PeaceJournal.org

Cold Shoulders
by Kathy Kelly
July 5, 2008

Over the past two years, here in Amman, Jordan, I’ve regularly visited the family of Umm Hamdi, an Iraqi woman forced out of her native Iraq four years ago by terrifying death threats after her husband, very likely prey to that same threatened violence, disappeared. Although often met with the proverbial “cold shoulder” when trying to improve conditions for her family, she persists,–in the daytime she does child care for another family and, in the evening, she knits, sews, and makes handicrafts to sell in a local market. Umm Hamdi is tough, strong and fiercely determined to provide for her children. Nevertheless, she’s wretchedly insecure as a single mother and one more refugee among thousands in a country where resources to cope with her anxious needs are very slim.  And she is worried for her son who is still in Iraq.   (more…)

Istiklal
by Kathy Kelly
July 3, 2008

The city of Amman, Jordan, is awash with numerous colorful signs that proclaim independence, “Istiklal.” The word is found on posters and placards in store windows. It names a major thoroughfare, a hospital, and a shopping center. Appreciation for independence is palpable, and this could be said for numerous cities and towns throughout the region, including Iraq, where past struggles for independence are commemorated by naming buildings and streets “Istiklal.” It reflects the love of independence and the longing for it. (more…)

Arrests for War Resistance Increase Again

By Bill Quigley.

“We can never forget that everything that Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal,’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did was ‘illegal.’ It was ‘illegal’ to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany, but I am sure that if I lived in Germany during that time I would have comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal…we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

There have been over 15,000 arrests for resistance to war since 2002. There were large numbers right after the run up to and invasion of Iraq. Recently, arrests have begun climbing again. Though arrests are a small part of anti-war organizing, their rise is an indicator of increasing resistance. (more…)

Please sign petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/DefRU3/

To: Rutgers University Administration and the New Brunswick Police Department
Defend the Rutgers 3!

On March 27, hundreds of Rutgers students and supporters participated in the Rutgers Walkout against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Students walked out of classes, rallied on campus, marched through downtown New Brunswick, and spontaneously walked on to Route 18, a state highway. During the action, the police did not complain to student organizers, issue warnings to the crowd, or attempt to stop any of the actions. The non-violent protest, organized by 12 student organizations, ended without incident. (more…)

Weary of War?  Don’t Collaborate.
By Kathy Kelly
April 17, 2008

An April 14th AP article by Anne Flaherty reported that U.S. Senators and Representatives are finding common ground in asking that Iraqis begin picking up the tab for the cost of war.  (more…)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwjqwQrpJfE

Thanks to Holly Near for giving permission to use her song “I Am Willing.”

I dedicate this video to the victims of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and do so in memory of the over a million who have been killed in these wars.

See testimonies by witnesses to war at http://www.ivaw.org (more…)

Support Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

(Videos Originally published November 9, 2007)

Camilo Mejia, Iraq veteran and Chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War, gave with workshop with Martin Smith (Midwest Coordinator of IVAW) on “Soldiers Against the War from Vietnam to Iraq.” (22:22 minutes)

Martin Smith, Midwest Regional Coordinator of Iraq Veterans Against the War, gave the second presentation. (22:17 minutes)

This meeting was one of many educational programs offered at the Midwest Socialist Conference, held at the University of Illinois at Chicago, November 3-4, 2007.Visit the website of Iraq Veterans Against the War and read Socialistworkerfor more information on this topic.Video © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved. Websites may embed with video for non-profit use. PeaceJournal.org

Sherry Wolf, Editorial Board member of the International Socialist Review, asked activists to join the long term struggle at the plenary session of the Midwest Socialist Conference on November 3rd. 

There are no quick solutions, she said. Making a commitment to the long term struggle is “the only way we are going to win,” she said. The Midwest Socialist Conference was hosted at the University of Illinois of Chicago from November 3-4, 2007. It was one of the regional socialist conferences taking place that weekend across the country.

For more information, see:

Socialist Worker

Obrero Socialista

International Socialist Review

Haymarket Books

International Socialist Organization

Video © 2007 Charles Jenks; all rights reserved
PeaceJournal.org

Original article in Socialist Worker

Why is the antiwar movement so weak?

October 12, 2007

ERIC RUDER analyzes the state of the national antiwar struggle and what lies ahead.

SINCE THE start of the Iraq war, antiwar sentiment has grown dramatically in the U.S. In 2003, 23 percent of the U.S. population thought the U.S. invasion was a mistake. Today, that figure stands at 58 percent.

Yet the antiwar movement had its largest mobilization before the war began, and more recent demonstrations have been smaller than those held several years previously, before public opinion had turned dramatically against the occupation. (more…)

Organized Money v. Organized People

by Cindy Sheehan

“At a time like this, scorching iron, not convincing argument, is needed.” Frederick Douglass“

Cindy’s campaign will prove that organized people can beat organized money” Reverend Lennox Yearwood; founder of the Hip Hop Caucus (more…)

As I sit sipping my morning cup of coffee and reflect on the anti-war protests sponsored by the Oct27 coalition (where I saw some good collaboration between UFPJ and ANSWER—at least in San Francisco—yea!), I have a few thoughts.

Yesterday, tens of thousands of activists from around Northern California, Northern Nevada and some from Southern Oregon attended the rally in my new hometown, San Francisco. Despite weather in the Eastern part of the country, I hear that the rallies all over the rest of the country were extremely well attended and the energy was high.

The throngs of humanity in San Francisco stretched out between the Civic Center to Dolores Park in a line that was over two miles long and it took over an hour for the last marcher to reach the endpoint. However, what does this all mean? (more…)