Upcoming Actions
Announcements:
MICHIGAN PEACE NETWORK PLANNING CONFERENCE
All member organizations are cordially invited to a day-long conference in Lansing on Saturday, January 10 to discuss MPN structure and plan actions for the coming new year of hope. Tom Rico and the Peace Education Center of Lansing will host the conference. (see the ACTION link for details, including a map.) Register and pay a $10 lunch and facilitates fee at the door or register online at:
http://michiganpeacenetwork.org/2009conference/.
Also, if you are a member group and haven’t completed our short issues and structure survey, please go to
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228MY9K5UM9. We'll use the results for planning on January 10. If you have a specific action or structure proposal for discussion at the conference, please mail it to the facilitator at riegle@svsu.edu. I'll see that it get distributed to all registrants before Jan. 8. Thank you!
If your organization would like to join the Michigan Peace Network and have access to our interactive site, please submit a "New Member Request" under "Contact" above and on the right. We welcome new members, even if you’re unable to attend the conference.
Posted on Dec 23, 2008 by Michigan Peace Network
Take Action on Gaza
Message from the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
In light of our country's enabling role in Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, it is the least we can do. Here's how:
1. Attend a protest or vigil. We've compiled a list of more than 60 emergency protests taking place in 25 states and the District of Columbia, many of which are taking place today or tomorrow. Find one near you and bring as many people to it as you can. If you know of a protest that isn't listed on our website, please send us all the logistical details and contact information by clicking here. More events are being posted all the time-check back frequently for the latest updates.
2. Contact the White House, the State Department, your Representative and Senators, and the Obama Transition Team to protest Israel's war on Gaza and demand an immediate cease-fire.
White House: 202-456-1111 or comments@whitehouse.gov
State Department: 202-647-6575 or send an email by clicking here
Congress: 202-224-3121 or find contact info by clicking here
Obama Transition Team: send an email by clicking here
3. Make your voice heard in the media. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor. To find contact info for your local media, click here.
4. Tell President-Elect Barack Obama that " We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy." Join more than 200 organizations in 38 states plus Washington, DC and abroad and thousands of individuals by endorsing this letter which will be published as a full-page ad on Inauguration Day. Let all your friends know by copying and pasting the graphic below into your email signature, blog, or website and by joining our Facebook group.
5. Sign up to organize people in your community to end U.S. military aid to Israel. We'll send you an organizing packet complete with our brand new postcards featuring the icon below. If we're going to change U.S. policy, we've got to go beyond agreeing among ourselves and educate and organize others as well. Sign up today and we'll send you a package tomorrow by clicking here.
6. Join us in Washington, DC for Inauguration Day on January 20. Upwards of 4 million people are expected in Washington, DC for President-Elect Obama's inauguration. This is a perfect time for us to reach out to and educate our fellow citizens about U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel. If you plan to be in Washington for the inauguration and would like to help us distribute information and get signatures on postcards calling for a cut off of arms transfers to Israel, please click here.
7. Join us again in Washington, DC for a Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day on February 1-2. Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign are organizing this exciting two-day event, featuring interactive, skills-building workshops and the chance to meet with your Representative and Senators to discuss U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine. Spaces are filling up fast. For more details, and to register, please click here.
8. Forward this announcement to everyone you know and ask them to take action.
Thank you for doing all you can during this tragic time.
-- US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Posted on Dec 30, 2008 by Palestine Israel Action Group
What do we do Now?
Jan. 20, 2009 almost here. We’re thankfully saying bye-bye to Bush/Cheney. Now we have hope of change with Obama. So what does all this mean to the peace movement in Michigan?
Stay on track. America remains the number one supplier of war weapons. The Industrial War Complex is not going away. It feeds upon war. It needs war.
Thus far Barack Obama has been appointing persons who supported the war in Iraq, such as Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Joe Biden and Congressman Rahm Emanuel to name just a few. Where are the voices of those who oppose war?
