, make health care available to all, improve
education, restore our environment, help the homeless. Special theme for
Friday, May 7: Mother's Day (May 9) was established for Peace. Main
message: Nuclear weapons threaten all lives and endanger the hard work
parents do to nurture life. None of us wants to see them used. For
more info about vigils, call 484-0226, or 765-3813, or the Peace Life
Center, 529-5750
Modesto Committee for Peace in the Middle East meets at the
Peace/Life Center, 720 13th St., Modesto, Third Wednesday each month, 7:00 pm
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College Avenue Congregational Church
College and Orangeburg, Modesto
Pancake
of the Year
To be announced
next issue
All-Star Favorites
Blueberry
Buttermilk
Scotch Oaties
with fresh
strawberry, apricot, or maple syrup
Suprise
Pancake!
Fresh fruit salad
Excellent coffees
Teas and juices
Fresh granola and yogurt.
Benefit
for the Modesto Peace/Life Center
To help, call 529-5750
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CONTENTS
Peace
& Justice
Around the Center:
Living Lightly
Recipes from
Connections
Out and About
Masthead
and Back Issues
Letters to Connections
ACLU files first nationwide challenge to
government "no-fly" list
— from the American Civil Liberties Union
When our government starts to
treat all of us like suspects, the ACLU must act. We filed suit against a Bush
administration practice that is trapping innocent people in a web of harassment
and suspicion.
No one knows how many people
are on these secretive lists.
But we do know that people
whose names are on the list are regularly pulled aside and detained. They never
know when or if they will be permitted to fly. They can't find out why their
names are listed or how to clear themselves and get taken off the list.
Our lawsuit, filed in federal
district court in Seattle, Washington, is the first nationwide, class-action
challenge to the government's secretive "No-Fly" list. The complaint
names Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and Transportation Security Agency
(TSA) Director David M. Stone and their respective agencies as co-defendants.
We are asking the court to
declare that the "No-Fly" list violates airline passengers'
constitutional rights to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure and to due
process of law under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
The individuals represented in
the lawsuit are innocent of any wrongdoing and pose no threat to aviation
security. But even after some of the plaintiffs obtained letters from the TSA
stating that they were not a threat, they were still subject to delays, enhanced
searches, detentions, and other travel impediments.
A recent report by the General
Accounting Office confirms the widespread sharing of the No-Fly list among
various government and private agencies. The focus of the GAO report was the
controversial airline passenger screening system known as Computer Assisted
Passenger Profiling System (CAPPS II), which has been touted by some as a
replacement for the problematic No-Fly list.
But the CAPPS II system would
replace a flawed program with an even more flawed program and one that will
apply to all Americans instead of just those whose names are put on a list.
Our goals:
First, we are seeking justice
for the co-plaintiffs who have no idea why they have been singled out by their
own government and have been given no recourse to remove their names from the
"No-Fly" list.
Second, we must prevent the (TSA)
from forcing airlines to provide the government with the travel details of the
roughly 100 million Americans who fly.
Third, we must stop our
government from further eroding our freedoms by implementing the proposed CAPPS
II a process that will make every
American a suspect.
The government may soon be
performing background checks on you when you fly.
These checks will assign each
airline passenger a threat level based on secret criteria and clandestine
sources of information. If your threat level is too high, you could be stopped
for extra searches or even banned from flying with no way to clear your name.
We all agree that airport
security is vitally important, but this system will not make us any safer since
terrorists could circumvent the system using simple methods. Furthermore, since
it is based on notoriously inaccurate government databases, this national system
would only increase the delays and make it inevitable that innocent
Americans-regular people traveling for work or vacations-would be delayed,
hassled and even prevented from flying.
The nations major airlines are
not actively opposing this program. They need to hear that you oppose their
participation and do not want them to help the government conduct error-prone
background checks every time you fly.
