VFP eNews: Spring Actions!
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Call Congress Now: Stop Fueling War in Yemen
Yemen is facing a massive humanitarian catastrophe and we need your help to stop it. American aid is crucial to the Saudi war effort, and removing our assistance would limit Saudi attacks and maybe even push them to the negotiating table.
Check out this great Fact Sheet from Indivisible
P.S. From About Face: Veterans Against the War: "Veterans are sharing videos statements telling congress #YemenCantWait”- please share and use to the hashtag to raise awareness and build public pressure."
Public Citizen Sues Defense Department for Withholding Public Information on Trump Military Parade Planning
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to release records regarding plans for a Trump military parade in Washington, D.C., or New York City, Public Citizen said in a lawsuit filed today.
“November 11 will be the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the horrific slaughter of World War I,” said Gerry Condon, president of Veterans For Peace. “Many veterans are very concerned about a public display of military might at this time. We deserve to know what is being planned.”
Learn more about the case here.
Veterans For Peace is actively organizing to stop this parade. Stay tuned for details as they develop!
Veterans For Peace Endorses March For Our Lives
Veterans For Peace has endorsed the March For Our Lives events across the country.
As veterans whose have been traumatized by the violence of war, we were shocked and saddened by
the recent mass murder of 17 young students in Palmdale, Florida. This horrible slaughter, carried out by a troubled young man with a military assault rifle, would be tragic enough if it were a freak occurrence. But sadly, this tragic event is part of a well-established pattern – an unchecked epidemic of mass killings in the U.S.
Check out the March For Our Lives website
Open Letter to Trump Advocating Continuing the Olympic Truce/Suspension of War Exercises
Washington, D.C. — March 8, 2017 — With this week's tremendous diplomatic breakthrough between North and South Korea, the Korea Peace Network, a grassroots coalition of peace activists, scholars and Korean-American leaders, sent an Open Letter on March 8 to President Donald Trump urging his support for peace and diplomacy. The letter was signed by representatives of 58 organizations, and by 143 other Korean-American, peace, faith and academic leaders.
Legislative Action from Korea Peace Campaign
These bills, H.R. 4837 and S. 2016, clarify that only Congress has the authority to authorize military action initiated by the United States and urge the Trump Administration to "avoid actions that could contribute to a breakdown in talks, and continue to search for confidence-building measures that are conducive to dialogue."
MAKING WAVES: The Rebirth of The Golden Rule
New Documentary Film - Making Waves: Rebirth of the Golden Rule is a hit!
Fill in your name and email address, you will get the link and password sent to your email. It’s 25 minutes and can be either viewed online or downloaded.
Our next big fundraising event will be March 25 at the Peace Resource Center in San Diego.
We have just been accepted to table at Gator By The Bay May 12-13! This hugely popular annual “Zydeco, Blues & Crawfish Festival” is attended by thousands of people. We’ll sail the Golden Rule around the bay during the fesival, too!
Plans are coming along for the June voyage to Hawaii - crew recruiting, boat preparation and
organizing are well underway.
Helen Jaccard gave a presentation to three 6-8 th grade classes and some of the students will go out
sailing May 2. San Diego Chapter Hosts the MyLai Memorial ExhibitFacebook Has Some Changes!
The San Diego Veterans for Peace recently hosted the My Lai Memorial Exhibit.
The My Lai Memorial Exhibit Programhonors the over two million Vietnamese civilians who died in what we call the “Vietnam War” but what will forever be known in Vietnam as the “American War”.
A unique part of this program is an interactive art exhibit that will be shown at three different locations in the county. It will allow you to observe, participate in, and reflect upon these events of war.
A Marine and his Honor - Megaciph | Poor Peoples Campaign
Veterans For Peace member, Miles Megaciph gave this speech on Monday Feb 19th at the KS state capital in Topeka, KS
"As a husband, and full time father of two young boys and as a member of Veterans For Peace, I charge our government to repair the torn moral fiber of this country. I believe reviving the Poor People's Campaign can help this nation fulfill its original promise and loftiest goals to be a land where all men and women, regardless of race, religion or creed can live freely and in the pursuit of happiness."
