VOL III, No. 6; Feb. 10, 2004

Civitas home page

Can Anyone Stop Kerry but Kerry?

Seemingly, MASSACHUSETTS Senator John Kerry has the "Midas Touch" with any primary or caucus that he touches. Today he may be challenged more in Tennessee and Virginia, both southern states where former General Wesley Clark and North Carolina Senator John Edwards have the advantage of being from the South.

Many observors feel that President George Bush did not present himself well yesterday in an hour-long interview on NBC's MEET THE PRESS. November's election could be much tighter than previously forecast. Stay tuned!
Link to CNN election coverage

South Africa, Revenge - the book, topics for this Saturday's Prep Session

This Saturday, February 14, we have our third and final preparation session for our 2004 Conference on Revenge/Reconciliation: Breaking the Cycle of Conflict.

We are moving right along towards the final conference session at the Doubletree Hotel on Feb. 20-21.

In this Saturday's prep session on (9:00 AM - 11:00 AM at Crossroads [Link to Map Below]), we have an outstanding presenter, Dr. Cecil Abrahams, professor of African and African-American Studies at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He is from South Africa and worked with both Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmund Tutu as the "Truth and Reconciliation" commission successfully solved a multitude of problems without violence.

His presentation will include a great deal of "living history" -- history from a period when most of us have been alive. A conflict that seemed destined to a violent resolution has been solved through a creative, non-vindictive, peaceful means. But the seeds of violence remain, so there continues to be much work to do to "keep peace alive."

The culmination of the conference will be on Fri. - Sat., Feb. 20-21. At that time, we will look at long-standing international conflicts, such as those in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and the Balkans; the death penalty; war-crimes tribunals; the mafia; and much more.

The real headliner will be our outstanding keynote speaker on Friday evening: Ms. Laura Blumenfeld; author of the 2002 best-seller Revenge, the story of her personal feelings on revenge following the shooting of her father in Jerusalem. We have copies of the book for all participants and distributed most of them in previous Saturdays. If you have not received a copy of the book and our planning on participating in the conference (including the remaining prep sessions), e-mail us by clicking here. See following story for more information on Laura Blumenfeld.

By now, all students should have their "knowledge area" assignments." Please let us know if you do not yet have them.

Enrollment for the conference is now closed.

We will have a link to photos from the January 31 session as well as video from the same session.

Conference on Revenge and Reconciliation
Friday, February 20 3:00 PM - Saturday, February 21 3:00 PM at the Doubletree Club Hotel.

Click here for a Conference Description, or to Sign Up Online!
Click here for the application form!
Prep Session 1 Photos from Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004.
Video from Revenge & Reconciliation Prep Session #2
Map & Directions to Crossroads School

About Laura Blumenfeld

Laura Blumenfeld

Author of The New York Times bestseller Revenge: A Story of Hope

In 1986, Laura Blumenfeld's father was shot in Jerusalem by a member of a rebel faction of the PLO responsible for attacks on several tourists in the Old City. Her father lived, but Blumenfeld's desire for revenge haunted her. Revenge: A Story of Hope is her story.

Traveling to Europe, America, and the Middle East, Blumenfeld gathers stories and methods of avengers worldwide as she plots to infiltrate the shooter's life. Through interviews with Yitzhak Rabin's assassin; with members of the Albanian Blood Feud Committee; the chief of the Iranian judiciary; the mayor of Palermo, Sicily; an Egyptian heroin smuggler; the Israeli prime minister and the military chief of staff; priests; sports fans; fifth-grade girls; and prostitutes, among others, she explores the mechanics and the psychology of vengeance.

In the end, her target turns out to be more complex -- and in some ways more threatening -- than the stereotypical terrorist she'd long imagined.

A rare, ambitious, personal, and intellectual tour of dark urges often denied, Revenge: A Story of Hope is a beautifully written story about family, loyalty, and home, about the personal passions behind public events, and about the thin line between love and hate.

