Veterans For Peace Weekly E-Letter -No U.S.Troops To Syria!

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	Friday, November 25, 2015 At Thanksgiving, Veterans Call for Return to Nation's Founding Values Fourteen years after the fall of the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan, Paris, a city beloved by the world, has been dealt deadly blows by fanatical terrorists. It is the worst attack on Paris since World War II. Amid the clamor for revenge, and despite the clear failure of the United States’ so-called war on terror that sparked the destabilization of the Middle East and the rise of ISIL, French President François Hollande has promised a “ruthless” campaign against ISIL, in other words, a war that will be cruel, uncompromising and merciless.  <Full Statement> Download VFP's Suggested Solutions to Confont ISIL which do not include U.S. military action. Soldier's Heart, Warrior's Soul: Remembering Jacob George The Jacob George Memorial Album Project has completed three albums in memory of him.  The project needs to raise $11,500 or sell 250 albums before Dec 4th. The albums would make a great tabling item. If interested in hosting an album release party in your area, contact Amanda Spitfire at cha0ticlove24@gmail.com To make a donation or learn more about this project, click here. Back to Top SOAW Report Back by Patrick McCann VFP members march at SOAW Vigil It was an awesome weekend in Columbus, GA for its 25th anniversary march. The march to Lumpkin was so diverse, with many young people, who provided so much energy, with chants like "El pueblo unidos, jamas seras vencidos". 50+ people attended the VFP meeting on Saturday night at the Columbia Convention and Trade Center. Our annual march to kick off Sunday activities began with 50, but grew to 150 as we approached Ft. Benning. <More> Photos courtesy of VFP member, Becky Luening Photos from SOAW staff Additional coverage of the vigil can be found on the SOAW website. Related Articles: SOA Watch annual protest leaving Columbus Back to Top Memorial for Nomad Member, Michael Clift Memorial Service:   Saturday, Dec 12th Stephen Michael Clift 29,July 1967 to 30, October 2015 1;00 PM to 4:00 PM. Veterans Museum and Memorial Center San Diego CA. 92101 Please join us in celebration of Mike's Life. Back to Top Travel Opportunities for Activists See Cuba before America invades again, this time with bankers and realtors!  Cuba is selling out of hotel rooms, and if you want to see it in the next two years, you need to act now. As this article points out, even some of those in the travel business can’t get rooms. Only 1 room remains to travel to Cuba in January 2016 with VFP.  Our tours are led by VFP member and Cuban documentary film maker Jim Ryerson, who has been to the island more than 25 times.  If you are interested, please contact Jim. Like the other 2 trips, this one will sell out. jim@travelingman.net 323-436-5223 Here is the itinerary   http://cubaexplorer.com/tours/jrjan/ (Click on Book Now to see prices) Location Sponsored by Dates Contact Cuba Code Pink Feb 2016 Visit the Code Pink website Việt Nam Việt Nam's  Hoa Binh (Peace) Chapter 160 Mar 14- 30, 2016 For more information, please email Nadya Williams Cuba Code Pink May 2016 Visit the Code Pink website Palestine Interfaith Peacebuilders May 21 - Jun 1 2016 For more information email esiegel@ifpb.org Columbia Witness for Peace Jul 20-30, 2016 For more information email or call:  Patrick Bonner:  323-563-7940  pkbonner@earthlink.net Palestine Interfaith Peacebuilders Jul 16- 29 2016 For more information email esiegel@ifpb.org Palestine Interfaith Peacebuilders Oct   24-Nov     6 2016 For more information email esiegel@ifpb.org Back to Top		In This Issue: At Thanksgiving, Veterans Call for Return to Nation's Founding Values Soldier's Heart, Warrior's Soul:  Remembering Jacob George SOAW Report Back by Patrick McCann Memorial for Nomad Member, Michael Clift Travel Opportunities for Activists SOAW Moving to the Border in 2016 ! Message to President Obama from Former Drone Pilots VFP 2016 Annual Spring Tour to Viet Nam Member/Chapter Highlights Upcoming VFP Endorsed Actions/Events SOAW Moving to the Border in 2016 ! Click image to watch video In the video above, SOA Watch Field Organizer María Luisa Rosal and SOA Watch Founder Father Roy Bourgeois make the announcement about SOA Watch's move to the border in the Fall of 2016. The leading candidate venues for the 2016 SOAW convergence are El Paso and Nogales. Back to Top Message to President Obama from Former Drone Pilots Click image to view Democracy Now Video This message is part of a letter sent to President Obama. We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country’s leaders lying  publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies  like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home.  Such silence would violate the very oaths we took to support and defend the Constitution. We request that you consider our perspective, though perhaps that request is in vain given the  unprecedented prosecution of truth­tellers who came before us like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange,  and Edward Snowden. For the sake of this country, we hope it is otherwise. Related Article: Drone war objectors speak out Back to Top VFP 2016 Annual Spring Tour to Viet Nam Dates of travel:  Mar 14 - Mar 30, 2016 Each year since 2012, members of Việt Nam's Hoa Binh (Peace) Chapter 160 of Veterans For Peace invite up to 20 veterans, non-veterans, spouses & peace activists to come to Việt Nam for an insider's 2-week tour. The Hoa Binh chapter is the first & only overseas VFP chapter of American veterans living in Việt Nam! The mission of the tour is to address the legacies of America’s war, as well as visit a beautiful country & form lasting ties of friendship & peace.  For more information, email Nadya Williams @ nadyanomad@gmail.com Back to Top Member/Chapter Highlights Chapter 104 in  Evansville, Indiana  awards $1000 to University of Evansville student <photos> Back to Top Upcoming VFP Endorsed Actions/Events Nov 26 - Thanksgiving Day Dec 1 - Giving Tuesday Dec 16 - Book Reading: We Gotta Get Out of This Place in Madison WI Dec 24 - Anniversary of Christmas Truce Jan 18, 2016 - MLK Day Mar 27- April 2, 2016 - Shut Down Creech AFB Apr 15 - GDAMS (Global Day Against Military Spending) Apr 22 - Earth Day May 14-21, 2016 - Sam's 5th Annual Ride for Peace May 30 — Memorial Day (Observed) Aug 11-15, 2016 - VFP Annual Convention at Clark Kerr campus of UC Berkeley, CA Sep 21—International Day of Peace Nov 11 - Armistice Day Back to Top Did you know?  In 2003, Asheville Chapter 99 raised $20,000 to help provide kitchen equipment, washing machines and other essential items to two orphanages in Laghman and Jalalabad.
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A View From The Left- From Socialist Alternative -For Bernie Sanders