Order Your Newsletter Bundle Now
Order your Winter 2018 Newsletter Bundle! These are great tool for spreading the word and make a great addition to your VFP table when you're out at local farmers markets, community fairs, and other events.
This issue includes:
Facebook Has Some Changes!
Earlier this month, Facebook began introducing changes that will make it harder for you to see Veterans For Peace and all the great anti-war news we share!
On the bright side, it’s easy to get us back:
P.S. Make sure to take this action with every page you want to continue seeing news for!
May Day in Cuba
Join up to a million peace activists from all over the world for May Day in the Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana.
We will spend a week in Cuba, visiting historical sites, and interacting with the incredible Cuban people, including fellow veterans. However, you don't have to be a veteran to join us, I need to know of your interest, and how many will be in your party. Our trip is limited to about 15 people, so let me know as soon as possible and I'll send the itinerary and prices.
Don't hesitate to call or email: jimryerson@earthlink.net
323-504-5054
I invite you to contact any of the 60 VFP members and supporters who have traveled with me to the island and helped spread our message of peace.
Check out the travel website
New Flag Size Available! |
In This Issue:
Letter from New VFP President, Gerry Condon
Dear Sister and Brother VFPers,
At the late January meeting of the VFP Board of Directors, I was elected to be Board president for 2018. Barry Ladendorf had decided to step down after three years of outstanding service as VFP president. Barry remains very active on the Board, and is focusing his energies on organizing the International Veterans Peace Conference, to be held in New York, utilizing UN facilities and contacts, probably just after Veterans/Armistice Day.
I am most certainly humbled to serve you in this position, but after almost six years on the Board, I feel ready and well prepared to assume additional leadership responsibilities. As we sometimes hear from our politicians, I want to be president for all of our members. I really mean it. Hearing all your voices and opinions is important to the Board and me. Having as much input as possible from VFP members will ensure that we continue to pursue our mission to abolish war.
Spring 2018 Actions For Peace
Week of Actions to Continue Olympic Truce for Korea, April 15-22
Called for by the Korea Peace Network, a network VFP participates in. As the Winter Olympics come to an end: Extend the Olympic Truce indefinitely Continue talks between North and South Korea Do not resume joint military exercises Regional Spring Actions to End the Wars at Home and Abroad, April 14-15 (April 21 in Chicago)
Called for by Coalition Against Foreign U.S. Military Bases and UNAC and Endorsed by Veterans For Peace
End the Wars at Home and Abroad!
The time is now to return to the street to make our voices heard. Join us on April 14-15 for united, nationally coordinated regional mobilizations to challenge the war makers and defend humanity. The future is in our hands.
Global Days Against Military Spending, April 14 – May 3
Between April 14 and May 3rd, 2018, GDAMS will include as many actions as possible worldwide to ask for a redirection of military spending. GDAMS 2018 slogan will be:
Reducing 10% of military assets will help saving our planet. Take action!
We must move a significant part of the military budgets to human needs! For more information visit the GCOMS website.
Join the Armistice Day Call!
The next Armistice Day planning call will be on Monday, March 19th at 8pmEastern/7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific.
Please use the call-in and access code below:
Dial in: (712) 770-5228 Access Code: 377640
In order to build momentum to Armistice Day in November, we are encouraging chapters to plan events in the months leading up on the 11th of each month. If you have an event planned for next week please respond to this email and let us know!
National office staff Samantha Ferguson will be taking the lead for Armistice Day planning this year, she can be reached at samantha@veteransforpeace.org for support.
Viet Nam Tour is Underway!
U.S. members of Veterans For Peace have arrived in Viet Nam. Below is a short reflection from Board Member Dan Shea when visiting The Trường Sơn Martyrs' Cemetery:
"Unexpectedly a number of Military/Veterans were there to offer incense and prayers and they were surprised and delighted to see us.
Greeting us with warm handshakes and smiles. There was for me, deep feeling of sorrow, shame. Grief for these poor souls (martyrs defending their country and independence) that were slaugthered on the altar of war. Shame because my country in it's arrogance sent it's children to kill other people's children and I was apart of that."