ACTION: Take action, tell the airlines to protect your data at www.aclu.org/
Tibetan
monks teach Modestans that “loving kindness” is a way of life
By
BETH AU
Twelve Tibetan
Buddhist monks shared their culture, artistry, and spirituality at Modesto
Junior College (MJC) for several days in March.
The monks were from
the famous Drepung Loseling Monastery, currently home to 2,500 monks. The
monastery, once located in Tibet, was relocated to Karnataka, in southern India
after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959. The monastery’s mission is to
educate and train monks in the traditional culture of Tibetans. The Mystical
Arts of Tibet tours have been traveling across the United States since 1991, and
through the generosity of one benefactor, have opened a non-profit Drepung
Loseling Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Mystical Arts of
Tibet visit was a part of the Yosemite Community College District’s “Beyond
Tolerance” program and MJC’s commemoration of Asian Awareness Day. The
twelve Tibetan monks, dressed in maroon and saffron colored robes, spread a
message of kindness, peace and harmony. For this particular group of touring
monks, Modesto was their first encounter with Americans as they prepared to
embark on a nine-month tour of the United States.
The monks were all
very friendly and had a profound sense of humor and spirituality. Their visit
began with an opening prayer ceremony in which they blessed the area where they
were to create a mandala, followed by traditional Tibetan chanting and dance.
The mandala (a picture made of colored sand to bring healing, peace and harmony
to a community) they created was on display in the MJC art gallery. Other events
during their four-day visit also included a lecture on “The Symbolism of the
Sand Mandala,” a performance entitled, “Sacred Music, Sacred Dance,” and a
closing ceremony in which the sand mandala was swept into a pile and dispersed
to the participants while the rest of the sand was poured into Dry Creek at La
Loma Park. The destruction of the mandala was meant to represent the
impermanence of life. All events were very well attended by MJC students, staff,
as well as members of the wider community.
The program was
several years in the making, thanks in part to the perseverance of Jim Johnson,
MJC Dean of Arts, and Valori Lee, former MJC Art Gallery Director. When asked
the reasons for bringing the monks to MJC, Johnson said, “There were a variety
of reasons, including the opportunity to help students and community members
learn about the Tibetan culture, to experience the incredible artistry of the
sand mandala, sacred music and dance of the Tibetan culture, to learn about how
these oppressed people have used a philosophy of ‘loving kindness’ and
non-violence to win worldwide support for their cause, and to allow
students/community to meet face-to-face with the monks.”
I had the privilege
of meeting monk Wangden Tashi, 29. He has been a monk since 1987, when he left
Sichuan, China for India, where the Drepung Loseling Tibetan Monastery is
located. A Tibetan by birth, Wangden Tashi speaks Tibetan, some Mandarin (the
national language of China) and English. I met him when I had asked another
monk, Thupten, if any of the monks spoke Mandarin. Wangden Tashi and I struck up
a conversation in Mandarin, and I quickly discovered that my language skills
were sorely lacking compared to his—although he kept telling me that he
didn’t speak Mandarin well. Being unprepared to really ask him questions in
Mandarin, I started to speak with him in English and found that he spoke English
very well.
I asked Wangden Tashi
about the other monks and what they do. Fortunately, we were standing right next
to one of the promotional posters for the tour, and he confidently pointed at
each monk pictured, and one by one told me the monk’s age and what his
specialty was. I discovered that the monks ranged in age from 28 to 64. One monk
was a master in chanting, one in traditional Tibetan dance, one in playing the
cymbals and bells, one in the long horn, one in the sand mandala, one in musical
instruments. Although the monks are all trained to do each of these things, for
touring purposes, it seems that one monk in the group is a master of each aspect
of the Tibetan culture.
Wangden Tashi clearly
was very proud of the accomplishments of the other monks, but modest when it
came to his own. Several times he mentioned that he was not a master of any
aspect of the Tibetan culture. I was struck by his gentle spirit, kindness and
philosophy that non-violence is the means to produce world peace and harmony.
As a person of
Chinese descent, I felt embarrassed by the 1959 Chinese invasion of Tibet.
