Films To Class Struggle By-"Incident At Ogala: The Leonard Peltier Story"- Leonard Peltier Must Not Die In Jail

Films To Class Struggle By-"Incident At Ogala: The Leonard Peltier Story"- Leonard Peltier Must Not Die In Jail

Recently I have begun to post entries under the headline- “Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By”-that will include progressive and labor-oriented songs that might be of general interest to the radical public. I have decided to do the same for some films that may perk that same interest under the title in this entry’s headline. In the future I expect to do the same for books under a similar heading.-Markin

DVD Review

Incident At Ogala: The Leonard Peltier Story, Leonard Peltier, various leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM), defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, witnesses and by-standers, directed by Michael Apted, 1991

Let’s start this review of this documentary of the incidents surrounding the case of Leonard Peltier at the end. Or at least the end of this documentary, 1991. Leonard Peltier, a well-known leader of the Native American movement, convicted of the 1975 murder, execution-style, of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota after he had been extradited from Canada in the wake of the acquittal of two other Pine Ridge residents. In an interview from federal prison in that period the then still relatively young Peltier related that after receiving his life sentences and being told by prison officials that that meant his release date would be in 2035 he stated that he hoped not, for he would then be an old, old man. Here is what should make everyone interested in the case, and everyone interested in the least sense of justice, even just bourgeois justice, blood boil, he is now an old sick man and he is still in jail for a crime that he did not commit, and certainly one that was not proven beyond that cherished “reasonable doubt”

This documentary, narrated by Robert Redford in his younger days as well, goes step by step through the case from the pre-murder period when Native Americans, catching the political consciousness crest begun in the 1960s by the black civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam war movement, started organizing, mainly through the American Indian Movement (AIM), on the Indian reservations of the West, some of the most impoverished areas in all the Americas. The focal point of this militant organizing effort came in the war zone-showdown, the siege at Wounded Knee in 1973. The tension that hovered in the air in the aftermath of that war between the American government and its Indian agent supporters on one side, and the AIM-led “warrior nation” on the other is the setting for this incident at Ogala.

Through reenactment of the crime scene; eye witnesses, interested and disinterested, voluntary or coerced; defense strategies at both trials from self-defense to lack of physical evidence, and on appeal; the prosecution's case, its insufficient evidence, and it various maneuvers to inflame white juries against unpopular or misunderstood Native Americans in order to get someone convicted for the murders of one of their own; the devastating, but expected effect of the trials on the political organizing by AIM; and the stalwart and defiant demeanor of one Leonard Peltier all come though in this presentation. As a long time supporter of organizations that defend class-war prisoners, like Leonard Peltier, this film only makes that commitment even firmer. With that in mind- Free Leonard Peltier-He Must Not Die In Jail!

It’s A Natural Born Thing- With Bluesman Taj Mahal In Mind-For Laura

It’s A Natural Born Thing- With Bluesman Taj Mahal In Mind-For Laura

From The Pen Of Bart Webber   

Sam Lowell and his long-time companion, Laura Perkins, had something of a standing question between them concerning seeing musical performers these days whom they had originally seen and admired in their younger days, those who were still alive if aging, and who were still putting on performances in public. The question: did, or did not, the performer have anything left from the old days or were they, the performers, and this was not an abstract question after seeing the painful decline of some artists which even kindness could not save, banking on nostalgic post-World War II baby-boomers now also having lost a step or two ignoring reality and give them a pass for old time sake. Worse losing all critical judgment and calling for encores. 

That particular question had had taken on more urgency as the years have gone by since the number of performers from back in the day, from back in the 1950s classic age of rock and roll where only a few like Jerry Lee and a very wobbly Chuck Berry are still standing, from the folk minute of the 1960s where stalwarts like Dylan, Baez Rush and Paxton still play but that list is getting shorter by the year, from the seemingly eternal blues filled days where Muddy/Howlin’ Wolf/Mississippi John/James Cotton/Koko Taylor/Etta James and almost all the old names known through flipping through the bins at Cheapo’s in Central Square, Cambridge have passed on, whose music had bailed Sam out of more than one funk. Yeah, many had hung up their instruments or had passed to the great beyond had been mounting with alarming frequency as Sam and Laura have reached old age themselves, oops, matured.