Acclaim for Laura Blumenfeld and Revenge: A Story of Hope:

"A vitally important story...Revenge is written with such forcefulness and immediacy that by the end of her story [Blumenfeld] has carried the reader through an intellectual transformation akin to her own." -Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"I was just swept away with it, by it, with the beauty of the writing and the drama of the tale." -Richard Cohen, The Washington Post

"A gripping read. Rich, graceful, intimate, and absorbing." -Kirkus Reviews

"Laura Blumenfeld has the eye of a journalist, the soul of a novelist and the passion of an activist. She brings all three to bear superbly in this gripping and haunting first book. It is a sure winner." -Thomas L. Friedman

"Read this book, not only because it is well-written and thoroughly enjoyable, but because Laura's is a message that needs to be spread." -The Harvard Crimson

"Well-written, with a sharp and lively style." - Jerusalem Post

HBO is making a movie out of Revenge. It will be directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King), produced by Wendy Finerman (Forrest Gump), and written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Tony Kushner (Angels in America).

Laura has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, Prime Time Live, Charlie Rose, Oprah, NewsNight with Aaron Brown, and The O'Reilly Factor, among others. She has been interviewed extensively on NPR, the BBC and other radio shows. Her story has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines from The New Yorker to Jewish Week to People magazine.

Laura is currently on the national staff of the Washington Post, where she is covering presidential politics and homeland security, among other subjects.

Laura Blumenfeld holds a master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and has been a staff writer at The Washington Post since 1992. She has also written for The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and The Los Angles Times. She has reported extensively from the Middle East, including Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Israel and the west bank, and speaks Arabic and Hebrew.

In her speech "Revenge: A Story of Hope," Laura Blumenfeld gives audiences a personal, and intellectual tour of dark urges often denied about the personal passions behind public events, and about the thin line between love and hate.

Laura Blumenfeld resides in Washington D.C. with her husband and two children.
Link to Laura Blumenfeld's book: Revenge

U.S. Support for Global Solutions to Global Problems on June 9 - 11

College students, & high-school seniors and juniors--
We invite you to enter a contest to participate in a
national conference in Washington D.C.

THE CONFERENCE WILL BE GREAT -- ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE HAVE THE DATES FINALIZED: JUNE 9 - 11, 2004

"GETTING U.S. SUPPORT FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL PROBLEMS"
FINAL DATE CHANGE: June 9 - 11
at the Capitol Hill Club & the Capitol Hill Suites Hotel
______________________________________________________________________________________

ATTEND PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS ON:

IMPLEMENTING THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
HOW TO MAKE THE U.N. MORE EFFECTIVE
ENERGIZING GLOBAL ACTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
ADDRESSING ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION & ITS EFFECTS __________________________________________________________________________

Citizens for Global Solutions of Greater St. Louis will provide transportation, registration, meals, & lodging at the Capitol Hill Suites Hotel for a college student or a high-school junior or senior to attend this national Global Solutions convention.
The conference begins at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, so you should be able to leave St. Louis that afternoon. It ends before noon Friday, June 11, so you should be back by that night. Getting to & from the St. Louis airport is your responsibility.
If you want to be a contestant for this subsidized trip, write a 3-5 page typed essay (double-spaced) consisting of two parts. In the first part tell us about your background and why you would be a good person for us to send to this meeting. In the second part share with us your thinking about the problems our world community faces and how we might deal with them more effectively.
____________________________________________________________________

In exchange for this subsidy CfGS of St. Louis expects you to give us a brief written report about the conference & what you learned from it. (This helps us raise money for next time.)

Send your essay to:
Ronald J. Glossop, 8894 Berkay Avenue, Jennings, MO 63136-5004
or by e-mail to:
Be sure to include your home address and telephone number.

For more information, call (314) 869-2303.

Deadline: May 5, 2004. Winner will be notified by May 7, 2004.

Human Rights Conference for Teachers
We just received the following note from Katherine Cochrane, Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for International Affairs at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Please excuse the fact that we don't have all the attachments present and that only the link at the bottom works, but this could be a wonderful opportunity for high school and middle school teachers who are interested in human rights issues.

Dear Arthur,
It was good to speak with you again, today. I have taken great pleasure in reading about the terrific things you and Gloria are doing. You came to mind when Joel asked for suggestions for an informal gathering of teachers with the speaker for our annual lecture, Human Rights in Global Perspective. Metzl would be available before the dinner (6-7 pm) that precedes his talk on Tuesday, February 24, 7 pm, at the Millennium Student Center on our campus.

