VFPeNews: Help Spread the Facts on U.S. Militarism! Veterans For Peace

VFPeNews: Help Spread the Facts on U.S. Militarism!

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	Thursday, July 26th A Message from Board President, Gerry Condon The Veterans For Peace convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, August 22-26, is going to be nothing short of awesome!  We know we say it almost every year, but you don’t want to miss the convention this year!  If you haven’t seen this video from last year, make sure to give it a watch! This year’s theme is Reclaim Armistice Day - End All Wars! The Twin Cities VFP chapter has done an excellent job working with the National Office staff and the Board of Directors to bring together a great convention. For years, the Twin Cities chapter has been one of the strongest chapters ringing the bells to  “Reclaim Armistice Day.” They introduced the first ever resolution in support of Armistice Day in 2008. The VFP convention will be held 100 years after the armistice that ended the horrific carnage of World War I, and 90 years after the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the international agreement in which countries promised not to use war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them.  Frank Kellogg, who was a Minnesota senator before becoming U.S. Secretary of State, co-authored the pact with French Foreign Minister Briand in 1928, for which the two men were awarded the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize.  It is fitting then that the VFP Convention will be held on Kellogg Avenue, the location of the St. Paul InterContinental, a union hotel owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Misi-zaagan’iganiAnishinaabeg). Read the full letter from Gerry! Back to Top Action Needed: Support Brittany DeBarros! Brittany DeBarros, an army reserve officer, scheduled a series of tweets and facebook posts with facts on U.S. militarism during her #14DayOrders.   She got to Day 8 when the Army Times released an article calling her actions "anti-military" and indicated that she is being investigated for political speech while serving. In solidarity, About Face: Veterans Against War, Veterans For Peace and other veteran advocacy groups have continued to tweet the remaining facts and include more information on each of the facts.  All of the posts that Brittany has made are facts, sourced from the military itself, (click here to see Brittany's sources), so to indicate that these posts are anti-military would mean that the military disagrees with their own actions. Click here to see past tweets, otherwise follow us on Twitter and Facebook and retweet/reshare when each fact gets released! We are assembling letters of support for Brittany, who is being overwhelmed with negative responses by trolls.  Send your note of support to press@veteransforpeace.org and we will compile them all for Brittany. Back to Top The Peace Report Goes To Japan! "I visited Japan traveling all over the country to give presentations on my military experience as well as my anti-war organizing work. A total of 8 days (10 days if you include traveling!) visiting the country, speaking at various high schools and universities. Japan has been militarizing their country more and more in the past 2 years after changing their “interpretation” of their famous Article 9, also considered their “Peace Constitution”, which has kept Japan out of war for several decades. The Japanese people are extremely interested in the experiences of Post-911 veterans of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Veterans can give them a warning of what’s to come if they continue their militarizing efforts." Read Will's Entire Piece. Back to Top Disarm Trident! From September 3 - 14,  DISARM TRIDENT activists will walk down the length of Georgia's coast from Savannah to the Kings Bay Submarine Base.  The walk will focus on bringing attention to the deadly nuclear-weapons housed at the Base and to continue to advocate for the U.S. to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The walk will begin with an orientation gathering on September 3 in Savannah, GA. On September 4, the group will begin walking and, following lunch, travel in vehicles to gather outside of the General Dynamics facility located in Savannah. For more information vist their website Back to Top VFP Ad Placed in Variety Magazine The Full Disclosure Campaign of Veterans For Peace is attempting to dissuade Hollywood from awarding the Burns/Novick an Emmy.  Veterans For Peace were not silent about speaking out about the Koch Brothers and Bank of America-funded The Vietnam War documentary series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. They are happy to report that the VFP ad is now in Variety magazine. The placement in the magazine was optimum. Thank all of you who donated and thanks to VFP National for doing their part to make this happen! Click here to see more, including press coverage! Back to Top Who Will Stop Trump From Tweeting Us into War With Iran? by Ann Wright "A group of prominent Iranian-Americans urged Secretary Pompeo in an open letter to lift the administration’s Muslim travel ban, stick to the Iran nuclear deal and provide economic relief to the Iranian people. “Those measures, more than anything,” they wrote, “will provide the Iranian people with the breathing space to do what only they can do—push Iran towards democracy through a gradual process that achieves the benefits of freedom and liberty without turning Iran into another Iraq or Syria.” Before all hell breaks loose with the Trump wrecking crew taking us into a cataclysmic conflict with Iran, Congress and the American public better get their heads out of the Russiagate sand and rush to stop them." Read the Full Article Back to Top Shop VFP!  "Stand Against Hate!"   Purchase Now!		In This Issue: A Message from Board President, Gerry Condon Action Needed: Support Brittany DeBarros! VFP Convention: August 22-26th The Peace Report Goes To Japan! Disarm Trident Save Our VA Update! VFP Ad Placed in Variety Magazine Waging Nonviolence Book Review: The Internationalists Who Will Stop Trump From Tweeting Us into War With Iran? by Ann Wright Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki VFP Chicago Part of Coalition that will Hold Anniversary Protest Shop VFP! Upcoming Events VFP Convention: August 22-26th Veterans For Peace is looking forward to seeing YOU at our 33rd Annual convention, August 22-26th in St. Paul, Minnesota. If you need convincing, check out this great video! Our registration is now open and we have a lot of other deadlines and information available on our website, but scroll down for direct links and more information! Registration Registration is Now Open for the 33rd Annual Convention.   Housing Veterans For Peace has a special group rate at the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront.  Click here for more details and for housing information.  Deadline for the special rate is August 6th! Program Our program is now up!  Please note that schedules are subject to change.  Descriptions of workshops will be available soon! Resolutions/Bylaws The proposed resolutions and bylaws will be available next week. Tabling Submit this form, if you're interested in tabling at the 2018 convention.  River Cruise Tickets! Don't Forget Your River Cruise Tickets!  2 hr cruise on the Mississippi River on the riverboat Anson Northrup -- Thursday, Aug, 23, 2018-- 730pm - 930pm-- $25 /person-- Snack type food included -- Cash bar-- Dance floor-- Live Music by Ali Washington vocals and guitar. They are not included in registration costs. Purchase! Please also check out the Convention FAQ for other inquries! Back to Top Save Our VA Update! The bad news is that Wilkie got confirmed, however the good news is that for the FIRST TIME EVER, the Senate had no votes for a confirmation for the VA Secretary.  9 Senators voted no and that is, in part, due to the efforts of our chapters who met with and urged Senators to vote "No". More good news also!  On July 24th, Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), and Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced an anti-privatization resolution expressing support for policies that maintain a robust, fully-funded and staffed Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that does not jeopardize care for veterans by moving essential resources to the private sector. Click here to read more, including a link to the bill. Back to Top Waging Nonviolence Book Review: The Internationalists A review of lasy years "The Internationalists" was published on Waging Nonviolence.  The book is "a bold and provocative history of the men who fought to outlaw war and how an often overlooked treaty signed in 1928 was among the most transformative events in modern history." David Carroll Cochran writes "“The Internationalists” compellingly demonstrates how activists can make a difference, and how global cooperation to end war, while difficult, is not a utopian fantasy." Read the whole review. Back to Top Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki In a few weeks the anniversary of the horrific use of nuclear weapons against the people of Japan.  The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced the horror of nuclear bombs dropped on their churches, on their schools, on their cafes, on their streets, on their homes and their families. Today the last survivors of those bombs, known as the Hibakusha, continue to appeal to the world to rid itself of these terrible weapons of mass destruction and mass suffering. Many Veterans For Peace chapters will attend memorial events.  If you are interested in tabling materials, please fill out this form. Back to Top VFP Chicago Part of Coalition that will Hold Anniversary Protest Chicago Veterans for Peace Deputy Coordinator Natasha Erskine represented VFP at a press conference alongside the Chicago Committee Against War & Racism (CCAWR) o at the General John Logan Statue in Grant Park to announce an upcoming protest against war and police violence. The Aug. 25 protest will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the now infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It will take place at noon in Richard J. Daley Plaza and move through the city to the Logan Statue, the site of the most notable protest during the convention. Read the full article. Save the Dates: Upcoming Event Aug 6-9 - Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Aug 17-18 - Kateri Peace Conference, Albany NY Aug 23-26 - 2018 VFP National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota Aug 27 - Anniversary of the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact Sept 3-14 - Disarm Trident Peace Walk, Savannah GA to Kings Bay Submarine Base 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" Sept 21 - International Day of Peace Sept 15-23 - Campaign Nonviolence Week of Actions Oct 20-21 - Women's March on the Pentagon Nov 11 - Armistice Day Nov 16-18 - 2018 SOA Watch Encuentro Nov 16-18 - International Conference Against U.S./NATO Military Bases in Dublin, Ireland Nov 27-29 - International Youth Conference: Reaching High for a Nuclear Weapon Free World, Prague, Czech Republic Back to Top

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