Until America--and her citizens--face the realities of what is behind our foreign involvements, America will continue to spill the blood of her own brave men and women, as well as the blood of innocent civilians in other lands. Make no mistake about it; war has become an activity of mass death to civilians. Compare the following figures from past wars, as to percentage of those dying in these wars: In WWI 10% of the casualties were civilians, WWII it was 50%, Vietnam 70% and in Iraq the percentage of casualties has reached 90% civilians. This should shock and disgust every single person in Michigan.
The current hotspots are many: Pakistan,India, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Palestine to name some of the most troubling areas. Where has America been in the past decades? Peace brokering? Leading in diplomacy to calm a troubled world?
No! Instead we’ve let the Industrial War Machine and crazy neo-cons lead us into wrongful entanglements all around the globe. Until we can press our own government to clean up our own foreign policy, we will see nuclear war somewhere in our world in our lifetimes.
So what can the Michigan Peace Network members do about all this? Plenty! Peace could be achieved if every community demanded of its representatives that they speak out against cluster bombs, against nuclear weapons, against invading innocent countries. We need to demand that our representatives endorse a cabinet level Dept. of Peace. If we all worked hard, district by district throughout the state, others might follow us and we’d stand a chance in achieving peace. The Michigan Peace Network has sister bottom-up interactive networks in 33 states–together we CAN make a difference.
The world has so many crises coming its’ way: climate change, food shortages, water shortages, decreased fossil fuels. If we can’t learn to live in peace now, how will we ever resolve these crises in a manner other than war and mass destruction of civilians?
Everyone in the MPN all working together to address these problems, that's how. Only by using all the available methods and working together can we achieve the change we want. Actions can range from writing letters-to-the-editor and op ed pieces, through showing educational films, working in the schools, and publishing newsletters, to lobbying state and U.S. lawmakers, to vigils and protests, all the way to nonviolent direct action, including civil disobedience for those willing to risk arrest to voice their conviction that change is needed.
The peace movement is a very necessary part of America. We cannot simply stand by and continue to let the military war profiteers direct this nation into war after war. As Molly Ivins said: every single one of us needs to take some action, we need to say STOP IT, NOW!
Members of the MPN can make a difference!
Posted on Dec 08, 2008 by Straits Area Concerned Citizens for Peace & Justice
People's State of the Union Video
Michigan Peaceworks put together a video to counter President Bush's State of the Union. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnrnsBFH2ZY
If you want to be a part of this project, send in your picture and a brief statement on What's Your National Priority this year? to michiganpeaceworks@gmail.com.
Posted on Jan 30, 2008 by Michigan Peaceworks
Interview: Peace Activist Leslie Cagan of UFPJ
Leslie Cagan was a co-founder and the national director of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), America's largest peace coalition, since 2002. While she plans to stay active in the peace movement, Leslie is stepping out of her national role with UFPJ. The organization has the tall order of filling her shoes and is searching for a new national director.
On the first night of the 4th General Assembly of the UFPJ in Chicago last Friday, I had camped out at a front row table hoping to get some good shots of the opening night speakers. A very nice woman, her partner, and her mother sat next to me. Then author/activist/policy analyst Phyllis Bennis and others joined the table. Later, author/activist/policy analyst Tom Hayden sat next to me. It turns out, the nice lady sitting next to me was Leslie, UFPJ national director, who I had never met before. She, Bennis, and Hayden were some of the speakers for the evening.
Showing true love and appreciation, a number of people shared hugs with Leslie. Throughout she verbalized the notion that she was not "retiring," explaining she was moving on to new challenges. Later, the capacity crowd gave Leslie a warm standing ovation in recognition of her significant contributions to UFPJ.
On last day of the assembly, I caught up with Leslie to get her views on the new challenges facing the peace movement in 2009, including the prospect of working with a new administration in the White House. The interview is posted below.
-- Rico Thomas Rico
Cross posted from blog www.ricothomasrico.blogspot.com
Click Here for the Interview with:
Leslie Cagan, Out-Going National Director of UFPJ
Posted on Dec 18, 2008 by Peace Education Center
Oh, Canada
After hearing of the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq on the Sunday radio news, the very next news story announced that 3 Canadian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Six Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan over the last 10 days. A total of 103 Canadians have died there over 7 years.
