Monday, June 25, 2018

VFPeNews: Korea Unity Statement, Poor People's Campaign and Convention! Veterans For Peace

Veterans For Peace<vfp@veteransforpeace.org>
Via  vfp=veteransforpeace.org <vfp=veteransforpeace.org@mail.salsalabs.net>
To    
If you'd like to view this email in a Web browser, please click here.

Poor People's Campaign: #40DaysofAction

The week of June 10th is the fifth week of The Poor People’s Campaign. It’s theme is Everybody Has a Right to Live focusing on Education, Income & Housing.
Did you know that while the U.S. economy has grown 18-fold in the past 50 years, wealth inequality has expanded, the costs of living have increased, and social programs have been restructured and cut dramatically?
We challenge the idea that our economy rewards hard-working individuals and, therefore, if only the millions of people in poverty acted better, worked harder, complained less and prayed more, they would be lifted up and out of their miserable conditions.
An Alternative is Possible: Redistributing funds towards programs of social uplift can shift our society from a War Economy!
VFP Flyers for Poor People's Actions
Also are you planning on traveling to D.C. for the June 23rd mobilization?  We want to hear from you!  Please fill out this form.
ICYMI: Check out our Video of VFP Chapters participating across the country!

Korean Americans Call for Genuine Peace Ahead of Kim-Trump Summit

Ahead of the much-anticipated U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled to take place on June 12, Korean Americans are speaking out for an end to “seven decades of hostile relations” between the two countries and a “new era of peace.”
Joined by civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. and renowned social critic Noam Chomsky, 153 organizations across the United States and around the world released a joint statement today calling for a formal end to the Korean War and replacing the 1953 armistice with a permanent peace treaty to move towards establishing normal relations between the two countries.

VFP Banner at the PDX VA

VFP Board Member Dan Shea writes about his recent efforts to #SaveOurVA
"Bob Projansky of VFP 72 and yours truly decided to take our banner to Save the VA up to the Portland VA Hospital.
We first held the banner in the parking lot near entrance to Hospital but the auto fumes were getting to us.
We decide to try and commandeer tables in the VA lobby and hand out some flyers."

Last Chance for Convention Workshop Proposals!

One of the most important activities during the Veterans For Peace Annual Conventions are the workshops. Most of them are organized and led by Veteran For Peace members. We greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into creating your workshop.
Please remember that there is limited space for workshops and many applicants. As a result, not all workshops will be selected.
Workshops that follow the theme of the convention – Reclaim Armistice Day, 1918-2018: End All Wars, and or address these issues :
  • Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
  • Making Peace Possible
  • Decolonization: Expanding our understanding of militarism
  • U.S. Intervention Around the Globe will receive high preference but are not guaranteed acceptance.

Ann Wright & Medea Benjamin List Opportunities for Peace

VFP Advisory Board members Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright recently traveled to South Korea as part of an international women’s peace delegation, #WomenPeaceKorea. Upon they return they wrote this piece that details the many paths the U.S. could take to show its commitment to peace.

Resource Available!

A note from David Soumis!
"Lars Prip and myself still have the drone we obtained from Nick Mottern sometime way back. We are not using it now, and felt it would be great if another chapter or individual would like to have it to use in educational outreach, protests, etc.
Just have contact Lars or myself.
Thank you very much
David Soumis
McFarland WI
davidso1@charter.net, ljp816@gmail.com

¡Presente!: Jay Wenk

Veterans For Peace member, Jay Wenk, recently passed away.  Jay was an amazing person who left us with his truth, his activism and his message that War is a bloody and deadly business.  Read one of his recent poems, "I'm gonna tell you"
An article detailing his long life committed to justice was published in Woodstock's local paper, you can read it here.  Doug Rawlings also wrote a poem in honor of Jay that you can read here.
Also his family is hosting a "Celebrating The Life And Work of Jay Wenk (Potluck and Party)" and invites VFP members who knew him to attend.