No Support To Democratic Party Candidate Bernie Sanders! (And None To Hillary Either In Case Your Wondering) Built A Workers Party Now!  A Frank Jackman disclaimer: I place some material in this space which I believe may be of interest to the radical public that I do not necessarily agree with or support. One of the worst aspects of the old New Left back in the 1970s as many turned to Marxism after about fifty other theories did not work out was the freezing out political debate with other opponents on the Left to try to clarify the pressing issues of the day. Those jackboot theories, mainly centered on some student-based movements that were somehow to bring down the beast without a struggle for state power, were theories that I earnestly adhered to sometimes more than one at the same time. Nevertheless by our exclusionism we were replicating the worst habits of the old Old Left (those who came of political age and fought the great class battles of the 1930s when kept their generation above water for a long time but which now despite the importance of studying have run out of steam). That freezing out , more times than I care to mention including my own behavior a few times, included physical exclusion and intimidation. I have since come to believe that the fight around programs and politics is what makes us different, and more interesting. The mix of ideas, personalities and programs, will sort themselves out in the furnace of the revolution as they have done in the past.  Off-hand, as I have mentioned before, I think it would be easier, infinitely easier, to fight for the socialist revolution straight up than some of the “remedies” provided by the commentators in these various blogs and other networking media. But part of that struggle for the socialist revolution is to sort out the “real” stuff from the fluff as we struggle for that more just world that animates our efforts. So read on.

Help us send field organizers to Minneapolis and Chicago to help build the Black Lives Matter movement.  If everyone who opens this email donates $15 we could pay for 2 flights for organizers- donate $15 now! LET'S BUILD THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION AGAINST THE BILLIONAIRE CLASS! "The world is changing. People across the US are fed up with corporate politics, and millions are discussing socialist ideas. We need to seize this opportunity and organize a socialist movement of thousands of activists throughout the country.Join me in building Socialist Alternative today, and together let's fight for a socialist future." - Socialist Alternative's Seattle city Councilmember Kshama Sawant From the Black Lives Matter movement to the growing call for $15, there's a revolt breaking out against Wall Street and the endemic inequality and racism generated by its system. Bernie Sanders is introducing a whole new generation of young people to the ideas of socialism and the need to build movements against corporate hegemony. Socialist Alternative, by leading the re-election campaign of Kshama Sawant and the fight for $15, has begun to build the political movement to take on the billionaire class. In 2016, Socialist Alternative is supporting Bernie Sanders' challenge to pro-corporate, anti-$15, pro-war Hillary Clinton. We'll be initiating or joining protests and actions to strengthen his challenge to corporate domination of politics. In 2016, we're continuing the battle for a $15 across the country, campaigning against sexism, homophobia, environmental devastation, rising tuition, student debt and skyrocketing rents. We're fighting against all the injustices of capitalism and for a socialist future. Your contribution goes directly toward hiring organizers to build the socialist movement to challenge corporate power. The average contribution from a supporter like you affords nearly two extra hours of work from an organizer who can mobilize about ten volunteers. Can we count on you?