Be sure to follow our Facebook, and VFP Chapter 160's twitter for more updates!
Climbers For Peace in Iran: Apply Now
Chapter 71 of VFP in Santa Rosa CA with the support of national Veterans for Peace is planning an exciting adventure in Citizen Diplomacy called Climbers for Peace in Iran(CFP-Iran).
We are going to Iran at the invitation of the Iranian Mountaineering Federation. We will join with Iranian climbers and jointly climb their sacred mountain, Damavand an 18,600 ft dormant volcano. It is not a technical mountain so no special climbing skills are required but it is high and the air will be thin and cold so you need to be in good shape. We leave June 30 and return July 15. The total cost is about $5,000 including airfare. We spend 7 days on the climb and 7 days seeing the "treasures of ancient Persia' and conducting people to people diplomacy with ordinary Iranians including veterans
We met with the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations at the UN in NYC and he is very supportive. In fact everyone on the Iranian side has been very supportive and I am very sure we will be granted visas despite the fact that officially Iran is not issuing visas to Americans in response to Trumps ban on Iranians coming to the US. Iran is making exceptions on a case by case basis. The US Olympic Wrestling Team went to a tournament and 28 Americans ran in their International Marathon last year
Contact Fred Ptucha, Founder of Climbers for Peace for more information: at 707 539 6849 or fptucha@sonic.net
Back to Top Support Zahid!
Disabled veteran Zahid Chaudhry's next immigration hearing has been pushed out to March 12, 2018, at 1pm.
Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry is a member of Veterans For Peace and a long time community volunteer and peace & justice advocate. He has been unjustly threatened with removal from the U.S.
Community members from Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle are gathering in support! If you are in the greater Seattle area, supporters will gather outside the court building together with Mr. Chaudhry and family from noon to 12:45 and will then sit in solidarity during the court proceedings. More details
If you are not in the area, and still wish to show your support, please visit the endorsement tabs on www.keepzahidhome.org and www.justice4chaudhry.info, and write letters of support & email them to keepzahidhome@gmail.com
Previous “final” hearing/s ended up not being final: this one is expected to REALLY be the last one. The judge indicated (in November) he was ready to make his decision contingent on outcome of background checks. The government attorney had said (November 7th 2017) that he didn’t have the background check results yet; he expected them “imminently” – just waiting for the phone call. However, when pressed by the judge, said he expected the results for sure by that Friday (11/10/2017). The judge said he wasn’t going to make Chaudhrys, community at large and so many supporters come back a second time in the same week!
The background checks were not completed until about the second week of January 2018!
We Want to Know What Social Media You All Are On!
We know that often social media is how many people reach out to you all so we want to make sure we are tagging you often from the VFP National Page and directing folks to your pages.
It's ok if you have only one or two or none at all! (Remember a social media page is only useful if it can be updated! Having one well updated page is better than having three or four social media platforms with no engagement!)
If you are a member at large-it's great to fill this out too--there's a place to plug in your personal social media at the bottom!
March 4-21 - Veterans For Peace Vietnam Tour
April 3 - Advisory Board Member, John Dear New Book Talk and Signing (Milwaukee, WI)
April 14-15 - Regional Spring Actions to End the Wars at Home and Abroad,
April 14-May 3 - Global Days Against Military Spending
April 15-22 - Week of Actions to Continue Olympic Truce for Korea
May 14-16 - 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, United Nations, New York
June 22-24 - Global Network Against Weapons in Space, Oxford, UK
June 24-July 1 - Action Week Against Air Base Ramstein, Germany
July 9-10 - NO to NATO Counter Summit, Brussels, Belgium
July 10-18 - International Action Camp Against Nuclear Weapons in Germany, Buchel, Germany
Aug 23-26 - 2018 VFP National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota
Sept 19-21 - 2nd Annual Conference in Havana, Cuba on "Realities and Challenges of Being a Zone of Peace in Latin America and the Caribbean"
Nov 27-29 - International Youth Conference: Reaching High for a Nuclear Weapon Free World, Prague, Czech Republic
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Veterans For Peace, 1404 N. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102
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We also encourage you to join our ranks.
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