Rather than treating me with contempt based on my heritage, Wangden Tashi simply
stated that, as a Tibetan Monk, he practices kindness wherever he is, whether in
Tibet or at the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India or even in Atlanta, Georgia
where he currently resides when he isn’t touring. In speaking with him, I felt
a sense of calmness and peace.
When I spoke with
another monk, Lama Shandra, the monks’main interpreter, I felt the same sense
of goodness, kindness and peace. I believe that because they practice what they
preach, they just exude all that is good in this world, because their message
really is all about “loving kindness.”
Lama Shandra told me
that the monks were all impressed with the warmth and generosity of the people
of Modesto. For many of them, this visit had formed their first impression of
Americans, and they would continue their tour with a warm place in their hearts
for Modesto.
Their next stop was
to be a trip to Disneyland, a gift from one of their benefactors. Lama Shandra
was excited to go because, “Monks like to have fun too!” What better place
for a visit — some of the happiest people on earth visiting one of the
merriest places on earth!
I was inspired
greatly by the monks’ message of peace and harmony. I hope we can all work
towards this goal together. If we all follow the example of these Tibetan monks,
our world will certainly be a much better place.
Learn more about the
Drepung Loseling Monastery: www.drepung.org
Learn more about the
Mystical Arts of Tibet tour: www.mysticalartsoftibet.org
Beth Au is an administrator with the
Yosemite Community College District and a member of the Modesto Peace/Life
Center Board.
Modestan experiences culture-shock at ancient
Hindu temple
By LEE RYAN MILLER
Tenth in a series
January to May 2003 I lived
on a ship that circumnavigated the globe. I was teaching political science on
Semester at Sea, a program run by the University of Pittsburgh. Some 650
students participated, visiting nine countries and ten ports.
In this series, I present excerpts from my journal and commentary on the
societies that we visited.
Imagine that you could take
everything that has ever existed in human society and toss it together like a
salad. Then you would have an inkling of what I experienced visiting India.
India is the heartland of Hinduism, the birthplace of the Buddha, a land where
you can visit a church built by one of Jesus’ apostles, the country with the
second largest Muslim population in the world. There you find nuclear scientists
and computer programmers amidst people who scarcely live differently from their
forebears thousands of years ago. The smell of incense mingles with the stench
of raw sewage. You must take your shoes off to visit an ancient temple where,
just beside you, you see cows—and children—defecating.
During our visit to India, I
spent most of my time in the port city of Chennai. However, on March 16, 2003, I
went on a field trip to Kancheepuram. Our coach left behind the city and passed
through a number of poor but picturesque villages where cars and motorcycles
shared the muddy streets with bicycles, cows, and carts drawn by oxen, the horns
of which were painted red, gold, and other bright colors. The women wore
colorful saris, yards of cloth draped around their torsos and legs. Some men
wore collared shirts with trousers; others just wore some cloth wrapped around
their waists like skirts; still others wore nothing but skimpy loincloths.
Between villages were lots of
rice paddies. Sometimes I saw rickety shacks that did not appear fit for human
habitation. Other times I saw modern houses. We passed Hindu temples, Christian
churches, and Moslem mosques. I saw every sort of human endeavor, and every sort
of lifestyle imaginable.
After a couple of hours we
arrived at an ancient Hindu temple in Kancheepuram called Sri Ekambaranthar. A
stone wall enclosed the temple grounds. One entered via a corridor running
through the center of a huge stone tower, which was covered with carvings of
people and all sorts of creatures, real and fantastic.
To approach the tower, we had
to push our way through a crowd of men selling leather sandals and other items,
plus a crowd of beggars. There were old women and children, plus people with
missing limbs and people with horrible deformities. Our guide warned us not to
give to the beggars, indicating that if we gave to one, the whole crowd would
encircle us, beseeching us for money. It broke my heart to heed this warning.
