WBW News: Unwelcoming NATO Video

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It’s almost time to unwelcome NATO!

Watch and share this new video about our upcoming events on April 3rd and 4th.

We now know where the NATO nations’ foreign ministers will be meeting on the 4th as well as what NATO will be up to on the 3rd. We’ll be publicly unwelcoming NATO on both the 3rd and 4th. Check out our plans and join in atnotoNATO.org. To be in on the planning for the 4th, sign up for and attend the preparations on the 3rd.​​

Our plans for an awesome peace festival on April 3rd include an amazing lineup of speakers, musicians, comedians, nonviolent action trainers, and facilitators of artistic creation in preparation for April 4. We’ll be livestreaming from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET at youtube and facebook.

LEARN MORE AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT

Other No to NATO events in Washington DC:
Saturday, March 30 @ 1:00 p.m. Rally at Lafayette Park
Saturday, March 30 @ 7:30 p.m. Songs of Struggle
Sunday, March 31 Concert for Peace and to End War
Sunday, March 31 
Anti-NATO Conference
Monday, April 1 
Meeting of the International Network “No to War – No to NATO” at the AFSC Office 1822 R St. NW 10:00 to 3:00
Tuesday, April 2 No to NATO – Yes to Peace and Disarmament Counter-Summit
Thursday, April 4 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Black Alliance for Peace program at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 5301 N Capitol St., NE, Washington D.C. “No Compromise, No Retreat in the Fight to End Militarism and War”

Lodging for the nights of 2nd and 3rd is available.

Other No to NATO events elsewhere:
March 21-27: Solidarity trip to Belgrade
March 25: Canada out of NATO in Hamilton
March 27: Canada out of NATO in Toronto
March 30: Yes to Peace – No to NATO in Toronto
March 30: Conference and Rally in Saskatchewan
March 30: No to NATO action, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
April 4: No to NATO events in Oslo, Norway
April 7: Conference in Florence, Italy
Monthly: NATO protests in Toronto

Original Post: https://worldbeyondwar.org/wbw-news-unwelcoming-nato-video/

War, what is it good for?

Op ed by Keith Brumley March 2019

 

Edwin Starr, in his 1970 hit single asked “War, what is it good for?” His catchy answer was “absolutely nothing!”

On the face of it Mr. Starr’s point seems obvious. But if so why has the United States engaged in seemingly endless war in places like Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan and Iraq, since Mr. Starr’s song hit the charts? Why are policy makers in Washington D.C. fomenting for more war in Venezuela and Iran? Apparently, war is good for something as the U.S. continues engaging it.

Perhaps our policy makers, being graduates of Ivy League schools, know something of war’s benefits of which mere commoners are unaware? Perhaps they believe endless war is a means to maintaining and sustaining the affluent lifestyle we enjoy in the Unites States?

One argument may be jobs. Isn’t it true the defense industry is a major source of jobs for Americans? After all, President Trump was willing to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s murdering of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to keep an arms deal in place to “save American jobs.”

While it is true that companies like Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin make many billions of dollars manufacturing and selling their weapons to the Pentagon and countries like Saudi Arabia, profits are concentrated in the hands of the 1% – the CEOs and shareholders. War is “good” for them. Not so much for the rest of us. Certainly not for people on the receiving end of those weapons, like the war-torn victims of Yemen.

Professor Heidi Garrett-Peltier, in a 2017 studyLinks to an external site. published by Brown University’s Watson Institute, found that “federal spending on domestic programs in health care, education, clean energy and infrastructure creates more jobs, dollar for dollar, than military spending.” The reality, as David Swanson of World Beyond War notes, is “spending those same dollars on peaceful industries, on education, on infrastructure, or even on tax cuts for working people would produce more jobs and in most cases better-paying jobs.”

So it turns out, while war may be “good for” CEOs and shareholders of war profiteering corporations, it’s not for the rest of us. Taxpayers would get a bigger bang for the buck if we funneled money away from the Department of Defense and instead poured that money into funding Medicare for all, free college education, repairing and replacing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and enacting a “Green New Deal.” It would produce more and better jobs. And best of all, no more bombs ripping through school buses in Yemen.

Okay, but surely Americans are wealthier and happier because of our bellicose belligerence, right? Surely we enjoy lower “prices at the pump” and have a greater sense of security because of our endless wars?

In a word, no.

The U.S. contains roughly 5% of the world’s population but consumes nearly 30% of the world’s natural resources. If the rest of the world consumed like us we’d need several more planets to sustain all that consumption.