The passing from the scene, and that nagging question about who did or did not have it now, was no small thing to the music crazed pair so Sam and Laura had over the previous several years been attentive when any of the venues they frequented had booked old time rock, folk or blues performers (the latter like with the still active James Montgomery who still had it mostly those who had sat at the feet of the 1960s legends like Muddy Waters, Howling’ Wolf, James Cotten). Every time they did go to concert they would make the same comment, and would reflect as well on previous concerts to give a roll call of who or who did not make the cut. Sam insisted this analysis was no academic matter as recent concerts have attested to (although members of the academy, budding members itching to write that big definitive dissertation about the important message about teen angst and alienation in Jerry Lee’s High School Confidential, which lady friend Dylan wrote Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowland for, and the truth of whether the blues “ain’t nothing but a good woman on your mind” that knocked the known world on its head with insightful nuggets about such speculation are probably even as I write running through the possibilities).

Take, for example, what for Sam and Laura is the classic case of Bob Dylan and his seemingly endless tour (and now endless production of bootleg material placed in appropriately numbered CD containers, some very good, others which should have been left on the editing floor), the man, no matter what number of tours he feels he has to perform each year can no longer sing, no way. He gets a thumbs down on this question, no question, although only a fool would throw away their treasure trove of Dylania from the golden days from about 1960 to a little after 1970 since that is what will have to sustain us all in the slow nights ahead. Same thing was true several years ago about the late Etta James who had stolen the show at the Newport Folk Festival in the mid-1990s (from none other than the headliner Chuck Berry who was ancient even then) but who when last seen was something of an embarrassment. Another thumbs down. Going the other way recent concerts by a couple of members of the old Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur, at Club Passim in Cambridge (the former Club 47 of blessed folk minute memory where Sam fled to when times were tough at home in high school and he needed that spot to survive his teen-hood or when without dough the Hayes-Bickford in Harvard Square to keep him going) showed that they both had increased their knowledge and respect for the American songbook and that they still had it (a concert a few years ago, also in Cambridge, by another member of that jug band, Maria Muldaur, solo, and later when the three united for a 50^th anniversary of the band reunion showed she still had it as well). As did a concert a few years ago by the late Jesse Winchester.                 

Sam and Laura had jumped at the opportunity to see deep-voiced, kick ass bluesman Taj Mahal who was making one of his now less frequent stage appearances at the Rockport Music Hall up in that North Shore town by the Atlantic about forty miles from Boston, on the Sunday of the Patriot’s Day weekend (that Patriot’s Day, a Massachusetts state holiday of sorts, commemorating the time a bunch of determined American farmers and small tradesmen, many of whose forbears had been kicked out of Mother England under threat of the gallows, gave old John Bull all the hell he wanted out in Concord and Lexington). On the afternoon of the concert as they were riding up the highway Sam kept thinking to himself the eternal question of whether old Taj still had the old magic that he had shown over a decade before when they had last seen him in Somerville where he had brought the house down. He mentioned that concern to Laura who added, having been through all the concert wars of the last decade or so with Sam and had observed the fit and halt going about their business, she hoped he was not too frail to hold the instruments. Of course once they got on the subject of who did and who did not still have it they had to run through the litany as well as acts that they hoped to see before the performers faded from view. That “game” got them through the hour’s ride as they hit the long one lane road into Rockport and the concert hall.         