Here are two good links for Metzyl info, and I attach the flyer for his talk. Let me know if you'd like us to host an informal gathering. After you know more about him, we can fashion the agenda/focus of the discussion.

Look forward to hearing from you,
Kathy

http://www.cfr.org/bio.php?id=1786 - Council on Foreign Relations web page

Georgetown faculty web pages:
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/curriculum/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&Detail=1439 - bio

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/curriculum/tab_courses.cfm?Status=Course&Detail=704 - syllabus

Katherine Cochrane
Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for International Affairs

Center for International Studies * University of Missouri-St. Louis

8001 Natural Bridge Rd. * SSB Bldg. * St. Louis, MO 63121-4499

Tel 314-516-5801 * FAX 3134-516-6757 * [email protected]
Information on Human Rights Conference

Which "Special" Day is Most Important to You?

It's been a while since we have had a somewhat frivolous question, so here's the one for today. Which of the following holidays or events in most important to you?

a) Homecoming

b) Columbus Day

c) Dr. Martin Luther King Day

d) Valentine's Day

e) Presidents' Day

f) Prom

g) None of the above.
Link to Survey Which "Special" Day is Most Important to You?
Link to Poll on Civitas Intranet Site

Previous Survey Results (New)

Last week's question was:

President George W. Bush is expected to appoint a committee to investigate what went wrong with information that the president, Defense Department, and State Department received regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction prior to invading Iraq.

Our question is: "Should the investigation be limited to what the "intelligence community" (C.I.A., etc.) "did wrong" or should it also include what the White House, Defense Department, and State Department did with the information?"

Responses:

1. Only what the Intelligence Community did. 0% (0)

2. What the White House, Defense Department, and State Department did with the information. 80% (12)

3. Not Sure. 20% (3)

4. Neither. 0% (0)

Total: 15
Crystal Williams; Maplewood Richmond-Heights, 2004

It is my understanding that Vice President Dick Cheney was the main reason our President listened to this WMD mumbo jumbo. Cheney was so certain that Iraq and Sadaam Hussein was a threat and that he was going to bomb us. Cheney's intelligence was seemingly hyped and he seemed to make it of utmost importance for the White House to take care of. The government turned bits and pieces of information (intelligence) that slightly supported WMD in Iraq to further their cause. Hans Blix found nothing. He resigned from his position, but our President (and Vice President) still pressed on. The lack of evidence is stacking up against the White House. Our government really doesn't have the answers. Some trusted people and intelligence misled our President and he doesn't want to say that he messed up. Our President made a case for going into Iraq a long time ago. One unspoken reason: Sadaam Hussein tried to kill his father. Maybe this is revenge. Maybe our President believes this is justice for all. Only he knows.

Raquel Rodriguez; Home School, 2007

Ok I personally don't want Bush investigating anything. lol I think we should have France a neutral party come in and investigate. I mean that way we don't have any cover-ups or embellishing. ok but seriously, why waste the time, energy, and money? Just learn from your mistakes and be more careful and thorough next time. Also I think you forgot to both down as an option.

Bobbi Clemons; Home School, Office Monkey

Although it's hard to say who started passing bad information it doesn't change the fact that the Bush administration heard only what they wanted to hear. How do you penalize someone for being narrow minded and stupid? If you did that practically everyone in Washington politics would be brought before court. And why stop there? Next thing you know people like me would have the authority to do pre-emptive strikes on the (name/s deleted) of the world. Wait a sec... That might be a good idea.

Additional Links

More information about Civitas
Photo Gallery
Streaming Video [Real Media]
Web Calendar
Agendas
Civitas Intranets Site
Civitas Home Page
Previous Newsletters
Maps & Directions
Middle East Conference Index Page
High School General Assembly Assignments for 2003-2004
High School Security Council Assignments for 2003-2004
Civitas Participant Handbook
Resolutions (High School U.N.) for 2003-2004
Checklist for Writing a Model U.N. Resolution
Sample Resolution