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A snake by any other name is still...
Today and tomorrow in Washington, activists from across the hemisphere have gathered to organize around and lobby against the School of the Americas (SOA), which continues to play a central role in the global spread of U.S. militarism. Some years ago, the U.S. government officially changed the name of the institution, based in Fort Benning, Georgia, from SOA to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). The diversion in language didn't change its negative impact on human rights, however.
A Time for Winter Soldiers
“I’ve been lied to.” “I feel crazy.” “I can’t do this anymore.”
As a counselor with the GI Rights Network, a group of activists that offers advice to soldiers who are seeking information about how to get out the military, these are the kinds of comments I often hear from people who call our hotline.
The stories these callers have to tell are always different but the theme is often the same: “I feel alone and I don’t have a place where my story will be heard.”
Five years into the military occupation of Iraq, it’s no secret that soldiers are coming home from tours of duty with devastating physical and emotional trauma from combat. Doctors and therapists can try to treat these wounds but it takes a larger movement to break the sense of isolation that many soldiers feel about their experiences.
An important week to stand against nuclear weapons
This week we will once again observe the tragic anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, six decades ago. And while we look back at this historic dates, we must also double our efforts against nuclear weapons and power today. This is why United for Peace and Justice declared August to be Nuclear-Free Future Month.
I visited the website and was interested to learn that this month there will be a National Youth Conference on Nuclear Abolition, creatively titled "Think Outside the Bomb." The conference is being held in Boston from August 14-17, and registration is still open.
Another year of tax resistance
Yesterday, I joined the annual Tax Day protest coordinated by the Rockland Coalition for Peace & Justice -- it was one of dozens of such vigils being held around the country. For a day, I was a "celebrity." An article had been published on the front page of the day's regional newspaper, "Money Talks for Peace Activists -- Taxes: Residents Say They Won't Pay for War" -- and my spouse and I were featured in the piece.
FOR part of international effort to abolish Nuclear Weapons
Make your plans today to be there to call for a peaceful, nuclear free, secure, and just world for us all!
Advocates for peace will be meetin
g in New York City on April 30-May 1st. Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA) is one of more than 200 sponsors of the International Conference. The conference coincides with the five year review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Every five years a report is delivered to the United Nations which reviews not only the compliance of nations with the treaty's provisions but also recommends additional steps toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.
FOR-USA invites and encourages its members and friends to attend the international conference (April 30 - May 1) as well as a Rally and March planned for Sunday, May 2nd near Times Square.
From Hiroshima to Iran: Reflections on a Nuclear Age
During the past few days, two powerful Western presidents – Nicholas Sakorzy of France and George W. Bush here in the U.S. – have made extremely strong and concerning statements about Iran.
Human Rights Day action: end cluster munitions
Tomorrow, December 10th, is the 60th anniversary observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, published by the United Nations shortly after the international body's founding. There are many problems with the U.N. -- the power imbalance in the structure, the lack of accountability, its limited enforcement mechanisms, and more -- but this is not one of them. As the U.N. web site states, the declaration is a "living document" that is as relevant today as it was in 1948, in the wake of World War 2.
Join our mothers in ending gun violence
Two days ago, a 21-year-old student at my alma mater, Wesleyan University, was murdered by a man with a handgun. Johanna Justin-Jinich, a young woman with a beautiful future, was cut down as she entered the prime of her life by someone who had far-too-easy access to a killing tool and ammunition. She was killed in the Red and Black Café, a local gathering place that is run by a friend and classmate of mine.
Every day, families lose their loved ones due to preventable murders such as this.
Letters from prison: supporting conscientious objectors
When I checked my Facebook account early this morning, I was startled to see that my first two messages were from people currently being held in prison. (Or, more precisely, they were from people writing on their behalf.) Since both persons are being incarcerated for acts of conscience, and since tomorrow is International Conscientious Objectors Day, I want to lift up their witness.
One of the posts was about the lead story in today's news: yesterday's incarceration of Aung San Suu Kyi by the Burmese military government. I find the headline at the top of today's online global edition of The New York Times (and International Herald Tribune) somewhat comedic. It says:
North Korea and Nukes
Nuclear proliferation has been "heating up" again as a major issue, with tensions rising between Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, and the two Koreas -- not to mention the U.S. and Russia. In recent weeks, the country that has caused the most global concern is North Korea, since it has tested missile capability and has consistently thumbed its collective nose at the international community. A few days ago, hawkish neo-conservative John Bolton wrote an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times which assailed the Obama administration's foreign policy efforts toward North Korea thus far. FOR friend Frida Berrigan penned the first of four strong responses to Bolton published this Monday in the Times' letters section. Her original text is as follows:
To the Editor:
