Friday, June 17, 2016
Order your copy of Peace In Our Times Summer Edition
Here’s the front page of the upcoming summer issue. Twenty-four pages packed with great articles, poems and graphics. Bundles are mailed out via media mail so can take a week or more to arrive and sometimes, rarely, but it does happen, the post office loses a bundle or two. Then we have to send out a replacement bundle. The paper will go to print mid-July and be mailed out immediately. We want you to get the papers before the VFP convention in Berkeley so please do not order late!
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Peace in Our Times is for everyone!Back to Top
Veterans Talk Pathologies of Hate and Violence After Orlando Nightclub Tragedy
Author, Brian Trautman, is an Army veteran and VFP Board member. He teaches peace studies and economics at Berkshire Community College in western Massachusetts and resides near Albany, N.Y.
Veterans have a unique perspective on the various ways in which enmity and violence develops and destroy lives, as many of them were thrust into situations where it was inescapable and on full display. Veterans can speak with authority on how and why demonization and persecution of the “Other” can and does produce violence. Frequently, they are eager to share their insights with anyone willing to listen and learn. The aftermath of the Pulse massacre has proven to be one such time when veterans are speaking out.
As an organization dedicated to abolishing war as well as ending violence in all its forms in order to help build a more just and peaceful future, VFP believed it had a responsibility to release a statement on the mass shooting in Orlando. IVAW also released a statement about the attack on Pulse that touched on many of the same points that were conveyed in the VFP statement.
Brian's Full Article Back to Top
VFP Members In Russia This Week
Advisory Board Members Ray McGovern, Kathy Kelly, Lifetime members Col Ann Wright and William H. Warrick III, and VFP members, David and Jan Hartsough have joined the Center for Citizens Initiative (CCI) delegation to Russia. The group's goal is to increase understanding and reduce international tension and conflict.
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Virginia Druhe, VFP National Office Manager is Retiring
Dear Friends at VFP,June 30 will be my last day at VFP. I have enjoyed my 8 years at VFP and am glad to have met so many of you. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to retire from paid work. As we all know, there is plenty of unpaid work to be done in the world! There are several projects I am eager to work with in my neighborhood, an urban farm in my backyard, some family members who will need extra support in the coming months. But I am not going far and will be keeping in touch. Thank you for your kindnesses over the years and for you work for peace. I hope our paths cross again soon! Sincerely, Virginia
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Presente - Larry Egbert
Veteran Member
Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter 105 in Baltimore MD A memorial will be scheduled soon Back to Top
Presente - Richard Payne
Veteran Member
Don Connors Chapter 061 in St. Louis, MO
Obituary
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Professor Seeking Vietnam Vets Who Encountered Zinn's Work
Professor Carl Mirra, former Marine and 1991 Gulf War resister, is currently writing about Howard Zinn, highlighting his life and work as best understood within this GI/veteran protest tradition. He seeks Vietnam vets who encountered Zinn's work while in uniform and found him a source of inspiration or felt a special affinity for him given his WWII experience. He would like to interview anyone who is willing to do so either by phone, email or in person.
His approach captures Joseph Miller's article on Zinn.
Contact information for Professor Mirra:
Carl Mirra Associate Professor of Social Studies Adelphi University Harvey Hall 130 Garden City, NY 11530 phone - 516-877-4137 fax - 516-877-4097 email - MIRRA@adelphi.edu
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VFP License Plate Frames Available From Chapter 162 in Oakland, CA
12 7/16” x 6 5/16” durable, white plastic frame with black lettering and logo. To order: Make checks payable to VFP Chapter 162 and send to: Cathe Norman 7986 Driftwood Way Pleasanton, CA 94588 Price - $10
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Travel Opportunities for Activists
Location Sponsored by Dates Contact 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:
Order your copy of Peace In Our Times Summer Edition
Veterans Talk Pathologies of Hate and Violence After Orlando Nightclub Tragedy
VFP Members In Russia This Week
Virginia Druhe, VFP National Office Manager is Retiring
Presente - Larry Egbert
Presente - Richard Payne
Professor Seeking Vietnam Vets Who Encountered Zinn's Work
License Plate Frames Available - Sold by Chapter 162 in Oakland, CA
Travel Opportunities for Activists
2016 Convention Update
We Want to Hear From You!
