Humanity's history is a bloody trail of casualties. Our memories are very short, and the only thing we seem to have learned from centuries of brutal conflicts is that if our transgressions are deemed necessary for the greater good, we can separate ourselves from the past without having to learn anything from it at. Better to talk about it and hope for understanding — which brings me to a panel discussion about the crisis in the Middle East and Africa. African People's Solidarity Committee organizer and Overturning the Culture of Violence author Penny Hess, Palestinian rights advocate Mohammed Chehab, and writer/uhururadio.com radio host Nyabinga Dzimbahwe try to make sense of things and offer insight gleaned from their varied experiences. Mon., Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m., Uhuru Solidarity Center, 541 16th St. N., St. Petersburg, free admission, 727-824-5685, apscuhuru.org.
This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2006.
