Peaceboat Cruise

I know that Peace is elusive these dark days. We don't seem capable of settling for some Pax Americana at this point in time. Now is the time to ruffle, rattle, and roll. With the recent ostensibly nuclear test in subterranean North Korea and the war rumblings in the skies high above the Persian homeland, this earth isn't so pacified today. Beyond the conflicts that embroil the United States, a number of other fronts are beckoning international attention: Darfur, Georgia, and Kashmir. Despite this constant chatter from the warmongers about new opportunities to assert imperial dominance, find new markets for weapons, seize control over hydrocarbon deposits deep underground, and creat so-called security for our affiliates abroad, there are those people on this green earth who still truly believe in the possibility of peace.

Peaceboat is making its way back to Japan via Maui. I recently boarded this ship in search of the peace nectar. The peace festivities are coordinated by a Japanase NGO, which organizes programs for the predominantly Japanese passengers on a Panamanian-registered ship that is Greek-managed. Seafaring life is conducive to spreading the peace gospel. I came to this realization while experiencing the pacifying providence of the Peaceboat with someone of Serbian nationality. We all know that America did not engage Serbia so peacefully towards the end of Bill Clinton's reign. For an American to attend an evening of Peaceboat festivities with a Serbian ex-pat, he would need to make amends for the terror unleashed upon this disintegrated Balkan nation-state from warplanes sent by a President who also "tried to kill Osama."

The Peaceboat works with 8 Peace Centers throughout Japan to promote solidarity with other civil society organizations that work towards human rights, international cooperation, and the end of violent conflict as a means to resolve human difference. In this time of utter chaos throughout the world, Peaceboat strives to challenge media organs to provide an alternative context through which to promote this other world that is entirely possible to attain. Japanese hip-hop freestyles combined with some visual presenations of the Peaceboat's international excursions made for a night of encouraging discussion on how to create anew this world of hatred, desperation, and war. Jah bless, and may the Peaceboat sail majestically back to the shores of Nippon.