grassrootspeace.org

November 5, 2007: This website is an archive of the former website, traprockpeace.org, which was created 10 years ago by Charles Jenks. It became one of the most populace sites in the US, and an important resource on the antiwar movement, student activism, 'depleted' uranium and other topics. Jenks authored virtually all of its web pages and multimedia content (photographs, audio, video, and pdf files. As the author and registered owner of that site, his purpose here is to preserve an important slice of the history of the grassroots peace movement in the US over the past decade. He is maintaining this historical archive as a service to the greater peace movement, and to the many friends of Traprock Peace Center. Blogs have been consolidated and the calendar has been archived for security reasons; all other links remain the same, and virtually all blog content remains intact.

THIS SITE NO LONGER REFLECTS THE CURRENT AND ONGOING WORK OF TRAPROCK PEACE CENTER, which has reorganized its board and moved to Greenfield, Mass. To contact Traprock Peace Center, call 413-773-7427 or visit its site. Charles Jenks is posting new material to PeaceJournal.org, a multimedia blog and resource center.

War on Truth  From Warriors to Resisters
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The War on Truth

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Army of None

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DVD and Transcript now available!

Scott Ritter: US at War with Iran

"We declared a war on terror and those who practice terror," said Ritter. "Are we going to declare war on ourselves?"

On June 23, 2005, Scott Ritter spoke to 110 people at a fundraiser for Traprock Peace Center at the Woolman Hill Meeting House. Before the presentation, Ritter met with 30 people over dinner at Woolman Hill. Hear his presentation and the question and answers, complete and unabridged. Sunny Miller moderated the event, introducing Ritter and reading questions from the audience. DVD, transcript, and audio CD are now available. Free audio downloads are still available - see below. Please see Copyright Notice with respect to audio recordings, DVD, transcript and photographs.

Free Audio (MP3) downloads:

Hear this important talk - mp3 47:08 min; 48 kbps; 16.2 mb

Questions and Answers - mp3 1:04:57 min; 48 kbps; 22.4 mb

We encourage radio air play and linking to this page. (WBAI/Pacifica's Wake Up Call; WRPI at RPI, Boston College radio, RadicalRadio.org and other radio have played this talk.) We only ask that radio stations notify us so we can see the reach of the program. Please notify us at 413-773-7427 or charlie[at]grassrootspeace.org.

(Please note: The audio downloads are very large files to download for dial-up connections. We were able to make RealAudio versions for dial-ups, using Real Producer software, but our computer was stolen. We aim to regain that capability. In the meantime, please bear with us. People with dial-ups may wish to download overnight. While they may be able to play it while it downloads, it will probably have a lot of stops. An alternative would be to let it download for an hour or so before trying to play it.)

Visit also the Homepage.

Please see copyright notice and acknowledgements below.

See the Greenfield Recorder article on talk below.


photo © 2005 Charles Jenks

Ex-U.N. inspector: U.S. already at war with Iran

By ANITA FRITZ
Recorder Staff
http://www.recorder.com

DEERFIELD - A former weapons inspector told a full house Thursday that the United States is already at war with Iran and has become a terrorist state itself, referring to bombings in Iraq and the CIA's collaborations with the terrorist organization Mujahedin-e Khalq.

Almost 100 people gathered at Traprock Peace Center at Woolman Hill to hear Scott Ritter, the former United Nations weapons inspector, talk about U.S. intentions concerning Iran and what citizens can do now to stop another war.

An historical second-round election runoff for Iran's next president was under way as Ritter spoke.

He said the U.S. has defiled its reputation by engaging in the same tactics in Iraq and Iran as the terrorists it chases. "We declared a war on terror and those who practice terror," said Ritter. "Are we going to declare war on ourselves?"

Ritter said the United States has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran since last summer. He said people would be stunned to know that the U.S. is at war with Iran. "There hasn't been a national debate and the president hasn't declared war."

He said it all sounds very familiar. "The war in Iraq began in September of 2002, not March of 2003 like most would think," said Ritter. "And the Bush administration fabricated intelligence to back up its decision to go to war. Later, it manipulated the results of Iraq's elections," he said.