The very night before, Christine Jones, the co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA), had addressed the American peace community in Chicago at the United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) General Assembly. Jones came with the news that the Prime Minister from Canada's current minority government is advocating that Canada spend $490 billion -- nearly a half of TRILLION dollars -- on defense spending over the next 20 years.
This proposal, Jones said, comes from the same government "mouthpieces" that say housing, education, and universal health care are unaffordable. Jones told the audience that "The reality is that (social spending) is utterly affordable. In fact, it is more than affordable. The problem is that our government -- all of our governments -- are being undemocratic with how they are choosing to spending our money."
I guess we do speak the same language -- and suffer similar injustices.
Our neighbor to the north talked passionately about the common peace issues shared by both Canadian and American communities. Furthermore, Jones explained that in 2010 Canada will host two major economic conferences, including the G-8, and the Olympics. She was very gracious in inviting UFPJ activists to come visit Canada in 2010.
Oh, Canada, look out.
-- Rico Thomas Rico
Click Here for the Video:
Christine Jones,
Co-Chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance,
Addresses the UFPJ General Assembly
Posted on Dec 17, 2008 by Peace Education Center
The Shoes Heard 'Round the World
Driving back home on Sunday from Chicago I was blissfully isolated with big city radio programming, which is much more interesting and diverse than what I'm used to. Going out of range of the compelling sounds, the real world came back into focus as I had no other good radio choices other than NPR news. That's when I got first word that an Iraqi journalist threw not one, but two shoes at President George W. Bush. Undoubtedly, this incredible moment will forever represent the full and final repudiation of Bush's foreign policy legacy. Unfortunately, it may fully represent the world's attitude toward America's world-wide military bullying.
Now the bookends of Bush's presidency will be, first, the egging of his limo in Washington, D.C., during the 2001 inauguration after having stolen his first election. (If you did not see this episode, that's because the corporate establishment press did not cover it.) The second bookend will be the recent incident in the highly secured Green Zone in Iraq.
I thought Dick Cheney promised we would be greeted as liberators? Is this anyway to treat liberators???
Well, what most Americans lack is the perspective of the citizens of Iraq. Because, again, the corporate establishment doesn't allow it. So we generally don't know that Iraqis -- and a vast swath of world citizens for that matter -- despise America's policy of gun-tote diplomacy. Democracy is not a pleasant principle when it is delivered at the point of a gun.
Of course, it does not score America popularity points as we carry through on our principle mission of stealing the Iraqi oil supply. If you still believe otherwise -- including the false premises of WMDs or Iraq complicity in 9/11 -- you probably watch way too much FOX news and probably deserve to get a couple of shoes thrown at you.
This shoe-throwing incident should not be a surprise. The surprise is that it didn't happen earlier. Shoes could rightfully have been tossed by Bush's Katrina victims, torture victims, renditioned victims, domestic spy victims, economic crash victims...you name the rest.
The shoe toss incident reminded me of the poignant speech given by Iraqi journalist, entrepreneur, and activist Salim Talib to the General Assembly of the United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) on Saturday night, December 13, 2008. The link to Talib's speech is provided below. I hope Americans now make an effort to seek out the views and voices of Iraqis like Talib. In this way, we can begin a reconciliation process, including new demands to bring our troops home. Now.
-- Rico Thomas Rico
Video of Iraq Journalist Salam Talib
Addressing the UFPJ General Assembly Here:
Salam Talib
Posted on Dec 17, 2008 by Peace Education Center
UFPJ National Assembly: Sunday Morning Report
CHICAGO - Yesterday's long day of peace planning was concluded by a very serious panel discussion on building a stronger international peace movement. And, even later, a not-so-serious dance party was held for the delegates who still had energy for dancing to oldies tunes. Code Pink delegates seemed to have endless energy, judging by their moves on the dance floor. After more than 7 years of Bush-Cheney, dancing as fast-as-we-can is no problem.
