Why I'm going to the SOA Protest and Vigil

Annie Selak — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:47:39 -0600

Since 1990, people committed to peace and justice have gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia around November 16. Fort Benning houses the School of Americas, what is now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. SOA/WHINSEC has numerous ties to the training of soldiers in Latin America, soldiers who go on to terrorize our world and murder their fellow citizens.

What started out as a small group of committed citizens has expanded into a large group of committed citizens- about 17,000 in fact! For the past 3 years, I have joined this group in Georgia, lending my voice to saying “No” to this school and remembering those whose lives have been taken on account of this school. We gather around the anniversary of the deaths of the 6 Jesuits and 2 women who were brutally murdered in El Salvador on November 16, 1989.

Whole Foods, how I love you

Annie Selak — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:32:16 -0500

While interning at Pace e Bene, I developed a love for Whole Foods. You see, a brand new, gorgeous Whole Foods opened up across the street from our office in Oakland. Mainly, I loved it because of the samples. I was known to eat entire meals off of the free samples there (hey, I'm a poor grad student).

Now I have another reason to applaud Whole Foods. Recently they collaborated with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to become the first grocery store to agree to paying a penny more per pound of tomatoes. Check it out here or here.

CIW delivers petition- with surprises from BK execs

Annie Selak — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:41:21 -0500

Following up to my previous post about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Petition Campaign to Burget King---

On the day that the petition was delivered to Burger King headquarters, this article was released, tracing BK execs to working against the CIW.

Burger King gets farmworkers' petition

MIAMI — Farm worker advocates sought to present more than 80,000 signatures to Burger King officials Monday urging the fast-food giant to join McDonald’s Corp. and Taco Bell band help boost the wages of Florida tomato pickers.

The presentation of the petitions, collected from all 50 states and 43 countries, came the same day that a newspaper reported that a top Burger King official used his young daughter’s e-mail address to spread misinformation about the farm worker group.

Driving in Berkeley

Annie Selak — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:53:30 -0500

Driving in Berkeley

By Annie Selak

There is one thing that prevents me from absolutely loving being a resident of the City of Berkeley: driving.

Every time that I am in my car, I cannot believe the sites I see from my fellow drivers. Without a doubt, the worst drivers in the country reside in Berkeley. Yes, even worse that New York where the taxi drivers are notorious for being rude or Detroit where standard traffic laws (lanes, red lights, etc) don’t apply.

The reason drivers in Berkeley are so horrendous are three-fold:

Petition Campaign- End Slavery in the Fields

Annie Selak — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:30:59 -0500

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is near and dear to my heart.

They are launching a petition campaign against Burger King. Check it out by clicking here or going to http://ciw-online.org/2008_Petitions/index.html

The CIW is launching a national petition drive to demand that Burger King and other food industry leaders work with the CIW to improve the wages and working conditions of the workers who pick their tomatoes, and join with the CIW in an industry-wide effort to eliminate modern-day slavery and human rights abuses from Florida’s fields. The petitions will serve as notice that those who sign are “prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so.” The campaign comes on the 200th anniversary of the US ban against the importation of slaves, and echoes key strategies of the early abolitionist movement that helped hasten the end of slavery in the 19th century.

A Woman’s Issue?

Annie Selak — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:24:38 -0500

I was reading a blog this morning where the writer commented that he disagreed with the Catholic Church on “women’s rights- female priests and birth control.”

Perhaps the issues of female priests and birth control are a contentious issue because they are designated as women’s rights.

Aren’t these issues that effect us all?

If we continue to view the ordination of women strictly as a women’s issue, then ordination will never happen. Our only chance of ordaining women is in our realizing that this is not an issue that effects only women, but it effects all of us, regardless of gender.

Indonesia Photo Blog Part 2

Annie Selak — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:15:02 -0500

More pictures from the land of the Gods...

This is a picture of an interreligious dialogue in the parish of Sumber, on the the hills of Mount Merapi. We met with leaders of the local villages, mostly muslim. Locals shared how Christians and Muslims come together through a desire to save the environment.

On Mount Merapi, an active volcano, many outside companies are coming in and destroying the land. They take the fertile soil and sell it for high prices. This has long-lasting effects on the environment and the village economy, harming both.

Indonesia: A Photo Blog

Annie Selak — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 02:07:07 -0600

I spent the better part of January 2008 in Indonesia on an immersion experience with my school, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. We joined Indonesian Students at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta (on Java) to study Interreligious Dialog, specifically looking to dialog between Christians and Muslims.

It was quite the experience--- an experience that can hardly be explained in one installment of a blog. So, I bring to you the first edition: a photo blog.

Nothing tells about a culture like food! We were welcomed into a cultural center in Sumber on Mount Merapi with traditional Javanese food.

Outsiders and Protests

Annie Selak — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:46:58 -0600

As you might know, Berkeley has been a place of intense protest over the past few days. The sounds of helicopters could be heard from my apartment all day yesterday. Thousands of people congregated near city hall to show their support or disapproval of the city council’s message to Marine Recruiters, calling them "unwelcome intruders."

Given that this debate is so close to home for me (I walk by the Marine Recruiters office on the way to the gym, after all), I’ve been following this event in the media.

In one of the articles in the San Francisco Chronicle, they interviewed a man who flew in from out of state to support the Marines and challenge the Berkeley City Council to rescind their letter. Immediately I was agitated. Why was someone coming in from out of state regarding local politics?

Sloppiness and Scripture

Annie Selak — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:51:34 -0600

It’s good to get back to blogging. Sorry for my time away from blogging--- I know you all were longing to hear my thoughts on nonviolence. Unfortunately for you, fortunately for me, I was in Indonesia for 3 weeks in January with my school, the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. More blogs on that trip to come.

For now, I want to talk about the use of scripture, specifically the New Testament, in defending nonviolence.

On Monday I began spring semester, thus entering the realm on syllabus descriptions, obligatory introduction of classmates (My name is Annie, I’m an MDiv 2 at JSTB, I’m taking this course because I want to graduate and I need this class to pass comps). And of course, the introductory lectures on course material.