Sam had wondered since this concert had been scheduled as a late afternoon concert (something that both he and Laura were happy about since as they joked would not interrupt their normal bedtimes like most concerts, maybe not interrupt Taj’s sleep schedule either) whether the Shalin Liu Performance Center (the official name for the concert hall opened in an old converted and expanded storefront building in 2010) would have the ocean view windows in back of the stage open or closed. They had been to this venue a couple of times before so they knew that it was at the artist’s discretion whether that was done although with Sam’s personal maniacal love of the ocean he hoped that it would be open to give an appealing backdrop to the music inside (Laura, generally indifferent to the ocean’s allure being a farm-bred woman, had no opinion on the matter). As they entered the hall Sam noticed that the curtains were closed but since he and Laura had taken a short walk along a nearby beach before the show began he was not that bothered by the situation. (Later, as they were driving home, he laughed to himself that he was so transfixed by the performance that he hardly noticed the curtains were closed. Laughed too that old Taj had probably had the damn things closed because he intended some serious business not to be distracted by some silly ocean waves crashing tepidly to shore that day.)    

This Shalin Liu hall has many virtues beside the ocean view, small (about 300 seats), good views from all around, very good acoustics and lighting, and seats on the second floor that overlook the stage. For this concert Sam and Laura were seated in that overlook area and the first thing Sam noticed after sitting down was the bright shiny National Steel guitar, shades of old preacher/devil man Son House and his flailing away on Death Letter Blues and Bukka White, sweat pouring from every pore be-bopping away on Aberdeen, Mississippi Blues and Panama, Limited. He also noticed a slide guitar but did not remember that Taj played the slide as he racked his brain to try to remember any Taj songs he knew that included the slide. Noticed to that there was a banjo, piano, a couple of non-descript guitars, and a ukulele. Taj had come, armed and dangerous, a good sign.          

As the lights dimmed and the crowd hushed for the performance to start out came Taj, along with his drummer and lead guitarist, looking for all the world like the ghost of every bluesman than anybody could imagine coming out of Highway 61 in the Delta ready to make his bargain with the devil in order to be able to hit that high white note once in a while, anybody who took his or her blues seriously. A big burly man (looking back at photographs from old albums at home later on the Internet Sam noticed that Taj, like a lot of us, had moved from the slender side to more robust as he aged), soft felt hat like a lot of Chicago blues guys wore, indoors or out, a big old blue flowered shirt and dangling from one ear the now obligatory pierced earring. Sam closed his eyes thinking about guys that had that same look, no, the ghost of guys now, guys like Little Walter, Magic, Slim, James Cotten, Sunnyland Slim, Big Joe Williams, legends all and maybe Taj by his appearance was putting in his application to join the guys.    

And for the next almost two hours without the usual  intermission to disturb the flow of the music Taj made good on two things, yeah, as you probably already figured, the brother still had it, and, yes, he was making serious application to the pantheon, move over guys. Right out of the block came the National Steel and Sam whispered to Laura that this was going to be serious stuff as he covered Henry Thomas’ classic Fishing Blues, Good Morning Miss Brown, Corina, Going Up To The Country and Paint My Mailbox Blue, and John Henry. Later Taj worked on the piano, the uke, the non-descript guitars, and the banjo before coming back to the encore with the National Steel on his signature Lovin’ In My Baby’s Arms. The treat for Sam though was when Taj strapped that big old slide guitar on and covered the legendary slide guitar man Elmore James’s Television Mama. Whoa!

But the songs were just filler really once it was clear from the very first song that Taj was on fire that late afternoon, once he knew that they were going to take the ticket, and take ride. It was more the mood that Taj put Sam in, put him into that swaying, foot-tapping, finger-snapping feeling when he and the music mesh and the outside world for that duration fades. The mood too that hit Laura as he would watch her, a very prim lady most of the time, swaying dreamily with the beat, tapping the bannister in front of her, tapping those feet just like him. Oh, very heaven.

Later as they walked down the stairs after the performance was over the both automatically stated the obvious in their understated way-“yeah, old Taj still has it.” Case closed. Oh well, almost closed because as they were driving back to Boston Sam mentioned that that concert was one of the top ten they had ever seen. Laura agreed.              