Volunteers Needed
Poetry Reading Signup - Deadline extended
- Convention and Dorm Registration
Submit Resolution and Bylaw Proposal
VFP Statement of Purpose Available in Other Languages
Save the Dates: Upcoming VFP Endorsed Actions/Events
2016 Convention Update
It is the intent of Veterans For Peace to be inclusive and to create an environment that does not discriminate based on race, national origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability.
In an effort to be more inclusive and welcoming to all members of Veterans For Peace, I am asking members to let me know if there is a community caucus or meeting space you would like to have for the convention. Right now we are making space for a women’s and Post-Cold War caucus. If others spaces are needed such as People of Color, LGBTQ or Hispanic meeting rooms, please let me know you would like to have that space and we will it. Individuals members, please feel free to reach out and let me know you would like to have this space.
314-725-6005 mcphearson@veteransforpeace.org
Theme:
Peace At Home, Peace Abroad A Just and Sustainable Future for the World’s Children
The 2016 convention hosting chapter is VFP San Francisco Chapter 69. The dates for the convention are Thursday, August 11 thru Monday, August 15 @ University California - Clark Kerr campus in Berkeley CA. Please note the change from our past program. This convention will not be Wednesday thru Sunday.
Volunteers
Volunteers are needed. Please send an email to the Volunteer Coordinator, Mike Wong via email samstonetoday@gmail.com
Registration
Convention and dorm registration are now open. Click the button below to register online, or download the registration form and/or dorm room registration form and send snail mail to:
Veterans For Peace Attn: Registration 1404 North Broadway Saint Louis, MO 63102
Poetry Reading - Deadline extended until June 30
Sign up today to have your name added to read poetry @ the 2016 VFP National Convention. Poetry Readings are scheduled for Thu, Aug 11 immediately after the President's Reception. Bios are limited to 150 words
Resolutions/Bylaw Proposals
Resolution and Bylaw proposals are currently being accepted. Visit the convention website for submission protocols
Deadline for submitting your resolution/bylaw proposal is July 11, 2016.
Purchase your Ad for Program Book
Ad prices are the same as previous years. Please review the ad guidelines. Deadline for submitting an ad is Friday, July 8, 2016. Ads should be submitted in black and white.
Tabling
Tabling may be limited, so be sure to purchase your table early. The campus will provide 6 ft tables.
Nominate VFP Members for Awards
Submit your nominations for a deserving VFP member for a Lifetime Achievement, Service & Stewardship or Leadership in Peace Award. Deadline July 11, 2016
Confirmed Speakers
- Ann Jones - Keynote Banquet Speaker
- Oliver Stone - Friday night public event
- Andrew Bacevich
- Helen Caldicott
- Rhodessa Jones - Friday night MC
- Antonia Juhasz
- Roy Scranton
Proposed Convention Program
- Wed, Aug 10 - Wednesday Night Board Reception
- Thu, Aug 11 - Presidents Reception/Poetry Reading
Visit the program tab of the convention website for additional information.
- Fri, Aug 12 - Opening Plenary, Workshop Presentations, Public Evening Event
- Sat, Aug 13 - Business Meeting, Banquet
- Sun, Aug 14 - Workshop Presentations
- Mon, Aug 15 - Closing
Workshops
Workshop selections, mini-plenaries and plenaries will be posted on the convention website soon.
VFP Statement of Purpose Available in Other Languages
VFP's statement of purpose is available from the national office in Chinese, French, German and Spanish. Please submit this form if you would like to receive a translated copy.
