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The US Campaign to
End the Israeli
Occupation and
United for Peace and
Justice
UFPJ
United for Peace and Justice:
Portal
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Where do we go
from here? a multiplicity of ideas...
End the Occupation |
Call for National Action for Peace in Afghanistan
President Barack Obama announced his plans to send another
21,000 troops to Afghanistan: he is girding the nation for a
long and costly military occupation there.
While he also made some good statements on increasing
diplomacy and economic aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the
emphasis is clearly on military operations. Predictably, the
Pakistan and Afghan factions of the Taliban are already uniting
to oppose our escalation of troops. As the spring fighting
season approaches,
only
one thing is certain -- more death, destruction, and misery
in a desperately poor country that has had little respite from
war for decades. Here in the US, Obama's escalation in
Afghanistan and the continuing occupation of Iraq threaten our
nation's urgent economic and domestic agenda. Now is the time
for more diplomacy, not more war!
PDX
Peace is joining United for Peace and Justice and 50 other
national and international coalitions and organizations in
calling for immediate action for peace in Afghanistan. We are
asking all of our Member Groups and Individuals to forward this
call to your lists. You can link to this alert directly
at
http://pdxpeace.org/actionalerts/take-action-afghanistan
Here are three things you and your members can do:
1)
Join the National
Call-in Day On Tuesday 31 March
Call the White House at 202-456-1414
Make sure President Obama knows that you disagree with his plans
to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1414 between 9:00
AM and 5:00 PM ET.
When: 2:00pm
Where: South Park Blocks, SW Park & Salmon
Building on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we
are marching on the anniversary of his historic speech
against the war in Vietnam and the anniversary of his
assassination.
On
Saturday, April 4, with a march and public reading of Dr.
King's speech, we are taking our message to the
people of Portland: addressing this country's economic
crisis must include drastic cuts in military spending and
that means ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last
thing our country needs is a new quagmire in Afghanistan -
it is time to bring the troops home, not send more.
3)
Join the National Week of Local Actions, April 6-8
Congress will be in recess so this is a perfect time to meet
with your representatives while they are home. Actions can
also be community or media-focused -- vigils, rallies,
public education forums with local speakers, film showings
or other events to educate and mobilize support in your
community. This is an important time to educate people about
Afghanistan and the urgent need to change U.S. policy.
Email volunteer@pdxpeace.org if
you are interested in planning or participating in an Action
that week about Afghanistan.
UFPJ calls for the following:
- A halt to the planned escalation of 21,000 U.S.
troops to Afghanistan.
We need to bring all our troops home now, not to
send more into a country where military solutions have
never worked.
- A strong commitment to diplomacy as the only
solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.
- A dramatic shift from military spending by the U.S.
to funding for Afghan-led humanitarian community
development and reconstruction projects to enable Afghan
communities to improve daily life for their own people.
Our goal is to put an end to U.S. war funding.
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2008: Looking Forward to a Critical Year
for Peace and Justice
The national steering committee
of United for Peace and Justice recently met in
New York City to examine where we are and
to look to the work ahead. One thing was very clear:
2008 will be a critical year for ending the war and occupation
in
Iraq, preventing
war on Iran
and building a massive peace and justice movement strong enough
to change the course of this country.
In 2008, the anti-war movement
must up the ante, pull out all of the stops and build so much
pressure on Washington that the next Congress and president will
be forced to finally end the war and occupation in Iraq. We must
develop new ways to express our outrage that this war continues
to cause so much death and destruction both in
Iraq and here at
home. At the same time, we must be vigilant in preventing a new
war on
Iran.
This perspective led to the development of a 3-part campaign
that will run through 2008 and lay the foundation for the work
beyond ...
Read More » |
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11/17 - Houston, TX: March and Rally
Against the War in Iraq
11/17 - Olympia, WA: Rally and march
in Olympia to support port activists
11/18 - Brooklyn, NY: Media,
History, and Late-Breaking News in
the Israel Palestine Conflict
11/18 - New York, NY: Remove Martial
Law in Pakistan
11/18 - Middletown, CT: Halting the
War Machine: Student Leaders Discuss
Building the Antiwar Movement
11/19 - Middletown, NY: Life Under
Occupation: A Baghdad School
Teacher's Story
11/28 - Walnut Creek, CA: Civil
Liberties Lost: Project Censored
2008, with Peter Phillips
11/30 - New York, NY: Hear Those
Most Affected by the War
12/01 - Anderson, IN: Peace Rally
12/15 - Broooklyn, NY: Memorial
Tribute to Ricky Singh;
Film-Screening "When I Came Home" re
Homeless Vets
12/16 - Sacramento, CA: Why We Need
a Department of Peace
12/21 - Valley Forge, PA: Christmas
Candlelight Vigil for Peace
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$3 from every DVD
purchased via clicking
on the above image goes
to support UFPJ!