Just before entering the gate
to the tower, we all removed our shoes and left them with an attendant. As I
walked onward with my group, an old woman grabbed me by the hand and dragged me
over to the wall, where there was an alcove containing a stone dish on a
pedestal. The woman pried open my hand and dropped in a fistful of white grains.
She pantomimed that I should toss it onto the plate. I complied, and she blessed
me, and all my family. Then she demanded that I pay her 200 rupees (about $4)
I refused and walked away. I
did not like the idea of a stranger forcing me to do something I didn’t want
to do in the first place and then demanding that I pay her for it. She ran after
me demanding that I pay her, but I ignored her, and she gave up once I reached
my group.
We crossed an open area and
entered the gate into the inner temple grounds. Inside were lots of statues. To
the left lay the entrance to the main temple building. Straight ahead was a
staircase leading down to a square pool of water, perhaps twenty feet wide.
Another woman grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the pool.
“Poojah,” she said.
“No, thank you,” I replied.
“No money, poojah,” she
insisted.
“No, thanks,” I persisted.
“No money, no money, poojah,”
she insisted.
I gave up and stopped
resisting. The woman led me down the steps to the edge of the pool. She told me
to open my hands and she dumped in a small basket of white grains. She
communicated by a combination of broken English and gestures. She told me to
toss the grain into the pool.
“Fish,” she said, pointing.
Fish surfaced and ate the
grain.
The woman dumped another basket
of grain into my hands and I tossed it to the fish. She repeated this until four
baskets of grain were exhausted. Then she splashed some water on my head, and
blessed me and my family. Finally, she demanded 200 rupees.
She had insisted “no money”
repeatedly, and I was annoyed at her deception. A man who spoke better English
than she did told me that the woman was requesting a donation to the temple. I
was pretty sure that it was a donation to the woman, rather than to the temple,
but I figured that I probably owed her something for allowing me to feed the
fish. So I gave her the money, then climbed up the stairs and re-joined my
group, wondering why the old women had accosted only me.
We went inside the temple. The
place smelled like a combination of incense and melted butter. There were all
sorts of statues, elaborately carved pillars, carvings on the walls, etc. We
were permitted to go everywhere except for the inner sanctum, which contained
the lingham, a stone pillar representing the penis of the god Shiva, one of the
three main gods of Hinduism (the others being Brahma and Vishnu).
We were permitted to visit the
“festival altar,” which was a golden statue. On either side were mirrors
facing one another, creating the illusion of infinity. I dropped some coins on a
plate. The priest placed a stone helmet on my head and blessed me. He offered to
rub some holy ashes on my forehead, but I declined. The ashes were the remains
of burnt dung from cows that wander around the temple compound.
In a courtyard at the center of
the temple grew a huge mango tree. Our guide indicated that the tree was 2500
years old. She said that a god and goddess had been married under that tree.
As we crossed the temple
grounds, heading for the exit, I noticed several cows wandering about. I also
saw a child defecating on the ground. I realized that ritual purity and
cleanliness were distinct and separate concepts to Hindus.
I retrieved my sneakers. My
socks were black. I put them on, pushed my way through the crowd, and boarded
the bus. I felt simultaneously repulsed and fascinated by this alien culture.
Next month: anarchy on the streets of Chennai.
Bush
ratings sharply down in California
By KEN SCHROEDER
President
Bush’s approval rating among Californians has dropped to 38% compared to a 50%
approval just three months ago, according to a survey by the Survey and Policy
Research Institute at San Jose State University. The survey, taken March
29-April 2, showed even lower approval ratings on the President’s handling of
Iraq and the economy. Here in the conservative Central Valley, the President
received the approval of just 48%, with significant numbers believing that he
lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The
survey results:
Question
California
Central Valley
Do you approve or disapprove of the way
George W. Bush is handling his job as
President?
Approve
37.8%
48.1%
Disapprove
49.9
38.3
Do you approve or disapprove of the way
George W. Bush is handling the economy?