Save the Dates: Upcoming Events
Jul 9 - Peacestock 2016 in Hobgoblin Barn, MN
Jul 27 - Korean War Armistice Day
Aug 11-15, 2016 - VFP Annual Convention at Clark Kerr campus of University of California Berkeley, CA
Aug 27 - Remembering the Kellogg Briand Pact
Sep 21—International Day of Peace
Oct 7-10 - First SOAW bi-national convergence at the U.S./Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona
Nov 11 - Armistice Day in your city
Oct 11-26 - 2016 Maine Peace Walk - Stop the War$ on Mother Earth in various cities in Maine
Nov 11 - Armistice Day in your city
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.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Veterans For Peace Weekly-E-Letter
Feeding a Monster: The Unholy Alliance Between the Military-Industrial-Complex and Animal Agribusiness
Feeding a Monster: The Unholy Alliance Between the Military-Industrial-Complex and Animal Agribusiness
Stop the War$ on Mother Earth!
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." - Henry David Thoreau
Animal agribusiness is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases such as methane. Not only is animal agribusiness causing deforestation, water pollution (helping to kill coral reefs), ocean depletion of biodiversity (fish caught to be ground up and fed to livestock) but it is water/land use intensive.
Big animal fishing/agribusiness and the military-industrial-violence-c
These two toxic unsustainable industries of death and violence are killing off biodiversity and polluting the entire planet.
We must starve this monster hybrid of profit and domination.
To understand the destruction, I suggest these short videos on animal fishing/agribusiness:
Links to facts, here:
It's very important that we understand and inform others of the intersectionality or linkage between the animal fishing/agribusiness and military-industrial-complex connections, as well as, their combined consequences on animals and the planet; the agenda or goal being to raise awareness, reduce suffering and build coalitions between different peace and justice movements. Together, we will have more leverage and power against this level of unsustainable malevolence.
An important aspect in understanding about this 'unholy alliance' or connection is to see that it is rooted in the culture of accepted violence, immoral human behavior and otherizing.
Both the military and animal agribusiness have conditioned and indoctrinated people into accepting subjugation, harm and the killing of other sentient beings not for subsistence, but for control, domination and profit.
It stems from human entitlement or essentialism, also called speciesism.
This then is the beginning of selective compassion and immoral cognitive dissonance, resulting in a young human mind experiencing their first moral injury. Speciesism within human culture informs developing minds that it is acceptable to subjugate, torture, harm and kill certain animals but not others. Thus begins the otherizing of nonhuman animals and their use as a resource to be bred, raised, killed, controlled or kept as property. This later manifests as racism, sexism and all forms of negative discrimination between humans, leading to hatred, violence and war.
The military-industrial-violence-c
And with that, the cycle of direct or indirect/complicity in harm and violence is continued causing internal moral conflict resulting in terrible psychic wounds for people, as well as, military veterans suffering with PTSD and moral injury. (Approx. 22 US military veteran suicides each day).
Moral consistency and ethical coherence in all that we do and support will begin to change the patterns of speciesism, patriarchal colonialzation and human violent destructive behavior.
It will help to heal the psychic wounds of veterans, our collective human conscience and the planet.
Let us learn to be peaceful, to teach peace and reject all forms of violence so that the Monster of the Military-Industrial-Violence-C
Informative resources provided, below:
Videos on moral injury:
Jonathan Shay established the term, Moral Injury:
Shay, J. (2014). Moral injury. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 31, 182–191. doi:10.1037/a0036090 Sherman
Pentagon's Massive Carbon Foot(boot)print... And, not factored are GHGs from Carbon to Methane released from the whole of the infrastructure of animal agribusiness to get animal flesh/secretion 'food' to the warfighters:
USDA partnership with DOD to mitigate climate change (cough!):
"In the most recent marketing year (2014 – 2015), about 59 percent of total U.S. soybean production was exported to international markets – that’s a total of more than 2.3 billion bushels with an astounding value of more than $24 billion.
The Department of Defense annually purchases about:
194 million pounds of beef (estimated cost $212.2 million)
164 million pounds of pork ($98.5 million)
1500,000 pounds of lamb ($4.3 million)
Monsanto Connections - Military/Ag History:
U.S. Government's War on Animals and the planet:
Senator: Meatless Mondays have no place in military:
Department of Defense - DOD meat / meal procurement acquisitions and relationships with agribusiness:
How the US army shapes the way we eat:
MREs:
USDA program for veterans - Agribusiness Development Teams:
Military Animal Research and Testing:
Definitions:
Speciesism:
Anthropocentrism:
Social Conditioning:
Moral Injury:
"Like psychological trauma, moral injury is a construct that describes extreme and unprecedented life experience including the harmful aftermath of exposure to such events. Events are considered morally injurious if they "transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations" (1). Thus, the key precondition for moral injury is an act of transgression, which shatters moral and ethical expectations that are rooted in religious or spiritual beliefs, or culture-based, organizational, and group-based rules about fairness, the value of life, and so forth."
