New England United Antiwar Conference MIT Jan 30, 2010
Panel #1 The Drive Towards Empire and Endless War
Bruce Gagnon, Global Network

I worked with Bruce in his early days as a nuclear freeze activist in Orlando, Florida. He was a pretty good speaker and budding leader, though I had some minor issues with his style, but I had no idea he would go on to become a globally recognized nuclear arms/weapons expert with Space for Peace. He’s been a tireless activist, speaker, writer and dissident who tells the truth to a world that mostly doesn’t want to listen.

Here are my photos from today’s demonstration against Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

The turnout was pathetic. I’m sure there are many reasons why. Even while Bush was still in office, there were fewer and fewer people coming to various events. But once Obama was elected, interest in the actions really evaporated, with some justification, with many saying we had to give Obama “a chance.”

Welll, he’s had his chance, and is not responding well, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many in the peace movement (which goes on, regardless of what party is in power or what individual is in office).

No one was under the illusion that Obama was a pacifist. But he did say he was against “stupid wars” and that he would work to end the occasion of war. He is not keeping that promise with this escalation.

There are probably many who would come to a protest against Bush’s wars, who won’t come near one against Obama’s. But there will continue to be a need for such public statements, and enough who will continue to consistently call for an end to American aggression, imperialism and global thuggery.

Here are some sites where the consistent message goes on, or is being newly expressed.

The Old Stalwarts
World Can’t Wait
United for Peace and Justice
Code Pink
After Downing Street
Voters for Peace
War Resisters League
Win Without War

Some new groups/alliances
EndUSWars.org
Peace of the Action

I will be joining The Peace House folks and others tomorrow at a demonstration to say No to Escalation in Afghanistan. (I think there is also something planned for Tulsa [link added 2009-12-01].)

I will also be contacting my reps to once again say, end the war and find civilian solutions: Contact Congress & White House

Oklahoma City Demonstration:
NO to ESCALATION in AFGHANISTAN
Tuesday, December 1st
4:30-5:30 pm
NW 23rd Street & Classen Blvd.
Bring signs – - We will have ours.

Peace House Statement on Afghanistan, Nov. 14th
BRING TROOPS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

• After eight (8) long years of war, we speak in unity: U.S. Military forces must be brought home.
• Military victory appears unachievable, or at the very least unsustainable.
• Our continued presence guarantees further escalation of long-standing anti-American sentiments.
• A surge in U.S. troop numbers will generate dramatic increases of casualties of our troops and Afghani civilians.
• We risk and even wider and deadlier regional conflict.
• Reconstruction and stability should be initiated and sustained by international peace-keeping entities and< non-governmental organizations.
• Urgent domestic budget priorities demand a redirection of our tax revenues from war in Afghanistan to meeting human needs at home. Thirteen million Americans are unemployed in this economic downturn.
• We petition Congress, and the Obama administration, to initiate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan before the end of the year.

Here’s the text of our invitational flyer:

TEACH PEACE
WORKSHOP TO SHOWCASE ALTERNATIVES
TO MILITARY RECRUITMENT,
KICK OFF EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN

Monday, 8-10-2009, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Joy Mennonite Church, 504 16th St, Oklahoma City
(corner of Lincoln and 16th, just south of Capitol)

Please join the Oklahoma Center for Conscience on Monday August 10 for a dynamic workshop on “counter-recruitment” or making sure youth have full information about the military and a wide range of options for constructive public service and caring careers. The recruiters have unprecedented access to students; we want to offer another view, and make sure their right for access to all the facts is honored.

The workshop will kick off a concerted effort in OKC and across the state to make sure our youth do not feel compelled to join the military for lack of other practical options and opportunities.

All are welcome. The workshop is free of charge; donations for our CR outreach is greatly appreciated. If you can’t make the workshop, but would like to donate, see www.centerforconscience.org

For more info, call 405-771-4743 or 405-615-2700. Or visit www.centerforconscience.org

Experienced CR activists from Fort Worth and Austin will share with us the resources and techniques they use to reach young people with an important message about the realities of war and military life. A report from the recent national CR conference will be part of the agenda.