It Does Not Mean A Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing-With Swing-Master Benny Goodman In Mind

It Does Not Mean A Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing-With Swing-Master Benny Goodman In Mind

By Zack James

“Jesus, now that you mentioned Mr. Lawrence, our seventh grade music teacher, I am starting to remember some other stuff about the guy, about what a creep he was trying to break us from our unbreakable bond with rock and roll,” Seth Garth said to Jack Callahan as they both hoisted their third, or was it fourth, double scotch with water chaser, an old habit for both of them since the chaser made the drink last longer in the old days when they were short of dough and were sipping their drinks to stretch out the evening. The gist of what Seth had told Jack was in response to Jack’s remembering the very first time that they had heard Woody Guthrie and what song they had learned first. That gist of talk was based on Seth, an old time folk music critic, mainly for The Eye out on the West Coast having recently seen in a folk magazine the announcement that the Smithsonian /Folkway operation was finally putting out a treasure trove in four CDs of some Woody Guthrie songs recorded by Moses Asch during World War II. Seth for the life of him could not remember what song he had heard and when of Guthrie’s and so he had called upon Jack to meet him at their favorite watering hole the Erie Grille in Riverdale where they both were now residing (and after varying absences had grown up in the town). Jack had answered that it had been in Mr. Lawrence’s seventh grade music class and the song had been the alternative national anthem-This Land Is Your Land. 

The method to Mr. Lawrence’s madness, to ween the kids off of rock and roll, had gone beyond trying to foist silly folk music off on them since that was an exotic plant at the time and shortly before the big break-out folk minute of the early 1960sbut to drown them in any other kind of music he could think to distract, or attempt to distract them with, especially during lunch when they played their transistor radios and drove him crazy with their rock and roll. [As a younger teaching staff member, hire Seth found out later because he was younger and perhaps could “relate” to the kids and their weird music more than the old fogies who were hanging around waiting for their pension or the principal who had no “cred” on the subject of rock and roll at all, he drew the onerous lunch room duty task reflecting his junior status.] A few times, if you could believe this he tried to get them interested in jazz, in swing music, what each and every one of them considered the music that their parents listened to and which had driven them to the transistors in the first place.

Seth recalled that in his own household his mother, the usually complaint and complacent Delores, refused, utterly refused to have her housewifely duties disturbed by maddening rock and roll on the kitchen radio which she faithfully turned to WJDA which played Frank Sinatra, The Inkspots, Peggy Lee, the McGuire Sisters, the Andrews Sisters and all the rest which went wafting through the house and on more than one occasion drove him from the pre-transistor house. Of course the living room family radio which provided the Saturday night rest entertainment was totally off-limits to rock and roll, to  the devil’s music, that term her exact expression which she had grabbed from Mr. Fleck, the Pentecostal minister where they worshipped.        

Worse, worse of all Mr. Lawrence had tried to get his charges interested in the music of Benny Goodman, the so-called “king of swing.” That was all Seth needed to hear as he blurted out in front of the class “My mother and father dance to that pokey stuff on Saturday nights and they are barely moving when they dance. I am not going to listen to that here.” Needless to say Seth stayed after school a number of afternoons for his transgression. But he felt vindicated in what he had uttered and took the punishment like a soldier.

Still it did no good as Mr. Lawrence played something called Blue Skies which was his parents’ “their song.” Something else by a guy named Cole Porter that Benny Goodman made famous. It got no better when Mr. Lawrence played stuff with Peggy Lee because to his mother’s chagrin his father had a “crush” on old Peggy and Seth had admit to Jack that in those day he secretly thought she was kind of sexy looking at that.  

But that was then. A few nights after Seth and Jack were cutting up old touches, after drinking themselves to melancholia, Seth went to the library and picked up an old Benny Goodman CD with plenty of American Songbook stuff on it. Guess what old Seth, old rock and roll devotee Seth with an overhang of folk, blues, and a little mountain music started to pop his fingers to the beat, started laughing to himself that he now knew what they meant when they said “it don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing.” And they were right. Just ask Benny,       

WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

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WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

WILL STRIKING TEACHERS SPARK A LABOR REVOLUTION?

