Dr. John Hagelin (Presidential Candidate of The Natural Law Party in '96 &2000)recommends this most cost-effective,humane and proven approach, from Robert Roth's book:"A Reason To Vote".Have a large (thousands) group of people practice a stress-reducing meditation technique which has shown to reduce deaths and injuries in war-torn areas, and reduce violent crime in tense urban areas;i.e.war deaths fell 80% during the Lebanon War with a large group of meditators in Jerusalem,(published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution,edited by Yale Univ.)In another study a group of 4000 meditators in Wash.,D.C. was the causal factor in a 24%drop in violent crime in D.C.in the summer of'93(in Social Indicators Research journal).These are just 2 of 43 such studies in over 25 yrs. John Davies,PhD,Research Dir.at the Center of Interntl.Developm.&Conflict Mgmt.(Univ. of Maryland)investigates ALTERNATIVES to MILITARY ENGAGEMENT.He states:"Of all the options, research shows that this approach is the most effective." Dr. Hagelin recommends establishing a"prevention-wing" within the military, training thousands of people at a fraction of the cost of even one B-2 Stealth Bomber. Even though it is unconventional, isn't it worth a try? I also believe in helping our leaders and journalists focus on "How to Win Friends and Influence People"(book by Dale Carnegie). By focusing our resources on humani- tarian needs here and everywhere around the globe,by edifying, valuing and respecting other people's religions and customs and helping them preserve them with sustainable and self-sustaining measures, we will once again become peace builders.We need people of wisdom and foresight like George C.Marshall, Martin L.King and a few others. Marlies Lersch

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