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Defend The Democratic Right To Protest In Paris! Down With THe Ban!

Dear friends

 

Various French organisations have called for a demonstration against the ban on demonstrations in Paris, as part of the state of emergency imposed by the State.

 

We circulated their call and have sent the following message of support to the protestors.

 

Global Women’s Strike

Women of Colour in the Global Women’s Strike

Payday, men working with the Global Women’s Strike

 

En français ci-dessous                                                                          Message in support of the protest against the ban on demonstrations in Paris Thursday 26 November 2015   Dear friends,   We received your call for support for the right to demonstrate in Paris this Thursday. We are circulating an English translation to our networks in the UK and abroad. Your resistance is part of an international movement, of which we are also part, against the criminalisation of survival and protest.    Our organisations have just held an international women’s conference: Caring, Survival and Justice vs the Tyranny of the Market. Because women are the primary carers, we are often the driving force in movements for justice and human rights. Speakers from many countries highlighted the work women do to ensure everyone’s well-being, including justice work against rape, detention, austerity, destitution, ecological devastation, police violence, sexism and racism.   States in every country are using the tragedy of the Paris attacks (13 November) to stifle dissent, justify and intensify military intervention, and close the borders against the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and starvation. Every life counts but for Western governments some count more than others. The millions of women, children and men in Africa and the Middle East – from Congo to Palestine, Afghanistan to Iraq, Egypt to Syria – killed, disappeared, maimed and displaced by occupation, dictatorships, proxy-wars, and the arms trade that fuels them, remain mostly uncounted, their names and faces unpublished.   Surveillance and repression intensify, but little is done about the huge increase in racist attacks: 115 in the UK in the week after the Paris killings, up by 300%, mostly by white men attacking women and girls in Islamic dress. We don’t how many Muslim women and girls have been attacked by racists in France, especially given its ban of the veil in public places and of headscarves in schools – but attacks reported include an eight-month pregnant woman and a schoolgirl.   And while peaceful protest and the right of assembly have been banned, including in defence of the planet during the World Climate Summit being held in Paris, commercial activities have been allowed to carry on. The market prioritised, once again.   We are with you in demanding the right to demonstrate. We will be on the anti-war protest in London this Saturday. We will circulate your demands and your petition.   Wherever we are, we refuse to have our voices silenced and our movements for justice suppressed and hidden.         Invest in caring not killing.   Global Women's Strike Women of Colour in the Global Women's Strike Payday, men working with the Global Women's Strike    More information:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paris-attacks-british-muslims-face-300-spike-in-racial-attacks-in-week-following-terror-a6744376.html   https://paris-luttes.info/nouvelle-vague-raciste-et-4156?lang=fr   http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/terrorisme/attaques-du-13-novembre-a-paris/plusieurs-actes-islamophobes-recenses-en-france-depuis-les-attentats-de-paris_1179565.html

 