The remarks from UFPJ's international guests brought a helpful global perspective to the weekend's discussion. Speakers from Iraq, Canada, Germany, and Palestine addressed the UFPJ delegation, with UFPJ activist Phyllis Bennis hosting the discussion. The panelists, generally, interpreted the election of Barak Obama as a positive American move for peace. However, Afghanistan was often mentioned a troubling situation. Palestinian activist Ali Abunimah, in voicing these concerns, talked about the prospect of America trading the killing of Iraqis with the killing of Afghanis -- which is not much progress regardless of who sits in the White House. Abunimah also pointed out that the American allowance for the Israel's collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza is no sign of progress, especially if these actions are allowed to continue after January 20, 2009.
Bennis and Salam Talib from Iraq addressed the ongoing concerns of the U.S. occupation centered in Baghdad. Bennis gave the weekend-sheltered UFPJ delegates reports that an American general comment publicly over the weekend that U.S. troops can and will stay in Iraq despite that country's official plans to have them fully vacated. Obviously, this is an interesting statement from the American military considering President-elect Obama's pronouncements and public positions on the Iraq occupation.
The report from Canada offered some interesting challenges to UFPJ activists. Our neighbors to the north will be hosting two major international conferences in 2010, including a visit from the G-8. Also, Vancouver will be the host site for the 2010 Olympics. Our gracious Canadian neighbors are inviting the American peace community to come visit during these notable events. So you have a few months to pack your peace signs (in English/French) and your long johns.
In the meantime, I will invite you to come back to this blog next week as I will be posting videos of the various speeches and panel discussions during the UFPJ 4th General Assembly.
-- Rico Thomas Rico
[cross posted from the blog www.ricothomasrico.blogspot.com.]
Posted on Dec 14, 2008 by Peace Education Center
UFPJ National Assembly: Late Day Report from Saturday Session
CHICAGO - The peace work is humming along at the 4th National Assembly of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), the expansive coalition of U.S. peace and justice organizations.
Today has been the first full day of planning for the coming new year and the coming new presidential administration. Organizational reps from all over the country have converged on Obamatown to review and reaffirm its unity statement, to establish a strategic plan, and to focus on specific actions for 2009. This is a tall order for the more than 200 voting delegates.
The assembly officially kicked off the weekend Friday night with a dinner event followed by a panel discussion featuring activists Tom Hayden, William McNary, and Antonia Jushasz. The speakers -- including UFPJ organizers -- clearly reflected the prevalent attitude in the crowd: The peace organizers were feeling good about the results of U.S. elections and nation's repudiation of the Bush-Cheney policies. Even though the peace movement here recognized their big contribution to affecting the national mood, the attitude was far from gloating. There remains the sound in people voices the determination -- and yes some wariness -- in recognizing the struggle for peace continues. Everyone here knows that the changeover in the White House is the beginning of a new stage in challenging U.S. militarism around the globe and economic inequities at home.
The feel-good mood, and determination, carried over to today. At this point, we are well into the tenth hour of working on the nuts-and-bolts organizing business that keeps the UFPJ coalition moving forward. Still, I don't see any diminishing of the delegate crowd at the conference hall. The delegates agreed earlier by consensus on a slightly revised unity statement for the national organizations. By lunchtime, the group agreed by consensus on a detailed strategic framework which establishes priorities. Throughout the process, facilitators moved the discussion along, allowing input to the various documents and ensuring concerns were addressed.
This afternoon has focused on specific actions and the UFPJ structure. The elections for the national steering committee is in process now, as well. The decisions on action items and steering committee voting will continue into tomorrow.
I am saving you the details about the many of the assembly's decisions for the moment. The finalized documents -- unity statement and strategic framework -- will be posted on the web by UFPJ after the assembly. Additional work on Sunday will add to the details.
For the delegates here, this long day is still not over. But, hey, who said peace work -- especially peace organizing -- was easy?
-- Rico Thomas Rico
Posted on Dec 14, 2008 by Peace Education Center