In Brief

Available online

Thirty-One Hours: The Grindstone Island Experiment (Theodore Olsen and Gordon Christiansen, eds., Canadian Friends Service Committee, 1966) can now be browsed or printed from http://civilresistance.info/grindstone.

At the heart of Thirty-One Hours is a verbatim record of an extended roleplaying exercise, in which “defenders” responded to an invading army. Their eventual failure, 31 hours into the exercise, forced the participants to rethink their understanding of nonviolent action and nonviolent resistance.

Peace managing editor Ken Simons converted the book — long out of print, but frequently cited in studies of social defence — to HTML, making its online publication possible. People studying peace and conflict will get much out of reading this famous study.

Off to War: Voices of Solders’ Children

By Deborah Ellis, Groundwood Books 2008, 176 pp. $12.95

Deb Ellis travels to many countries and records children’s views of our conflicts. This book interviews children whose parent(s) are in the military.

Cole, aged 6, from Forces Base Shilo, Manitoba
“I’m going to be a soldier when I grow up. They have guns and I like shooting bad guys … Afghanistan is on the other side of the world. They have guns there and tanks and even jeeps. Daddy’s job is the shoot the bad guys. Bad guys don’t have to stay bad guys. They could change and become good guys and then Daddy wouldn’t have to shoot them. If an Afghan boy came to visit me, we could play together with my blocks and guns.”

Ericka, aged 17, Fort Bragg, US, from Puerto Rico
“One day we’ll find a way to not have war. We’ll just talk to each other and say, ‘Let’s be friends, instead of foes.’ Kids do that all the time.”

Rachel, aged 13, Michigan
“After 9/11 the government said, ‘We’ve got to find Osama bin Laden.’ I don’t know what happened;, but suddenly it became ‘We’ve got to get Saddam Hussein.’ It’s very confusing for me, but I’ll keep trying to keep on top of it.”

Royalties from “Off to War” are being donated to the Children in Crisis Fund of the International Board of Books for Young People

Myths for Profit

Myths for Profit is a dramatic, exposé documentary which explores `Canada’s role in Industries of War and Peace’. Through diverse interviews and case studies this documentary unveils the specific interests and profits that are made by certain corporations, individuals and agencies within Canada.

The Canadian government and the military would like us to believe that we are altruistic peacekeepers helping people around the world. But is this accurate? Myths for Profit examines how these misconception are maintained and who stands to gain by perpetuating them. By understanding the systems of power in Canada we can move forward in challenging how they operate and collectively create change.

More details, including order information and dates for our cross-Canada spring tour, at http://www.wideopenexposure.com/M4P.php