First came a statewide teachers' strike in West Virginia. When the teachers union leadership negotiated a weak compromise (which was tabled by the GOP-held state Senate anyway), the rank-and-file rebelled and started a wildcat (that is, not approved by leadership) strike that is still going. The strike has forced the closure of public schools in the state's 55 counties, leaving more than 275,000 students without classes to attend. Next, Oklahoma teachers, very clearly inspired by their West Virginia comrades, announced their ownstatewide strike on Monday. We may be at the beginning of a very important national labor push. It's time we all paid attention.   More

“RUSSIAGATE” REVISITED

One of the most bizarre aspects of Russiagate is the magical transformation of intelligence agency heads into paragons of truth-telling – a trick performed not by reactionary apologists for domestic spying, as one would expect, but by people who consider themselves liberals. There is something genuinely absurd about a former director of the FBI – which along with the CIA and NSA has long been one of the gravest threats to democracy in America – solemnly warning of the threat to democracy posed by Russian meddling in the election…  By focusing on the manufactured menace of Russiagate, the Democratic Party leadership can continue to ignore its own failures as well as the actual menace posed by Trump. And by fostering the fantasy of a vast Russian plot against America, the mainstream media can shut down reasonable foreign policy debate and promote a dangerous, unnecessary confrontation with a rival power.    More

Home-Grown Reactionaries, Not Russians, are Greatest Threat to Our Elections

The foes of voting rights never gave up. They never stopped trying to turn back the clock. Now, their unrelenting campaign against voting rights is bearing fruit. In response, we need a new movement to protect and extend the right to vote. Strategic litigation is needed to counter the right’s legal maneuvers.  Legislators should replace the new restrictions on voting with legislation that makes voting easier, not harder: Automatic and same day voter registration, extended periods for early voting, longer hours for polling booths to stay open for working people, an end to political gerrymandering, an end to felony disenfranchisement, curbs on big money in politics and more. We once more need reform to revive our democracy. That won’t happen without a modern day people’s movement as courageous and as relentless as that in Selma nearly half a century ago.    More

Pentagon's new problem after years of crying poverty: Spending all the cash

Congress is still finalizing 2018 appropriations levels for the Pentagon, a delay that has generals and admirals worried about spending all the promised cash in the five months remaining before the end of the fiscal year.  "We have a year's worth of money … and five months to spend it," Gen. Glenn Walters, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said at a Senate Armed Services Committee budget hearing.

Critics say that giving the military more money than it can absorb invites waste and abuse, noting that the Pentagon has a long history of overpayments, cost overruns and fiscal shenanigans. "They cried wolf and now they have more than they can possibly put to use," said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information, a policy organization critical of Pentagon budget practices. "I think it's dangerous because you are going to see a use-it-or-lose-it kind of spending."    More

Income Inequality in the U.S. Is Even Worse Than You've Been Led to Believe

The more the ultra-rich prosper, the less they're burdened with taxes, the greater the benefits for society as a whole. If you're familiar with Republican economic theory of the past 40 years, you've probably heard this line of reasoning. In fact, just the opposite is true.

Take it from the world's third richest man, Warren Buffett, who recently noted that between 1982 and 2017, "the wealth of the 400 [richest people in America] increased 29-fold—from $93 billion to $2.7 trillion—while many millions of hardworking citizens remained stuck on an economic treadmill. During this period, the tsunami of wealth didn’t trickle down. It surged upward.”  The reality is the United States is now home to some of the worst income inequality in the developed world, and thanks to the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this wealth gap will grow exponentially wider.    More