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UnitedforPeace.org is a nonpartisan resource for
anti-war and social change activists. The
information and events on this site are not
necessarily endorsed by members of United for Peace
and Justice. Please see our
editorial policy
for more information. |
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Please share
this as
widely as
possible!
Call the
House
Judiciary
Committee
TODAY:
202-225-3951.
Demand
full and
thorough
hearings
on H.Res.
799/333,
Rep.
Dennis
Kucinich's
bill on
the
impeachment
of Vice
President
Dick
Cheney.
See
below
for more
ways to
take
action!
There's
almost
always some
strange
twist to how
things move
through
Congress.
The most
recent
example was
just this
past
Tuesday,
Nov. 6th,
when
165
Republicans
voted to
force a
debate on
the
impeachment
of Vice
President
Dick Cheney,
and
Democrats
voted
against
it.
Somehow both
parties
thought that
an open
debate about
the crimes
of Dick
Cheney would
embarrass
the
Democrats.
Here is what
happened: As
promised,
Rep. Dennis
Kucinich
(OH)
requested a
floor vote
on H.Res.
799
(formerly
H.Res. 333),
a bill he
had
introduced
to move a
process to
impeach Vice
President
Dick Cheney
forward.
Rep. Steny
Hoyer -- who
as Majority
Leader is in
the second
highest
position in
the House --
moved to
table the
bill. Then
all hell
broke loose,
as 165
Republicans
voted with
Rep.
Kucinich and
85 other
brave
Democrats to
force a
debate on
impeachment.
Determined
to block
that debate,
Rep. Hoyer
moved to
send H.Res.
799 back to
the
Judiciary
Committee.
That motion
passed with
the support
of all but 5
Democrats
(Kucinich,
Bob Filner,
Marcy
Kaptur,
Maxine
Waters, and
Ed Towns).
Read a live
blog of the
proceedings
here.
United for
Peace and
Justice
recognizes
the
significance
of this
development,
and we urge
you to help
move this
process
forward.
Here are
some things
you can do:
1. Call the
House
Judiciary
Committee
at
202-225-3951
and demand
full and
thorough
hearings on
H.Res.
799/333.
2.
Sign this
petition
to Speaker
of the House
Nancy Pelosi
and the
Democratic
members of
the House
Judiciary
Committee.
3. If you
live in the
district of
a House
Judiciary
Committee
member, call
his or her
office
and say that
you're a
constituent
and you want
immediate
hearings on
H.Res.
799/333. (Click
here to look
up your rep
and find out
if he or she
is on the
committee.)
You can also
join a local
Congressional
District
Impeachment
Committee
and organize
activities
to keep the
pressure on
your
representative,
with letters
to the
editor,
calls to
local radio
talk shows,
and pointed
questions at
every
community
forum
attended by
your
representative.
4. If your
representative
is not on
the House
Judiciary
Committee,
call and ask
him or her
to
co-sponsor
H.Res.
799/333.
(Click
here to find
his or her
office phone
numbers.)
If your rep
is
one of the
22 who have
already
co-sponsored
H.Res. 333,
call and
offer your
thanks and
urge him or
her push for
immediate
hearings on
H.Res.
799/333 in
the House
Judiciary
Committee.
5. Start a
media
campaign,
including
op-ed
articles on
impeaching
Cheney,
letters-to-the-editor
about the
Kucinich
resolution,
and
informational
picketing in
front of the
offices of
local media.
Click here
to find a
media
activism
kit. |
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Please share
this as widely as
possible!
We are
organizing Iraq
Moratorium Days,
thousands of
concerned
individuals like
you, from
Auburn, Alabama,
to Madison,
Wisconsin, from
Mesa, Arizona,
to Boston,
Massachusetts,
are taking
action in their
communities to
make opposition
to the war and
occupation in
Iraq visible,
and to say no to
a new war in
Iran.
Hopefully we can
provide a
schedule of
these days soon.
We urge you to
participate in
this simple yet
powerful
initiative. It's
not too late to
take part.
Here are
some things you
can do today:
- Wear an
anti-war
button,
armband, or
t-shirt --
something
visible
expressing
your
opposition
to the war.
Encourage
others to do
so as well.
- Check to
see if there
is
an activity
happening in
your city.
If there is,
join in and
bring a
friend.
- Put
an anti-war
sign in
your house
or apartment
window, on
your lawn,
or in your
car window.
-
Call into
radio talk
shows.
Talk about
why you
oppose the
war in Iraq,
why you want
to stop a
new war in
Iran, and
why you want
all of the
troops to be
brought home
now.
- Download
and
distribute
our "Want
to Do More?"
flyer in
your
community,
where you
work, at the
school you
attend, or
anyplace
where people
gather.