Chapter 10 is Hosting a Peace Writers Contest

Veterans For Peace, Chapter 10and the Kateri Tekakwitha Interfaith Peace Conference are sponsoring a writing contest to help celebrate the 20th Kateri Tekakwitha Peace Conference.
The purpose of our contest is to encourage everyone to find their voice for peace and to end war and war preparations.  The imperative for this is the ‘fierce urgency of now”and the literal survival of humanity.  What we would like to see are letters (250 words or less) and op-eds  (500 to 700 words)  which illustrate the connections between poverty, racism, climate change and militarism.  We also encourage connections to the Poor People’s Campaign

Nashville Veterans For Peace Radio Hour

In this two part show we discuss the definition and characteristics of moral injury a mental challenge faced by many if not all Veterans to some extent. Then we remember Robert (Bobby) Kennedy through his own words from a speech he gave in 1966 when he was a Senator but long before he considered the presidency.
In This Issue:

VFP Convention: August 22-26th

Veterans For Peace is looking forward to seeing YOU at our 33rd Annual convention, August 22-26th in St. Paul, Minnesota.
If you need convincing, check out this great video!
Our registration is now open and we have a lot of other deadlines and information available on our website, but scroll down for direct links and more information!
Registration
Registration is Now Open for the 33rd Annual Convention.  
Housing
Veterans For Peace has a special group rate at the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront.  Click here for more details and for housing information.
Workshops
Deadline approaching for workshop proposals:  June 6.
Visit the workshop tab for more information
Awards
Nominate an individual for one of five awards offered by VFP National.  Visit the Awards tab for award descriptions.  Deadline to submit is June 30th
Have a chapter who is deserving of the VFP Chapter of the Year Award? Submit this form to nominate a deserving chapter.   Deadline to submit is June 30th
Tabling
Submit this form, if you're interested in tabling at the 2018 convention.  Deadline to submit is June 30th
​Poetry
Calling all poet laureate​s​!  Submit this form to read poetry the evening of Wednesday, August 22nd.  Deadline to submit is Ju​ly 5th
Program Ads
Place your ad in the program book. Click here to learn more about placing and ad in the 2018 convention program book.  ​Deadline for ad submissions is July 20th
Resolution and Bylaws
Resolution proposals are now being accepted.  Read the protocols for submitting a resolution here.  Deadline to submit is July 22nd.

All Current Members, this includes Associate Members, shall be entitled to speak to resolutions presented before the Annual Convention. All Current Members, this includes Associate Members , shall be entitled to one vote on resolutions.

Proposals can be emailed to the Resolutions Committee Chair, Bob Krzewinski, at wolverbob@gmail.com or mailed to 706 Dwight Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48198. Emailing resolutions is the preferred way of submitting resolutions. Resolutions submitted by mail must include a telephone number of the resolution maker.

We will start accepting bylaw amendments next week.  Deadline to submit is July 22nd

All Current Veteran Members are allowed to submit and vote on bylaw amendments.

Please also check out the Convention FAQ for other inquries!

Don't Forget to Sign Up for Advocacy Days!

Please plan to join in DC for Korea Peace Network Advocacy Days, June 11 - 12. Monday, June 11 will be an in-person strategy session and legislative briefing/training at the United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave, NE, across the street from the Capitol and Supreme Court. The next day(s) are for meetings with congressional and administrative officials to press for peace and diplomacy.

Here is the registration page (and please forward to other interested peace-mongers)

VFP Member Speaks Out Against Hate

For the past two months, a campaign orchestrated by national anti-immigrant hate group the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and its legal arm the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has mobilized a small but vocal group of activists hell-bent on pushing city council members in Orange County, and other parts of southern California, to take a stance against the state’s sanctuary policies. 
The law, already in place, called the California Values Act specifically addresses Law Enforcement’s role in engaging with ICE.
Veterans For Peace member, and also a member of Native American Veterans Association, testified that "my ancestors who were living on this continent for thousands of years had an immigration policy in place that none of it's current residents, the Puritan Anglo-Saxon invaders would be here".

The Peace Report: Israel in Alaska

"Israel will be testing their Arrow 3 weapons system from the island of Kodiak, just off the coast of Alaska. 62 shipping containers that have been renovated into sleeping quarters for the Israeli troops and have already been shipped to the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, where the missile tests will take place. Yet, we’ve heard nothing on mainstream media about foreign troops coming to train on American soil."