The Real Reason the Investor Class Hates Pensions

Advocates of pension “reform” — which really means cutting or eliminating traditional pension funds — will tell you that such funds are a big drain on state and local budgets, since, as defined-benefit programs, they are obligated to pay workers a defined amount in their retirement. But that’s largely a question of political priorities; underfunded pensions are the result of, well, decades of underfunding pensions. The real reason for the attack on pensions goes deeper, and exposes the great and growing rift between America’s economic elite and everyone else…  If the Kochs and their allies succeed in smashing and scattering these last remaining pension funds into millions of 401(k)s, they will do more than just undermine the retirement security of millions of Americans. They will silence their economic voice. The pension reform drive should be understood, at least in part, as a campaign of economic voter suppression. And it is coming, soon, to a jurisdiction near you, if it isn’t there already.   More

17 Democrats Send This Clear Message: "I Work for My Bank Donors, Not My Constituents'

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and sixteen Democrats joined with 50 Republicans in the U.S. Senate to advance a bill that critics say is just another handout for Wall Street banks—one that also sets the stage for the next major financial meltdown.  "This bill wouldn't be on the path to becoming law without the support of these Democrats." —Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)With a vote of 67-32, including the 17 Democrats who voted yes, a "motion to proceed" received enough support to send the 'Bank Lobbyist Act'—technically the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, or S. 2155—to the floor for debate, possible amendments, and then a final vote later this week or next.    More

OH CANADA!

Hundreds of Canadian doctors demand lower salaries

In a move that can only be described as utterly Canadian, hundreds of doctors in Quebec are protesting their pay raises, saying they already make too much money.  As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 700 physicians, residents and medical students from the Canadian province had signed an online petition asking for their pay raises to be canceled. A group named Médecins Québécois Pour le Régime (MQRP), which represents Quebec doctors and advocates for public health, started the petition Feb. 25.  “We, Quebec doctors who believe in a strong public system, oppose the recent salary increases negotiated by our medical federations,” the petition reads in French. The physicians group said it could not in good conscience accept pay raises when working conditions remained difficult for others in their profession — including nurses and clerks — and while patients “live with the lack of access to required services because of drastic cuts in recent years.”    More

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NEW WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong

JOIN THE RALLY FOR PEACE IN KOREA

Thursday, March 15  4:30 - 5:30

South Station, Boston

Support the momentum for Peace in Korea! Continue the Olympic Truce in Kore;a Take War off the Table; Cancel U.S. military exercises in Korea.  The Olympic Truce (called by the U.N. to last from Feb. 2 to March 25) opened up the opportunity for future discussions that could eventually lead to peace. We must give this small opening toward peace the opportunity to grow and to prevent a catastrophic war   Say YES to the ongoing efforts by South and North Korea to restore a peace process. Say NO to war with North Korea

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A STEP TOWARD PEACE?

South Korea Announces Trump Will Meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

The White House says President Trump has accepted an invitation to meet directly with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong spoke with reporters Thursday night outside the White House after briefing officials on the recent talks between Seoul and Pyongyang, and said the meeting would take place within two months. No sitting U.S. president has ever met with a North Korean leader; Kim Jong-un has never met another sitting head of state.    More

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END AMERICA’S WAR IN YEMEN

Of all the facets of our cherished democracy that have begun to erode, few erosions are more horrifying than Congress’ abdication of its duty to debate and vote on whether or not we go to war. Of all the people that have suffered the consequences of this erosion, few have suffered them more acutely than the people of Yemen, residents of a country where unauthorized U.S. military action has helped give rise to the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced legislation last week aimed at confronting this erosion and its consequences in Yemen—legislation to end the U.S. military’s role in Yemen’s civil war unless and until Congress authorizes it.   More

The bill number is S.J.Res 54: Introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders [I-VT]; Cosponsors so far Sen. Elizabeth Warren and now Ed Markey, [D-MA];   Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT], Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]; Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]; Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]; Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]

Experts urge senators to back bill ending US involvement in Yemen war

A group of experts, advocates, former officials and others are urging senators to support a bipartisan effort to end U.S. involvement in Yemen’s civil war.  “We strongly encourage you and your Senate colleagues to cosponsor and vote for S.J.Res 54, which defends the constitutional linchpin of Congress’s sole authority to declare war and promises to help end what aid groups consider the worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” the 37-person group wrote in a letter sent to every senator Thursday and obtained by The Hill…  In Thursday’s letter, the experts highlighted the United Nation’s assessment that the war has left 8.4 million Yemenis on the verge of famine and that States Department’s assessment that the war has continued a security vacuum that allows for the growth of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Yemeni branch of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.  U.S. involvement in war, the experts asserted, has not been authorized by either a war declaration or specific statutory authorization as required by the War Powers Act.    More

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is planning a visit to the United States early this year, in order to seek more US investment and military collaboration. 

