Letter to Friend Vanessa (In Venezuela)

Hi Vanessa,

Good to "hear" from you.

Sorry that you are going through hard and/or traumatic times.

I hope it all works out for you and soon...

I read about the displacement of the indigenous in Peru and the fighting that was going on. In the news report we got in the USA, the headlines said "9 Policeman Killed in Peru". You had to read deep into the story to see that 31 "Indians" were killed and many more injured. Same attitudes that John Woolman had to endure, I guess.

The people in the United States are still consuming gasoline with a fervent madness and they either don't know, don't perceive it that way, and/or don't care about the injustices that go on: Peru, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, elsewhere, and the injustice that they are doing to the children of the world, including their own.

Two reports just came out, one regarding how much money is being spent on military supplies and operations ($1.46 trillion), with by far the most by the United States, and another discussing the world hunger situation and the dire prognosis of over 200 million more people falling into "absolute poverty". It isn't that we can't produce the food (especially if we reallocated military spending to humanitarian (i.e. food, housing, education, sanitation, resource conservation, etc.)), it's that within the Capitalism system, many people can't pay for it (Can't pay, can't have).

We need someone like Hugo Chavez to make a proclamation regarding the absurdity and irrationality of the above mentioned dichotomy, and to call for world unity among the people and the leaders of the world for a fundamental shift from Capitalism to socialism in the way that resources get allocated. It would be great if Hugo, Obama, the leader of Iran, and the leader of the Peoples' Republic of China all got together, with the support of other leaders, and made such an appeal and commitment. I'm sure that the people of the world would strongly support such leadership.

We need a world economy that is based on the principles of meeting the needs of people, equity, humanity, inclusion, quality of life, peace, and sustainability rather than one that seeks to maximize profits for a minority, and seeks infinite growth on a finite planet and promises trickle-down benefits to workers and totally disregards the poor.

Count me in on "Thee Socialist Friend" magazine. Let me know how I can contribute.

Great to "hear' from thee...

Let's keep in close touch.


With much love and care,

Mike Morin

Friends and Buddhists

Derived from the teachings of George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, I submit to you all the following:

"God" is love. "God" is the intention and actions to do good. Fox said that there is good and bad in everyone and it is incumbent upon us to cultivate the good within ourselves and help others to do the same.

The Buddhists' Four Noble Truths can be summed up as:

- all life is suffering
- it is incumbent upon us all to do what we can to relieve that suffering.

The nine-fold path (I've added one) of Buddhism is:

-right intentions
-right understanding
-right thought
-right speech
-right action
-right livelihood
-right effort
-right mindfulness
-right concentration.

When I write "right" (above), I am using it in the connotation of correct.

In US politics some of us say, Left ("wing") is right (correct) and Right ('wing") is might (take it by economic dominance and aggression and/or force). Of course, "Right" in this connotation is wrong.

I'm a Work kin for peace and cooperation.


With much love and care,

Mike Morin