Approve
34.9
42.6
Disapprove
52.9
43.8
Do you approve or disapprove of the way
George W. Bush is handling the situation
In Iraq?
Approve
35.5
43.2
Disapprove
54.4
42.0
Generally speaking do you believe that
What President Bush tells the American
people is true?
Yes
41.9
50.0
No
48.0
37.7
Do you think the war in Iraq has made
the U.S. safer, less safe, or hasn’t it had an
effect on the safety of the U.S.?
Safer
27.9
34.6
Less
safe
46.3
30.2
No effect
19.4
25.9
Since the U.S. has not found weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq, have you
concluded that the Bush administration
was misinformed by intelligence agencies
or that the Bush administration lied about
weapons of mass destruction to justify
going to war against Iraq? Or have you
reached some other conclusion?
Lied
39.0
35.2
Misinformed
26.1
29.0
Other
19.6
17.3
The
Survey and Policy Institute’s web site is www.sjsu.edu/spri
Mental
Health Services Act initiative expected to be on November ballot
From
the campaignformentalhealth.org
A
proposition expected to appear on the November ballot aims to expand mental
health care programs for children and adults.
1.What
would the Mental Health Services Act initiative do?
The
Mental Health Services Act will expand mental health care programs for children
and adults. The measure provides services to persons currently disabled by
mental illness, persons showing signs of mental illness in need of prevention
services, and to families and caregivers of those affected.
2.
What kinds of services are offered?
The
Mental Health Services Act will provide much more than mental health counseling
and care. The measure uses the the recently developed, successful
"integrated services" model to provide a range of services, an
approach proven through programs created under AB 34, enacted by the Legislature
in 1999. Services include outreach, medical care, short and long-term housing,
prescription drugs, vocational training, and self-help and social
rehabilitation. Learn more about integrated services at www.dmh.ca.gov/PGRE/Integrated_Services.asp
3.
Does the initiative only help the poor and uninsured?
The
Mental Health Services Act offers services to persons and families without
insurance, or for whom insurance coverage of mental health care has been
exhausted. Family payment obligations would be capped at $2,000 per year for
families earning more than the statutorily defined median income; less or
nothing for those earning less.
4.
How will the initiative help children facing mental illness?
The
Mental Health Services Act creates children's services targeted to those not
covered by existing programs, particularly those with untreated mental disorders
placing them at risk of severe mental illness, removal from home, suicide or
violent behavior.
Additionally,
the Act assures that parents will not be required to relinquish custody of a
child in order to make the child eligible for medically necessary mental health
care services.
5.
Where will the money come from to pay for these new programs?
The
Mental Health Services Act pays for expanded programs through a 1% surcharge on
income above $1 million per year applied to each dollar earned over $1 million.
The surcharge would raise approximately $600 million per year. The program
phases in over a three-year period. Some costs for facilities and education and
training of new personnel are included in the initiative's funding.
6.
Who will ensure that the money is spent properly?
The
measure creates a new Citizens Oversight and Accountability Commission to
annually review each county's expenditure plan and ensure that all expenditures
are in accord with the voters' wishes. In addition, the initiative only
authorizes services in accordance with the Children's and Adults' Systems of
Care. These systems require each county's expenditures for each person to be
approved by the State Department of Mental Health. All expenditures are audited
by state and local agencies and all service providers are subject to local
oversight and state licensing.
7.
Are there any benefits from this program for average California taxpayers?
The
Mental Health Services Act generates hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.
Experience with AB 34 programs shows that, by treating mental illness earlier
and more effectively, savings are generated in reduced hospital costs, jail
costs, and medical and welfare costs.
ACTION:
To find out more, visit www.campaignformentalhealth.org/site/PageServer.
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT ARTICLES TO
CONNECTIONS.
Tenth of each month. Submit peace, justice and environmentally friendly event
notices to P.O. Box 134, Modesto, CA, 95353, or call 522-4967 or 575-4299, or
email to Jim Costello.
Free listings subject to space, availability and editing.
05/03/04