Even with all this consumption, the United States did not make the top 10 list of the World Economic Forum’s “happiest countries in the worldLinks to an external site.” in 2018 (we were 18th). That honor went to Finland, followed closely by Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Oddly, these countries aren’t making war on anyone at present. Perhaps the adage is true – “Anything war can do, peace can do better.”

The U.S. did lead the field in one area – anti-depressant use. Clearly endless war isn’t making us happier or more secure.

In fact, the imperialist policies of the United States make Americans less secure. It may seem strange but most people resent invading armies, drone strikes in the middle of the night, and covert CIA operations toppling their elected governments. That tends to make enemies, not friends.  

Imagine the friends the United States would have the world over if we spent even a third of the trillion dollar (yes, with a “T”) defense related budget to provide medicine, food, shelter, roads, bridges, and education to countries we presently bomb or occupy with military bases? Rather than being viewed as the most threatening country to world peaceLinks to an external site., the United States would be the most loved.

Bloated “defense” budgets and endless war does not produce “good jobs,” does not make us wealthier or happier, and does not make us more secure.

So, back to Edwin Starr’s question – “War, what is it good for?”

He was right. “Absolutely nothing!”

 

Venezuela – how the coup is planned

– Kevin Zeese
Those in solidarity with Venezuela and opposed to US imperialist regime change need to understand what is planned in the US/oligarch coup so we can innoculate the US public to the misinformation that is going to be widespread.

We interviewed Dan Cohen who wrote a great article with Max Blumenthal on the ten-year effort by US regime change operatives to train the coup president Guaido, see The Making of Juan Guaidó: How the US Regime Change Laboratory Created Venezuela’s Coup Leader.

Margaret Flowers and I interviewed Cohen on our podcast, one thing we learned was that there are 1,000 CANVAS operatives in Venezuela. CANVAS got its start with US-funded and organized color revolutions in the Soviet bloc. Cohen got this information from the person in Florida paying for them – a former president of the Venezuelan oil company before it was made into a publicly owned company. Listen to the podcast here, The Rise Of A Fake President In Venezuela.

The coup campaigners are using color revolution strategies in Venezuela. They are in the midst of a humanitarian aid campaign against Venezuela, an excuse for humanitarian intervention. See Venezuela: US Pursuing Humanitarian Aid Path To War. That’s right the US conducts an escalating economic war since 2004, starves the economy and brings suffering to the people and then “saves them” with humanitarian assistance. Grotesque. The US as a humanitarian savior is the narrative they are going to try and sell the US public and the world. It is a bubble of BS that needs to be pierced.
One of the tactics will be to set up “humanitarian pathways” in Venezuela. They intend to get the people protesting for humanitarian aid (of course it will be a subset of people who are involved in this fake coup and oppose Maduro, but the crowds will look large). Those CANVAS organizers are very likely in the process of doing that organizing right now. One news report said this would begin after February 12.
One goal of the humanitarian aid gimmick is to divide the military, i.e. make them choose between staying loyal to Maduro and fighting US imperialism or getting aid to people in Venezuela who are struggling. Color Revolution strategists know that dividing the military from the president is the most important ingredient to a successful regime change operation. It increases the success of the regime change significantly.

Those opposed to US domination of Venezuela need to be ready for this as the media is likely to be filled with images of Venezuelans calling for humanitarian aid. This will confuse people who do not realize this is orchestrated by US/oligarch regime change campaigners. This tactic will not be easy for Venezuela to combat. They are going to need a lot of help fighting back against US imperialism and an oligarch coup disguised as a people’s revolt.

Please share this with people who oppose US imperialism in Venezuela and elsewhere.

KZ
@KBZeese
Build power and resistance
Popular Resistance

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Maine, Hunger Strike: Day 37: Back to Augusta & ending hunger strike

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had sixteen of us this morning with signs inside the ‘lobbyist staging area’ on the 3rd floor of the capital between the House and Senate chambers.

Lots of kids were there from various schools across the state so they got a real lesson in ‘democracy’.  One of the teachers made an interested young girl return our flyer to us – not allowed in her school we supposed.

Our group – very ordinary Mainers – seemed to change the vibe in the hallway and many of us remarked that we felt a discernible shift in the attitude of many of the legislators toward us.  Several stopped to tell us they are with us – including a kind Republican man who has told me this three times.

One state senator from the Brunswick area told one of his constituents in our group that he has received more contact on LD 1781 than any other issue since he has been in office.  So you are getting their attention – don’t stop now!

My own state senator – one of the sponsors of the bill – approached and told me that “We need you all here.”  I took it as a compliment of the campaign’s effectiveness.

