July 22, 2003. The Scallion has been out and about and, thus, unable to report on this week's government and corporate hypocrisy and misdeeds. So, we of The Scallion refer our faithful readers to www.democracynow.org and www.alternet.org for a review of this week's issues and top stories. Meanwhile, in the interest of presenting something original, we offer our readers the following peace poem by Amy O'Brien ...

Dance, not war; bread, not bombs

Dance not war
Hugs not guns
Love not bloodshed
Song not hate

Peace not oil
Bread not bombs
Joy not money
Give not take

They tell us to fight for what we believe in
Yet they train us to fear to speak out
The lies that are driving this country
Polarize us and cast doubt

In the end, we are brothers and sisters
Sharing far more than what we do not
If we reach out and learn to love each other
We can overcome Big Money’s plot

Dance not war
Hugs not guns
Love not bloodshed
Song not hate

Peace not oil
Bread not bombs
Joy not money
Give not take

Today’s tangle of terror and destruction
Brought to you by a vast voting fraud
Raping poor to pad packets of the wealthy
Now, there’s something I cannot applaud

We must work to stop killing and injustice
Invasions fought for the wealthy by the poor
Take control back of our hijacked country
Love and pray for our rulers all the more

Dance not war
Hugs not guns
Love not bloodshed
Song not hate

Peace not oil
Bread not bombs
Joy not money
Give not take

Every size and shape, nation and religion
We’re alike in all the important ways
Seeing others is looking in a mirror
As we laugh, live, love, work, eat, and pray

Watch your step, o you wealthy robber barons
Karmic justice, inexorable and true,
Won’t forget the harm that you bring to others
And visit it swiftly back onto you

Dance not war
Hugs not guns
Love not bloodshed
Song not hate

Peace not oil
Bread not bombs
Joy not money
Give not take

We don’t need war
We need love, peace
Feed the hungry
Care for the poor

Laughter not fear
Sunshine and rain
Justice for all
Hope and not pain