"Moral injury is the damage done to one’s conscience or moral compass
How to have an immediate impact and take direct action against the violent 'Monster' of the Military-Industrial-Complex-An
A View From The Left-http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/36603-why-the-sanders-revolution-must-take-on-the-permanent-war-state
Why the Sanders "Revolution" Must Take on the Permanent War State
By Gareth Porter, Truthout | Op-Ed
The People's Summit in Chicago June 17-19 dramatically displayed both the strengths and the vulnerabilities of what has emerged in 2016 as one of the most potentially powerful movements for fundamental change in the United States in many decades. The event, which brought together 3,000 committed movement activists to rally in support of the "political revolution" given impetus by Bernie Sanders' campaign, was an opportunity to ensure that the movement will not dissipate in the wake of Hillary Clinton's clinching the Democratic nomination.
The leaders of the movement sought to use the summit to reconcile conflicting activist views on the relationship between movement organizations and electoral politics. The summit may have succeeded in keeping the coalition of those who privilege electoral politics and those who see it as a distraction from their local struggles from splitting up. But despite the political sophistication and pragmatism of the organizers, the gathering failed to deal seriously with the problem of the "permanent war state" -- the central power bloc in the US government that looms menacingly over everything the movement hopes to accomplish.
The permanent war state is the 800-pound gorilla in US society and political life. As the old joke goes, the answer to the question, "Where does an 800-pound gorilla eat?" is, "Anywhere he likes." As long as the organs of "national security" continue to retain the extraordinary power to appropriate budgetary resources and to involve the United States in foreign conflicts without real accountability, US politics will be grotesquely distorted to the profound disadvantage of the movement for fundamental change. The Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Agency will continue to control most of the $1.1 trillion federal discretionary spending budget, crowding out programs that would benefit people. And beyond wielding that obvious financial power, by maintaining the premise that the United States must continue to make war indefinitely, they will also wield an ideological weapon that helps the economic elite maintain the status quo.
But that fundamental obstacle to change was not even mentioned by any of the speakers who introduced the main themes of the conference on the first night. On the second day, US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) strongly denounced moves by powerful interests for a new war for regime change in Syria, but she did not address the underlying system of institutional interests and power that keeps the United States at permanent war. There was one breakout session entitled "Healthcare Not Warfare," which highlighted what people already know -- that spending for war and preparation for war robs the people of resources needed to build a more prosperous and equitable society. But it was evidently an afterthought for conference organizers, and did not interest many of the attendees, drawing perhaps 30 people.
The permanent war state is the 800-pound gorilla in US society and political life.
The Sanders campaign never explicitly raised the issue of the permanent war state during the primary election contest, either. He did present a sharp contrast to Hillary Clinton when they debated foreign policy, effectively demolishing her position urging a more militarily aggressive policy in Syria. He called for a policy that "destroys ISIS" but "does not get us involved in perpetual warfare in the quagmire of the Middle East."But he never talked about ending the unprecedented power that national security institutions have seized over the resources and security of the American people.
It is not difficult to see why Sanders did not take on that larger issue. The power of the military-industrial-congressio
The permanent war state also appears to be outside the political comfort zone of National Nurses United, the single most influential organization in planning and funding the People's Summit. As a senior official of National Nurses United explained, the organization is able to talk about corporate control of the health care system because nurses constantly see the consequences in their own work, but most have no such personal experiences enabling them to talk about the war system.
But despite these understandable reasons for taking a pass on the issue, the leadership of the movement inspired by the Sanders campaign is making a big mistake by failing to take on the problem of the permanent war state. The popular organizations represented in Chicago understand this, but they have hesitated to go up against the most powerful combination bureaucratic interests the world has ever known, in part because they have not had any clear idea about how those interests could be defeated. What has been not been tried, however, is a strategy that attacks the war system where it is most vulnerable -- the fact that the war system bureaucrats have systematically pursued their own personal and institutional interests at the expense of the American people.