-
Sign the
Iraq
Moratorium
pledge:
"I hereby
make a
commitment
that on the
Third Friday
of each and
every month,
I will break
my daily
routine and
take some
action, by
myself or
with others,
to end the
War in
Iraq." Then
forward it
to others
and
encourage
them to sign
and take
action as
well.
-
Click here
to find
other ways
you can take
action as an
individual,
and help
build this
effort.
At the end of
the day,
check the Iraq
Moratorium blog
to read reports
from actions
around the
country, and be
sure to post a
report on what
you did as well.
(You must
register for an
account and
login at
www.iraqmoratorium.org.)
It's got to stop
-- we've got to
stop it.
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the Strategic Framework and the Comprehensive Program
Proposal.
Both of the documents have been changed
through the process of getting your input and suggestions and
then doing the new drafts. The next step in this process will
take place at the National Assembly. These documents will be
discussed in full plenary sessions so it will be important to
make sure your representatives to the assembly get feedback from
your group.
Here are the links to the two documents:
1) 3rd Draft of the Strategic Framework:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/strategic_framework_3.pdf
2) 3rd Draft of the Comprehensive Program Proposal:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/comprehensive_program_3.pdf
Please call the UFPJ national office if you have any questions -
212-868-5545. |
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On Sunday, an
estimated crowd of
more than 5,000
people gathered
at the West Lawn of
the Capitol for a
rally protesting 40
years of Israel's
illegal military
occupation of the
Palestinian West
Bank, Gaza Strip,
and East Jerusalem,
and the Syrian Golan
Heights.
Messages of
solidarity were sent
in by:
-
Democratic
candidate
Rep. Dennis
Kucinich
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Actress,
comedienne, &
talk show host
Roseanne Barr
-
Former candidate
& consumer
advocate
Ralph Nader
-
African National
Congress
Executive
Committee
member Ronnie
Kasrils
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The assembled crowd also
heard statements from a
broad array of US civil
society calling for an end
to US support for Israeli
occupation, including:
-
Kyung Za Yim,
President of the Women's
Division of the United
Methodist Church,
representing nearly 1
million members
-
Julia Willebrand,
Co-Chair of the
International Committee
of the Green Party of
the United States,
representing 200,000
members
Some videos from the rally
have been posted on the
internet and more will be
posted shortly.
To watch Andy Shallal, from
Iraqi Voices for Peace,
click here.
To watch Ambassador Ed Peck,
from the Council for the
National Interest
Foundation,
click here.
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Following the rally
at the Capitol,
protesters marched
to the Washington
Monument. To watch
the spirited march,
click here and
here.
To view pictures of
the rally and march,
click here.
If you have
additional pictures
and videos, please
send us the links to
office@endtheoccupation.org
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Yesterday, approximately 300
grassroots lobbyists from
more than 30 states filled
the halls of Congress to
meet with their
Representatives and Senators
to demand an end to US
support for Israeli
occupation; for the United
States to hold Israel
accountable for its
violations of the US Arms
Export Control Act and
Foreign Assistance Act; to
restrict the export of
cluster bombs munitions to
Israel and other countries;
and to call for the United
States to appoint a special
envoy for Middle East peace.
The two-day mobilization was covered in the
media by Democracy Now! To
view a video of US Campaign
Steering Committee member
Phyllis Bennis discussing
the mobilization,
click here.
The rally was also covered in the
Detroit News, the
Huffington Post, the
Jerusalem Post, the
Austin American Statesman,
and many other publications.
Although the June 10-11 mobilization was a
huge success, our struggle
to end US support for
Israel's military occupation
and other human rights
abuses against the
Palestinian people must
continue!
We've got a lot of big bills
coming due from this
weekend's historic
mobilization and we need
your support to continue
educating, organizing, and
mobilizing to end US support
for Israel's military
occupation!
Please make the most
generous tax-deductible
contribution you can today
to help us continue our work
by
clicking here.
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As a thank you, for
a limited time, with
any contribution of
$25 or more, we'll
send you a set of
signs from this
weekend's historic
mobilization, along
with two sets of our
anti-apartheid
poster series. These
suitable-to-frame
signs read "End US
Support for Israeli
Occupation", "The
World Says NO! to
Israeli Occupation",
"Justice for
Palestinians", and
"A Just Peace for
Palestinians and
Israelis".
Make tax-deductible
contributions today
by
clicking here. |
We also have a few
dozens June 10
protest t-shirts
left in medium,
large, and extra
large sizes. These
union-made,
sweatshop-free
t-shirts are now on
sale for $15,
including shipping
and handling. Order
yours today because
they will sell out
fast. To place your
order,
click here.
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US Campaign to
End
the
Israeli Occupation PO Box 21539
Washington, DC 20009
202-332-0994
http://www.endtheoccupation.org
To donate,
click
here To
subscribe,
click
here To
unsubscribe,
click
here |
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The
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