Presenters:

Yvette Richardson is a U. S. Army veteran, who was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas from 1992 – 1997. While serving five years on active duty as a Military Police officer, she deployed to Honduras, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. When not serving as a client advocate for domestic violence victims, she works as a community activist in Fort Worth, Texas. She is co-coordinator of the counter-recruitment organization, Peaceful Vocations, and of CodePink Fort Worth. Yvette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Diane Wood is a native Texan, a community organizer in areas of social justice for the past 30 years, and a retired Registered Nurse. She is a co-coordinator of Peaceful Vocations, a counter-military recruitment group serving North Texas. She’s been involved in nuclear and anti-war issues, Central American issues, local poverty issues, and a local movement to stop urban gas drilling. Diane led a coalition to establish a shelter in Fort Worth for Central American Refugees, and was the director of the shelter. She recently founded a local coalition, The Texas Christian University Divest and Boycott Israel Campaign.

Hart Viges joined the Army in reaction to the events of 9-11. He was with the 82nd Airborne Div. in 2003 when they invaded Iraq. Shortly after returning in January 2004, he applied and received Conscientious Objector status. Hart is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and works with Nonmilitary Options for Youth.

Below is our press release and a flyer (with the text above) you can print — please feel free to share.

2009 CR Workshop flyer

2009 CR Workshop news release

Documentary video explores the hidden wounds of war

Date: Wednesday, 7/21
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th, OKC

The Oklahoma Center for Conscience and Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline invite you to a screening of the film “PTSD: Invisible Wounds of War” on Tuesday, July 21 at 6:30 pm at Joy Mennonite Church in Oklahoma City. After the film, there will be a discussion led by Nathanial Batchelder, a medic in Vietnam and director of Oklahoma City Peace House, Phyllis Byerly, a retired psychologist, and James Branum, a lawyer specializing in military law and supervising attorney for the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline.

The film presents information about the vast scope of the problem, the potentially severe consequences, and the necessity to seek help. Veterans, elected officials and therapists who specialize in PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) explain the condition and discuss what resources are available and what needs to be improved in treatment and public policy.

The event is free and open to the public. Joy Mennonite is located at 504 NE 16th Street, on the corner of Lincoln.

For more information, email info@centerforconscience.org or call 405-236-4938, ext. 2.

[And please pass this info on if you have time in the short time frame.]

Date/time: 10-11 AM, 6/3/09
Place: Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th, Oklahoma City (just a few blocks south of Capitol on Lincoln)

There will be an event for Joshua in Toronto tomorrow, and we decided to do a solidarity event here in Oklahoma. Here’s details from the event organizer, James M. Branum, one of Joshua Key’s attorneys.

Josh grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After joining the Army, he later deployed to Iraq where he had a horrific time (as detailed in his book “The Deserter’s Tale”).

He then came back to the US and while on leave, left his unit and hid out for some time before making his way to Canada.

Josh is now fighting it out in the court-system in Canada to get to stay and on June 3rd he will be facing one of the most significant fights of this struggle.

Our friends in Canada are holding a vigil tomorrow in Toronto outside the Immigration and Refugee Board while the hearing is taking place, so I would like for us to have a similar demonstration here.

So starting at 10 a.m., I’m asking participants to meet at the Peace Pole on the grounds of Joy Mennonite Church, We’ll have a time of quiet meditation and/or prayers (for those so inclined) and then we’ll walk a few blocks north to the state capitol, where we will deliver a statement in support of Joshua Key to the Governor’s office, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the state legislature and to the press.

Participants are welcome to bring small signs and banners for the walk but know that they probably won’t let you take them into the state capitol building.

And if you can’t come to the walk, please write a letter of encouragement to Josh and send it to:

Joshua Key
c/o Joy Mennonite Church
504 NE 16th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

You can also email letters to me at girightslawyer@gmail.com

We’ll then forward the letters to Josh by way of his attorney in Canada.

Lastly, I’ll post more information soon on other ways we in Oklahoma can support Josh from a-far.

–*– end of message from James

Several moving speeches were given, including by Gold Star fathers Warren Henthorn and John Scripsick, who lost their sons in Iraq. The Oklahoma Eyes Wide Open Exhibit was also on display, with 73 pairs of boots representing the Oklahomans who died in Iraq.

Here’s the speech by Veteran and conscientious objector Daniel Sandate, who now lives in OKC and is a peace activist and counter recruitment counselor.

(Sorry again for the shaky camera, haven’t got a tripod yet.)

Let us not forget the lies we were told, the betrayal they represented, or the brave and selfless souls who (inadvertantly) gave their lives for those lies. Not to mention the over one million Iraqis who have died from our deeds and misdeeds.

And, unfortunately the losses continue. Just today came the news that another Oklahoma soldier was killed.

If you can, attend one of these local events to show your respect for all the tragic and senseless horror, and to continue the vigilance to end this war.