Full Disclosure Project Launches Ad Campaign

In the face of the attempted whitewashing of that war by the Pentagon, the Full Disclosure Campaign of Veterans For Peace is attempting to dissuade Hollywood from awarding the Burns/Novick an Emmy.  Veterans For Peace were not silent about speaking out about the Koch Brothers and Bank of America-funded
The Vietnam War documentary series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.  Now with Burns and Novick’s misleading and less-than-honest documentary coming up for an Emmy, once more we are compelled to speak out.
The Full Disclosure team is raising funds to put THIS FULL PAGE ad in Variety magazine. 
Digging Deeper – Kathy Kelly
"The most sophisticated and heavily armed warring party in Afghanistan is the U.S. military. Despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars on non-military aid to Afghanistan, the United States has done little to improve Afghanistan’s infrastructure or alleviate its alarming water crisis. President Donald Trump’s interest in what’s happening under the ground in Afghanistan is focused exclusively on the U.S. capacity to extract Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, estimated to be worth trillions of dollars.
Ordinary Afghans could be forgiven for feeling paralyzed and defeated by controlling elites who ignore their most basic human needs. Yet every day, Afghan communities reject continued war and call for peace."
Read the Entire Article
June 11-12 - Korea Peace Network Advocacy Days in Washington D.C.  Register Here
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 11 - Armistice Day

Veterans For Peace, 1404 N. Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102

Veterans For Peace appreciates your tax-exempt donations.
We also encourage you to join our ranks.


Footer
Posted by at No comments:

Seattle City Council Repeals Amazon Tax - Video of Kshama Sawant Speeches Socialist Alternative

Socialist Alternative<watson@socialistalternative.org>
Via  Socialist Alternative <watson=socialistalternative.org@mail251.suw161.rsgsv.net>
To  
Below you’ll find a collection of  articles which were recently originally published on SocialistAlternative.org. Please check SocialistAlternative.org regularly for the socialist analysis, strategy, and tactics needed to build movements to defeat the billionaire class.

Our pages build on the proven strategies that won two historic victories for Kshama Sawant in Seattle. Our editorial team brings the experience of leading the fight for $15 to its first major victory in the nation in Seattle in 2014 and then in Minneapolis last year.  Subscribe today to receive our print or electronic newspaper.

 
VIDEO: SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL REPEALS AMAZON TAX – WATCH KSHAMA SAWANT’S SPEECHES
On short notice, the corporate politicians on the Seattle City Council voted to repeal the Amazon Tax on big business that would fund affordable housing. Watch the speeches by Councilmember Kshama Sawant, a member of Socialist Alternative, as well as a brief video of the vote itself being protested.


DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA CHALLENGES QUEENS DEMOCRATIC PARTY BOSS
In New York’s Congressional District 14, which covers parts of Queens and the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is challenging Queens Democratic Party boss, and 19 year incumbent, Joe Crowley, in next month’s primaries.


VIDEO: SUBSCRIBE TO THE ONLY NEWSPAPER THAT HAS THE FIGHTING SOLUTIONS TO CHALLENGE TRUMP AND THE BILLIONAIRE CLASS!
Our editorial team brings the experience of leading the fight for $15 to its first major victory in the nation in Seattle in 2014 and then in Minneapolis last year. This year we played a leading role in building the movement to Tax Amazon and big business to fund permanently affordable, public housing in Seattle.


 IRELAND: ABORTION RIGHTS REFERENDUM – HOW “YES” WAS WON
Establishment politicians and the media are desperately trying to re-write the real history of the radical struggle that brought about this change because they fear that people will take confidence from it and realise they can organise powerful mass struggles on all the key issues and and against the whole capitalist system itself, which is founded on the principle of inequality.

REVIEW OF THE COLOR OF LAW
Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Lawexplains how housing became so highly racially segregated in America, and details the partnership between federal and local governments and the big developers in this process.
Posted by at No comments:

Shameful betrayal Socialist Alternative

Socialist Alternative<watson@socialistalternative.org>

Friends,

The 7-2 vote last week by the majority of the Seattle City Council to repeal the tax on some of the most profitable corporations in U.S. history is a blatant example of political servility to the power of corporations. This capitulation to the extortionary threats of Amazon and big business puts on full display the burning need for elected representatives that will stand up to the establishment and corporate domination.

Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative Seattle City Councilmember, is one of the few that has.

And for that, the establishment and right wing forces are looking to strike a blow against Sawant. Two Seattle police officers involved in the killing of a person of color and an exploitative landlord profiting off immigrants and people of color have filed two defamation lawsuit against Sawant (Haglund has recently withdrawn his suit, with threats to appeal).  This is clearly designed to silence and intimidate not only Kshama, but all movements of oppressed communities, people of color, and campaigns that demand justice and equality. The establishment has been furious at the growth of protest movements and are eager to publicly punish figures like Kshama in retaliation. 

Donate $15, $27, or $100 today to the Kshama Sawant Solidarity Campaign to help build a movement to fight these brazen attempts to silence dissent.

If successful, these lawsuits would send a chilling effect across our movement and could set a dangerous precedent. We are launching the Kshama Solidarity Campaign to defend and lift dissenting voices and make clear that we will not give into intimidation!



If you're in Seattle, you’re invited!
Join us for the launch of the Kshama Solidarity Campaign!
Saturday, June 23, 7PM to 10 PM
Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave 
Facebook Event Page
We are appealing to all community groups and individuals who believe we need a strong and unbowed movement against police intimidation, racism, exploitative landlords, and the whole political establishment to stand with Kshama. Join us for an evening of live music, food, and speakers to celebrate the launch of our campaign and to find out how you can get involved. We must decisively demonstrate that attempts to silence voices of dissent like Kshama's will be met with a powerful resistance!

Please donate $15, $27, $100 today to support the Kshama Sawant Solidarity Campaign! 






This email was sent to alfredjohnson34@comcast.net
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Socialist Alternative · PO Box 150457 · Brooklyn, NY 11215 · USA 
Posted by at No comments:

As We Slip Further Into A Cold Civil War-Cardinal O'Malley's Border Immigration Statement


June 13, 2018 - Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley Border Immigration Statement

"Immigration policy presents many challenges for any country. Developing sound immigration policy that respects the needs of a nation and those of the international community is a complex and challenging process. It always involves reconciling domestic priorities and  global  demands, strategy and tactics, objectives and means. At its core, immigration policy is about people, young and old, alone or in families, often fearful and abandoned. Immigration policy is a moral question that cannot be separated from decisions of what it is right and wrong, of justice and injustice. It is about respecting and reverencing the dignity of the human person.
In the year 2018, the moral challenge of immigration is mounting for the United States. On too many occasions our government has taken a posture and established policy which is in principle and in practice hostile to children and families who are fleeing violence, gangs, and poverty. The policies have included limiting the number of refugees and immigrants we are willing to welcome in our country, ending Temporary Protective Status for families who are here, and refusing to restore DACA  protection  for those who have been among us for all or most of their lives. In the face of today’s global immigration crisis these choices fail to communicate a willingness to address the reality of widespread human suffering, and in many cases imminent danger, with compassion and care.
The cumulative effect of these policy decisions has now reached a critical moral juncture: by the order of the U. S. government, individuals with children and families with children who are seeking asylum at the southern border of the United States now have their children separated from their parents. The intent of this policy is clear: to discourage those seeking asylum by severing the most sacred human bond of parent and child. Children are now being used as a deterrent against immigrants who are appealing to us for asylum in  order  to protect themselves and their families. As disturbing as this fact is, the narrative of this development makes clear the misguided moral logic of the policy.
These individuals and families are fleeing documented violence, chaos and murder in the neighborhoods of Central America. The United States is now openly before the world using children as pawns to enforce a hostile immigration policy. This strategy is morally unacceptable and denies the clear danger weighing upon those seeking our assistance.
As a Catholic bishop, I support political and legal authority. I have always taught respect for the civil law and will continue to do so. But, I cannot be silent when our country’s immigration policy destroys families, traumatizes parents, and terrorizes children. The harmful and unjust policy of separating children from their parents must be ended."  

H

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)