Bin Salman is scheduled to make a stop at MIT, an institution which has worked closely with Saudi Arabia on issues such as cybersecurity and higher education. We call on MIT to revoke its invitation to MBS, a power hungry autocrat who has made bloocy war in Yemen and provoked regional instability.

Massachusetts Peace Action and our allies are planning to protest MBS during his visit at MIT, expected in late March or early April. Please join us in order to show bin Salman that his violent actions in Yemen are not acceptable, and to show MIT and the US government that we will not accept their collaboration with the Saudi absolute monarchy. See more information here. Please sign this petition to protest MBS at MIT.

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US SEEKS TO INTENTIONALLY PROLONG SYRIAN BLOODSHED

From the beginning of Syria’s conflict the United States presented to the world its unyielding ultimatum that the government in Damascus be deposed and replaced by a government headed by the armed militants the US cultivated before the conflict and has armed and funded throughout its now seven year course…  The US intentionally backing an “opposition” that has no chance of overturning the Syrian government equates to intentionally and maliciously prolonging a deadly conflict and all the horrors that accompany it. The Brookings paper specifically suggesting the US “bleed” the Syrian government is done with full knowledge of the cost in human suffering that “bleeding” would undoubtedly incur.    More

Media Erase US Role in Syria’s Misery, Call for US to Inflict More Misery

Anglo-American press coverage of the Syrian situation has grossly misled readers about their own governments’ role in the catastrophe, and has urged audiences to accept greater Western military intervention in the country without examining the implications of such a move… The argument that the US military should save Syria rests on the assumption that American militarism is benevolent, both in intent and outcome. Advancing this position depends on erasing the key contributions America and its partners have made to Syrians’ misery, not only through the above-mentioned support for sectarian armed groups but also through the US-led coalition bombing ostensibly aimed at ISIS that likely killed at least 3,500 to Syrian civilians, through derailing diplomatic efforts that might have ended the war years ago (London Review of Books, 7/16/15), and through carrying out a sanctions regime that has undermined Syrians’ access to clean water, medical equipment and food.    More

U.S. SHOULD ACCEPT PUTIN'S OFFER TO NEGOTIATE ON NUKES

Russia’s new strategic weapons systems do not change the balance of power between the U.S. and Russia, though the U.S. may point to them in justifying its own plans to modernize every aspect of its nuclear arsenal at a cost of $1.7 trillion. Russia’s new offensive nuclear weapons will only bring the ongoing nuclear arms race to a position of strategic stability.  The fuel for a new nuclear arms race was already on the fire, and a Russian strategic response was predictable, when the U.S. withdrew from the ABM Treaty and began developing and emplacing missile defense systems globally. The U.S. withdrawal and abrogation of the ABM Treaty may prove to be the greatest strategic blunder of the nuclear age.    More

For NYT, a Trillion Dollars’ Worth of A-Bombs Is ‘Little’ Response to Russia

The front-page subhead warned, “Russia has ramped up its arsenal, US has done little in response.”  So what does a “little” response look like? Since taking office, the Trump administration and Congress—citing the Russian challenge as one of their major rationales—have increased the military budget by about $80 billion, or roughly 13 percent, the largest increase since the aftermath of 9/11, and 70 percent greater than the entire Russian military budget of $47 billion…  Additionally, Trump has reportedly asked for a “black budget” of over $80 billion for covert operations ($30 billion more than previous reports), and pledged more than $1.2 trillion to building up the United States’ nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years, $200 billion more than Obama asked Congress for when he announced the plan two years ago.    More