Iraq War 6th Year Memorials Planned in Oklahoma City

Two Oklahoma Fathers of Fallen Soldiers
Speak Out About Human Cost of War

The March 19, six-year anniversary of the start of the U.S. war in Iraq will be commemorated in Oklahoma City with memorial events, public vigils, and a silent memorial walk, according to planners. Peace House Director Nathaniel Batchelder said that the tone of events planned this year is more to seek higher wisdom to make the world less violent and more humane, and less to tell Washington, D.C., what to do.

Batchelder said, “We are hopeful that a new administration and Congress can resolve the Middle East conflicts with more diplomacy and less violence.”

On Saturday, March 21, a memorial vigil with activists holding signs calling for peace in the Middle East, will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the northeast corner of the intersection of Meridian Avenue and Northwest Expressway. The public is invited to bring signs expressing their own hopes for peace, Batchelder said.

On Sunday, March 22, a silent memorial walk will begin at 2 p.m., from Civic Center Park, downtown Oklahoma City, at 201 N. Walker. Speakers will set the tone of the walk, and the route will encircle the Murrah Building National Memorial and return to the park. “In Oklahoma City, we know that one bomb is too many,” Batchelder said. A display of boots symbolizing the deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq will be part of the event, provided by members of the American Friends Service Committee. Speakers include John Scripsick and Warren Henthorn, who both lost their sons in the Iraq war, Daniel Sandate, Iraq veteran and Reggie Cervantes, 9/11 rescue worker, from Yukon. Rev Lance Schmitz, of the First Nazarene Church of Oklahoma City, will lead attendees in a reading of the names of Oklahomans fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

On the following Tuesday, March 24th, Oklahoma City Community College has events planned after students return from spring break. Call Steve Morrow, OCCC Advocates for Peace, at (405) 682-1611 x 7350 for more information.

Did the U.S. Secretary of State actually criticize Israel? At a joint press conference with Mahmoud Abbas? That’s new:

If so, then hooray, it’s about time for some balance in our thinking and policies regarding Israel and the Palestinians.

I gave a small donation, and hope some of my readers can too. Whether you can or not, please

Vote in the referendum to Indict Bush (and other high officials)

A message from Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark:

‘Why indictment is a must.’
Dear Rena,

I am writing to you as a long-time supporter of the ImpeachBush movement. More than a million people came forward to demand the impeachment of Bush and other high-ranking officials in the Bush administration.

I am appealing to you to make a donation to a growing new movement for the indictment and prosecution of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and other high officials of the Bush administration who engaged in criminal wrongdoing.

Please make an urgently needed donation today to help the IndictBush movement grow by clicking this link.

The greatest danger arising from impunity for President Bush and his cohorts would be that all subsequent officials will feel secure in committing the same crimes and the people, having failed to compel impeachment for such open, notorious and egregious crimes, will feel even more helpless to prevent them. Ultimately the power and the responsibility to prevent criminal acts by government is with the people.

The movement for accountability is sweeping the country. The Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, and the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, are both proposing to launch investigations into the possibilities of criminal conduct by high officials in the Bush Administration.

Now is the time for massive outreach and publicity. This requires organizing national call-in days to pressure Congressional representatives, intensive media work, and providing literature for people of conscience to distribute in cities and towns across the country.

Please consider taking a moment right now to make a donation to this new movement for the indictment of Bush. There is no time to spare. The time to act is now and we will.

The crimes of the Bush administration must be proclaimed, acknowledged and remembered because their disastrous human consequences, dictatorial tendencies, subversion of Constitutional government and violation of the rights and dignity of humanity. They include wars of aggression, the crime against peace and the “Supreme International Crime,” war crimes, and crimes against humanity, genocide by military violence “with intent to destroy in whole, or in part, a national… or religious group,” authorizing and condoning massive violations of the Constitution of the United States, its Bill of Rights and other Amendments, international treaties including the U.N. Charter, Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Convention Against Torture, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Geneva Conventions.

The clear duty of the American people and their elected representatives — on which the changes in U.S. government policies essential to achieve a peaceful, decent and humane future depend — is the vigorous pursuit of the indictment of former President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other high officials who have participated in their crimes, followed by rigorous criminal prosecution wherever the evidence, having been fully and fairly presented to a federal grand jury, results in their indictment.

The indictment of George W. Bush and other high officials is the challenge facing ‘We, the People.’ Will we rise to meet it? This is not a matter of politics or partisanship. It is the defense of the basic tenets of the Constitution. Please consider making a donation so we can get this movement off the ground and into the streets.

Sincerely,

Ramsey Clark,
Former U.S. Attorney General