Message en soutien à l’action de protestation contre l'interdiction de manifester, Paris, jeudi 26 novembre 2015.   Chères amies et amis,   Nous avons reçu votre appel d'action pour la défense du droit de manifester qui se tiendra à Paris ce jeudi. Nous le faisons circuler en anglais dans nos réseaux au Royaume-Uni et à l'étranger. Votre résistance fait partie d'un mouvement international, dont nous faisons aussi partie, contre la pénalisation de la survie et de la contestation.     Nos organisations ont récemment organisé une conférence internationale de femmes : Bien-être, survie et justice contre la tyrannie du marché.  Parce que ce sont les femmes qui sont les principales pourvoyeuses de soins, nous sommes souvent la force motrice des mouvements pour la justice et les droits humains. Des oratrices de nombreux pays y ont décrit le travail que font les femmes pour assurer le bien-être de tout le monde, y compris le travail d'exiger justice contre le viol, la détention, l'austérité, la destitution, les dévastations écologiques, la violence de la police, le sexisme et le racisme.      Les États de tous les pays utilisent la tragédie des attaques à Paris (13 novembre) pour étouffer  la contestation, justifier et intensifier les interventions militaires et fermer les frontières aux centaines de milliers qui ont fuit la guerre et la famine. Chaque vie compte, mais pour les gouvernements de l'Occident certaines comptent plus que d'autres. Les millions de femmes, d'enfants et d'hommes en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient (du Congo à la Palestine, de l'Afghanistan à l'Irak, de l'Égypte à la Syrie) qui ont été tués, kidnappés, blessés et déplacés par les occupations, les dictatures, les guerres par procuration et le commerce des armes qui les alimentent, demeurent largement ignorés, leurs noms et leurs visages non publiés.      La surveillance et la répression s'intensifie, mais on ne fait rien contre les attaques racistes qui n'ont cessé d'augmenté : 115 au Royaume-Uni durant la semaine qui a suivi les meurtres à Paris, une hausse de 300%, essentiellement des hommes blancs s'attaquant à des femmes et des jeunes filles portant des vêtements musulmans. Nous ne savons pas combien de femmes et de jeunes filles ont été attaquées par des racistes en France,  étant donné l'interdiction du voile dans les lieux publics et du foulard dans les écoles, mais les attaques qui ont été rendues publiques incluent une femme enceinte de huit mois et une écolière.    Et alors que les manifestations pacifiques et le droit de rassemblement sont interdits, y compris pour défendre la planète lors du Sommet sur les changements climatiques de Paris, les activités commerciales sont autorisées. Encore une fois, la priorité est le marché.      Avec vous, nous revendiquons le droit de manifester. Nous participerons à la manifestation contre la guerre ce samedi à Londres. Nous y ferons connaître vos revendications et votre appel.     Où que nous soyons, nous refusons que nos voix soient bâillonnées et que nos mouvements pour la justice sociale soit supprimés ou cachés.          Investissez dans le bien-être et pas la mort !   Grève mondiale des femmes Femmes de couleur dans la Grève mondiale de femmes Payday, hommes qui travaillent avec la Grève mondiale des femmes    Information:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paris-attacks-british-muslims-face-300-spike-in-racial-attacks-in-week-following-terror-a6744376.html   https://paris-luttes.info/nouvelle-vague-raciste-et-4156?lang=fr   http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/terrorisme/attaques-du-13-novembre-a-paris/plusieurs-actes-islamophobes-recenses-en-france-depuis-les-attentats-de-paris_1179565.html

 

 

 

 

Free Chelsea Manning Now! Free All The Class War Prisoner!

Happy Birthday CHELSEA MANNING! Free her now! Support all whistleblowers!
Thursday 17 December 2015 Actions planned so far in Bucharest, London, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco . . . (watch this space for more countries and more events).  If you organise an event, let us know and we’ll publicise it.  Please circulate this mailing to your contacts. Chelsea Manning will be 28 years old on this day.  Formerly known as Bradley, she is the whistleblower, US soldier, Grand Marshal at San Francisco Pride 2014, who leaked hundreds of thousands of documents to Wikileaks exposing the truth about US, UK and other governments’ war crimes and corruption in Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Israel & the Palestinian Authority  . . .  In doing so, she helped save many lives.  Chelsea was Imprisoned in 2010 and held for months under torturous conditions; in August 2013 she was sentenced to 35 years. From prison Chelsea has written against the police killings of young people of colour in the US and in support of immigrant people. An appeal to quash Chelsea Manning’s conviction is being put forward by her legal team and will be announced in late 2015 or early 2016.  We must get her out! Sign the petition for Obama to pardon Chelsea. Donations to her legal fund are needed also. As pressure increases to extend the bombing of Syria, former US air force members have blown the whistle on the killing of innocent civilians in drone air strikes. We have a responsibility to defend whistleblowers who, like Chelsea, are persecuted for telling the truth about murder and war crimes, rape, torture, neglect, underfunding, starvation wages, corruption . . .  in the military, prison, detention centres, police, hospitals, care homes, and every institution.
Support Whistleblowers	Julian Assange		Eileen Chubb			Edward Snowden
Dallas 6				Drones Whistleblowers
Queer Strike UK: +44 (0) 20 7482 2496  US: 001 415-626 4114		Payday   www.refusingtokill.net UK: +44 (0)20 7267 8698 US: 001 215 848 1120