The publicly available records of US intervention and war, especially since the beginning of the Cold War, reveal an endless succession of policies and programs that were utterly useless and provoked reactions from states and from non-state actors that threatened the safety of the American people. But the policy makers preferred those policies, because they gave them and their organizations more power, more budgetary resources, more people under their command, more new technology, more foreign bases and perquisites, and more lucrative jobs and contracts when they leave the government for private companies.
All the services were looking for a boost in military appropriations when they pushed Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to intervene militarily in Vietnam. The US Air Force sold its "shock and awe" strategy for regime change in Iraq to then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in order to capture a larger share of the military budget. The CIA got control over a major new mission when it convinced President George W. Bush to launch a drone war in Pakistan.
But the American people suffered the direct and indirect consequences of these wars in each case.
The fundamental conflict between the national interest and the personal and bureaucratic interests of the policy makers of the permanent war state explains why the system has continued to produce uniformly disastrous policies decade after decade.
So the strategy of the movement that the Sanders campaign has mobilized must include a broadly concerted campaign that explains to young people, disaffected working-class people and others how the permanent war state produces winners and losers. The winners are the national security organs themselves, as well as those who make careers and fortunes from the permanent state of war. The losers are those who must suffer the socioeconomic and other consequences of such reckless policies. Such a campaign should aim at nothing less than taking away the flow of money and the legal authority that the permanent war state has seized on the pretext of "threats" that are largely of its own making.
Even though the permanent war state seems to be at the peak of its power, like all essentially hollow institutions, it has a serious political vulnerability. Millions of Americans know that the wars the war-state agencies have wrought over the past half century -- from the Vietnam War to the war in Afghanistan -- were worse than useless. So the legitimacy of the permanent war state is extremely tenuous. A determined campaign to challenge that legitimacy, carried out with sufficient resources over a few years with the participation of a broad coalition, could shake it to its roots. Such a campaign must be included in the work to open up new political spaces and propel the movement for change.
~ Gareth Porter is an independent investigative journalist and historian writing on US national security policy. His latest book, Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, was published in February of 2014. Follow him on Twitter: @GarethPorter.
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502http://www.space4peace.org http://space4peace.blogspot.com (blog)
Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. - Henry David Thoreau
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502http://www.space4peace.org http://space4peace.blogspot.com (blog)
Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. - Henry David Thoreau
International Day of Solidarity with Oaxaca Teachers
International Day of Solidarity with Oaxaca Teachers
International Day of Solidarity with Oaxaca Teachers
When: Wednesday, June 29, 2016, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Where: Mexican Consulate • 55 Franklin Street • Boston
Educators for A Democratic Union (EDU), the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Alianza Americas (formerly NALACC), and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice invite you to join in a day of action to support the Oaxaca’s teachers union, National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE). They are having a planteo, or occupation of the zocolo (main square) in Mexico City on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. The CNTE’s primary demand is to stop the repression, end the Corporate Reform and hold people accountable for the deaths and jailing of teachers. They’ve asked for teachers unions in particular, but other unions to be in solidarity with their struggle and to send them pictures and live streaming video of their solidarity actions to seccionmexicana.coali@gmail.com. They will be projected on a big screen at their Mexico City rally Wednesday night.See highlights of last Saturday’s demonstration at http://afgj.org/urgent-call-for-solidarity-with-oaxacas-teachers-unionUpcoming Events:
Protest Israeli Shutting Off Water in Parts of Palestine Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 12:00pm Massachusetts State House Boston Killer Drones: film and talk by whistleblower Christopher Aarons Tuesday, July 19, 2016 - 7:00pm Robbins Library Arlington 
Newsletter:
- attachment.dat (2 Byte)
A View From The Left-Beyond Bernie: Continue the political revolution! Forum Series with Jill Stein and Kshama Sawant
Beyond Bernie: Continue the political revolution! Forum Series with Jill Stein and Kshama Sawant
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