"We're being told a lot of lies and the media is following blindly and parroting information," said Ritter.

He said the Bush administration's goal for Iran is the destruction of the country's alleged program to develop nuclear weapons. Ritter said he believes the goal is to attack the oil-rich nation with the hopes of leading to a regime change as in Iraq.

Ritter said Iran has a nuclear energy program, not a nuclear weapons program as the administration would like Americans to believe.

"They just want to live like we do," said Ritter. "In order to survive, Iran needs an alternative energy supply. Who are we to say they can't have that?"

Ritter said the president and his administration know it's an energy program.

"The media knows it as well and I'm just afraid that two or three years from now, when the truth comes out, the media will say it's old news. It's not newsworthy," he said.

"This kind of information gets buried on page A21. However, the runaway bride will never go away. She's been branded in the mindset of America," he said.

Ritter told people they need to acknowledge and accept that the battle to stop the war has been lost and the United States will pay a heavy price.

"This is our Pearl Harbor. The U.S. has taken a big hit and it's going to take a long time to dig out."

He said the peace movement needs to go back to the grass-roots level. "You all need to help teach people what it means to be an American," said Ritter. "As Americans we've sworn an oath of allegiance to the Constitution. Most don't even know what the document means and the current administration is dismissive of it."

Ritter said people have to become true citizens and hold the president and his administration accountable for not following the Constitution.

"(The effects of war) is going to be a decades-long struggle for America," said Ritter. "We may be called the United States in years to come, but if we don't do something about educating ourselves, we won't really be the United States according to that document," he said.

"I wouldn't give my life for this and I wouldn't expect anyone else to," said Ritter.

You can reach Anita Fritz at: afritz@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext. 280


photo © 2005 Charles Jenks


photo © 2005 Charles Jenks


photo © 2005 Charles Jenks


Copyright Notice to Audio Recordings, DVD and Transcript and Photographs

The Audio Recordings (including Audio CD), DVD are copyright 2005 Charles Jenks.

The audio recordings are available for radio airplay, without prior permission, provided that the radio station notifies Traprock of the airing (413-773-7427) and provides attribution that includes the following information: "Scott Ritter's talk was sponsored by Traprock Peace Center, www.grassrootspeace.org, on June 23, 2005. All rights reserved." All other public use requires prior permission. In particular, internet websites are encouraged to link to, but may not post, the audio on their sites without prior permission. Individuals may download mp3 audio files for private use only.

The DVD may be shown without fee to groups and it may be shown on cable access TV, but only with prior notification to Traprock at 413-773-7427 (so we may assess the reach of the program). Public showings for a fee require prior permission of Traprock Peace Center. Under no circumstances may the DVD be copied without prior permission of Traprock Peace Center.

The transcript may be printed but not copied without prior permission of Traprock Peace Center. The transcript is for private use only. The contents may not be copied for re-publication without prior permission of Traprock Peace Center, other than excerpts pursuant to 'fair use' law.

Photographs are copyright 2005 Charles Jenks. All rights reserved; use by permission only. charlesjenks@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Ed Russell of activeingredients.org for doing the recording and offering sound editing advice. Norman Lerchen videotaped the talk. Charlie Jenks took photos and edited the auio for sound quality only. We are preparing a DVD and audio CD of this important talk for distribution. We also give our thanks to David Dashefsky, Traprock intern and Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) Coordinating Committee member from SUNY at Geneseo, for serving as head chef. Sally Weiss assisted David in preparing the food, and Charles Peterson (CAN at Holyoke Community College) and Annie Zirin (Western Massachusetts Chapter of the International Socialist Organization) helped with serving. A number of people helped with cleanup - thank you. We thank the Woolman Hill Conference Center for their kind courtesies, and Scott Ritter for giving generously of his time.

Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Traprock Peace Center's Core Group or supporters. When Traprock decides to publish the audio of a program, we present it all and leave it to the public to decide what to agree with, and what not to agree with. As we endeavor to present audio that is suitable for radio airplay, we do edit for sound quality and continuity, e.g. edits of introductions, 'housekeeping' announcements, sustained applause and such.

 

June 25, 2005 - page created by Charlie Jenks