This afternoon from 4:00-5:00 pm the community radio station WERU in East Orland (almost three hours north of Bath) had several of us from the campaign on the air to discuss the GD corporate welfare bill.  Host Amy Browne did an excellent job of weaving Lawrence Richard, Alex Nunes, Lisa Savage, Bob Klotz, Jessica Stewart and myself into the discussion.

We covered most of the key points but VFP member Peter Morgan wrote me after the show and said he was standing by to call in and wanted to say, “BIW has refused to [prove] a financial justification for their [request] for financial assistance.”  But they took no calls today since there were so many of us on the show.

Last night I woke in the middle of the night feeling dizzy and way out of sorts.  MB got me some juice but I didn’t sleep well after that.  My body was talking to me – quite loudly.

So today I consulted with one of my medical advisers (Bob Klotz) and determined that I would end by hunger strike on this 37th day.  Others will continue the solidarity fast under the ready coordination of Mary Kate Small.  Our friend Tom Ryan continues his fasting now into the 15th day or so and he will go until day 20.

We also got confirmation that our advert began today on WGAN radio in southern Maine.  It will run for a week – four times a day.  One of our friends actually heard it on the air.

We feel like we have done well but need a strong surge as we near the end of this campaign.  Our biggest need is to get more new folks to contact their state legislators about their opposition to LD 1781.  We are asking all of our supporters to find five new folks who have not yet called and have them contact their representatives in Augusta.  We offer this handy tool and thank David Swanson for putting this effective vehicle in our hands.  See it here 

So I will reenter the eating world slowly and mindfully – experts say at least four days are needed to do this.

I will return to the 3rd floor corridor with my sign on Thursday at 9:30 am and then again next week on Tuesday and Thursday.

In the meantime I am giving my heart and soul to defeating this bad bill.

Bruce

Photos by Peter Woodruff (retired BIW worker)

Original Post: http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2018/03/day-37-back-to-augusta-ending-hunger.html

Stop Fueling War Petition

http://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/congress-stop-fueling-war-yemen/

The small nation of Yemen is facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises—and it’s being fueled by U.S. policies and taxpayer dollars.1

The three-year conflict in Yemen has been a deadly battle between rebel groups and a Saudi-led U.S.-backed coalition supporting the previously established government.

And coupled with Trump’s Muslim Ban—preventing those fleeing for safety from entering the country—Yemenis are being doubly victimized by U.S. policies.

There’s a resolution in the House that has been sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna—H. Con. Res. 81. It would direct Trump to end support for Saudi-led hostilities in Yemen, but it needs more sponsors and support. Add your name here and tell your representative in Congress to sign on and #StopFuelingTheWarInYemen.

While the players in this war are complex, one thing is plain and simple: the destruction has been horrifying for the Yemeni people.

Already the Middle East’s poorest country, Yemen is now suffering from widespread cholera and famine, with nowhere to turn for help. Doctors and nurses are working tirelessly, while sanitation workers and civil servants have gone without pay for months.3

More than 50,000 children are expected to die by the end of the year.4

International aid agencies are desperately trying to enter the country to deliver food and medicine to the Yemeni people, but the Saudi-led coalition has denied them entry by blockading major ports in the country.5

And with our taxpayer dollars going to support the Saudi-led campaign, we need to hold our representatives accountable for the suffering that it’s causing the Yemeni people.

We’re calling on members of Congress to co-sponsor H. Con. Res. 81 and stop fueling the war in Yemen. The resolution won’t be debated and voted on until it has enough support. Will you sign and ask your representative to add their name?

The Saudi-led air strikes have destroyed much of the major infrastructure in Yemen—including airports, sewage facilities, and hospitals. The U.S. military aids the bombing campaign by refilling the tanks of Saudi warplanes—literally fueling the strikes that have killed thousands and left millions more in a dire state of sickness and starvation.

In fact, the U.S. support for the bombing of Yemen is so vast that the military itself has trouble keeping track of which missions it’s aiding.6

The countless violations of international law and the creation of one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world wouldn’t be possible without the U.S. military’s complicity in providing technical, logistical, and other support for the Saudi-led coalition.

The only way to stop Trump from giving even more help to the Saudis for their destructive campaign is for Congress to stand up and act. Sign today and tell your representative to support H. Con. Res. 81.

In solidarity,
Ahlam Said via MPower Change

P.S. Like the Yemeni Alliance Committe page on Facebook to keep up with the latest updates on the campaign to end the war on Yemen

Green Party Values

https://m.facebook.com/GreenPartyValues/posts/851311781703442?notif_id=1508606634007355&notif_t=scheduled_post_published&ref=notif

4. Non-Violence

It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in danger. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.