GOD WILLS IT!  The War on Terror as the Launching of an American Crusade

George W. Bush answered the criminal attacks of 9/11 not by calling oninternational law enforcement to bring the perpetrators to justice, but by a declaration of cosmic war aimed at nothing less than the elimination of Islamist evil. Labeling it a “crusade” only underscored the subliminal but potent message conveyed by television cameras that lingered on the cathedral’s multiple crucifixes and the bloodied figure of Jesus Christ. Held up for all to see, that sacred icon sent a signal that could not be missed. A self-avowed secular nation was now to be a crusader, ready to display the profoundly Christian character of a culture erected on triumphalist pieties from its Pilgrim roots to the nuclear apocalypticism of the Cold War…  In fact, Bush’s use of that term wasn’t a stumble, however inadvertent, but a crystal-clear declaration of purpose that would soon be aided and abetted by a fervent evangelical cohort within the U.S. military, already primedfor holy war. With what Bush himself called “the distance of history,” it’s now possible to see the havoc his “crusade” is still wreaking across much of the globe.    More

VFP eNews: Spring Actions!

Veterans For Peace

3/9/2018 5:13 PM

 

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	Friday, March 9th 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. Email your lawmakers now and tell them to support the War Powers Resolution to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. 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." Back to Top 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! Back to Top 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 Back to Top 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. Read the Letter Back to Top Legislative Action from Korea Peace Campaign Support the "No Unconstitutional Strike Against North Korea" Act 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." Back to Top 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. Back to Top 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. Back to Top 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." Watch the Video Back to Top 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: Forging Ahead: A Message from the President Changing Our War Culture Starts At Home Poetry Reflections on the 2017 VFP National Convention Take Action: Defend our V.A. from Privatization Veterans For Peace Chapter Reports After Action Report: 2017 Encuentro at the Border Vietnam Full Disclosure: 50th Anniversaries Worth Commemorating in 2018 Q & A: How Did You Become a Veteran For Peace? Order Your Bundle! Back to Top 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: Go to our Facebook page Make sure to like us if you don’t already Click the “Follow” button (if you’re already following us it will say “Following”) and choose "See First" from the dropdown menu. P.S. Make sure to take this action with every page you want to continue seeing news for! Back to Top 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 Back to Top New Flag Size Available! Show your VFP pride with this smaller version of the traditional VFP flag that we all love so much. This flag size is perfect for tabling, and it won't hit the ground when pinned to a tablecloth. Order yours today for only $25! All store purchases help support the work of VFP. Back to Top		In This Issue: Tell Congress: Stop Fueling War in Yemen Public Citizen Files Lawsuit For Withholding Public Information about Military Parade Letter from the New VFP President, Gerry Condon Spring 2018 Actions For Peace Veterans For Peace Endorses March For Our Lives Join the Armistice Day Call! Climbers For Peace in Iran: Apply Now! Open Letter to Trump to Suspend War Games  Legislative Action from Korea Peace Campaign Making Waves: The Rebirth of the Golden Rule Support Zahid Viet Nam Tour is Underway San Diego Chapter Hosts the My Lai Exhibit A Marine and His Honor: Megaciph - Poor People's Campaign Order Your Newsletter Bundle Today! Facebook Has Some Changes We Want to Know What Social Media You are On! May Day in Cuba Shop VFP! Save the Dates: Upcoming Events 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.  Continue Reading the Letter Back to Top 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. Back to Top 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! Request Armistice Day Materials 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! Back to Top 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. Read Veterans For Peace Statement of Support for Zahid Chaudhry 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! Back to Top 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! Fill out the form! Back to Top Save the Dates: Upcoming Event  Feb 2-March 25 - Olympic Truce Call to Action: Diplomacy Not War! 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 4-15 - 19th Annual International Nonviolence Summer Institute 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 Back to Top

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