Friday, October 05, 2012

Could someone wake A.N.S.W.E.R. up?


This weekend, A.N.S.W.E.R. has a series of protests around the country.  They note, "It is estimated that the cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars will end up totaling more than $4.4 trillion, $4,400,000,000,000! Military spending is devouring the resources so badly needed to provide healthcare, housing, education and jobs. This is a major cause of the shocking fact that today 48 percent of the U.S popula­tion is officially classified as “low-income” or in poverty, and the real number is even higher." And that looks like they're aware of the world the rest of us live in but then comes this:

On the weekend of Oct. 6-7, 2012, the ANSWER Coalition will join with many other organizations in cities across the country and around the world to call for an end to war and occupation in Afghanistan, Palestine and Haiti, no new wars against Syria, Iran or any country, fund human needs not militarism, and stop the attacks on civil rights and liberties.


And then you just scratch your head.

If there's something to protest this weekend, and there are many things, chief among them -- pay attention, A.N.S.W.E.R. -- should be the White House negotiating to send US troops back into Iraq.

Last week,  Tim Arango (New York Times) reported, "Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to General Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence."  If you're an antiwar or peace organization, you really should know about that report.  And if you're planning protests, it seems like Iraq should be included there.  And if you're worried about the money spent?  50 billion a year given to the State Dept for its Iraq operations and DoD continues to fund its own Iraq mission.  

And if you're going to talk "occupation," you can't not talk Iraq.  For example, today Ester Cross (The Dartmouth) reports:

Zainab Salbi, the founder of the nonprofit humanitarian organization Women for Women International and author of “The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope,” criticized the United States for contributing to Iraqi women’s diminishing social position in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq in a lecture in Filene Auditorium on Thursday.
The conflict in Iraq changed the culture of the nation by empowering the country’s more religious and radical elements, Salbi said. Consequently, conservative traditions — including wearing hijabs, polygamy and early marriage for women — are now social norms, according to Salbi.
A major cause of the social and cultural changes was Iraq’s security issues, which led to the kidnapping and victimization of economically successful women and forced women to “retreat into the home,” Salbi said.

I like A.N.S.W.E.R.'s spirit, I'm glad they exist and that they protest, but I'm really disappointed that at a time when there are practically no peace organizations, one of the few that is still around has a protest planned but seems completely unaware of what's going on.


We'll close with their announced action but first, the following community sites -- plus Antiwar.com, Pacifica Evening News, The Diane Rehm Show and Susan's On the Edge -- updated last night and this morning:



Here's A.N.S.W.E.R.'s actions this weekend:
Dear supporters and friends,
October will mark the 11th anniversary of the U.S./NATO war in Afghanistan. Contrary to countless state­ments from Democratic and Republican administrations alike claiming “great progress,” etc., the occupy­ing forces are no closer to achieving their aims than when they launched the war. In order to avoid the appearance of defeat, Washington continues to prosecute what is now the longest war in U.S. history—at a very heavy cost.
The Afghan people have suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. Millions more have been dis­placed. More than 2,700 U.S./NATO troops have been killed and tens of thousands wounded. This year, so-called “green-on-blue” killings—U.S.-trained Afghan military personnel and police shooting U.S./NATO troops—have soared, as have suicides among U.S. soldiers.
It is estimated that the cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars will end up totaling more than $4.4 trillion, $4,400,000,000,000! Military spending is devouring the resources so badly needed to provide healthcare, housing, education and jobs. This is a major cause of the shocking fact that today 48 percent of the U.S popula­tion is officially classified as “low-income” or in poverty, and the real number is even higher.
On the weekend of Oct. 6-7, 2012, the ANSWER Coalition will join with many other organizations in cities across the country and around the world to call for an end to war and occupation in Afghanistan, Palestine and Haiti, no new wars against Syria, Iran or any country, fund human needs not militarism, and stop the attacks on civil rights and liberties.
Even as the Afghanistan war drags on, the danger of new wars and interventions is on the rise. The severe sanctions imposed on Iran are already taking a deadly toll due to a lack of life-saving medical sup­plies. The sanctions have also brought a sharp increase in inflation particularly affecting food prices.
The aim of the sanctions on Iran, like the 13-year-long blockade of Iraq from 1990-2003, is to weaken the country by imposing extreme hardship on the people. The sanctions/blockade against Iraq was a con­scious, deliberate crime against humanity that took more than a million lives, half of them children under the age of five.
We must act now to prevent a repeat of this scenario in Iran! Attacking Iran could mean an even larger scale and deadlier war. This is not a settled issue: There is a struggle within U.S. ruling circles over whether or not to launch a new bombing war against Iran. This conflict is not based on one side having a more humanitarian view than the other. The opposition to a new war at the top is based on fears that such a war could lead ultimately to the diminishing of U.S. imperial power in the Middle East and beyond.
The United States, Britain, France and other NATO countries have also imposed sanctions on Syria. There are calls for establishing a “no-fly zone” over the country from elements in Congress and the administration. This could only be accomplished by launching a massive air war against Syria.
It is impossible to wage wars around the world and to maintain a military budget bigger that all other countries combined, without simultaneously carrying out a war against working people here. Speaking about this in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “The bombs in Vietnam explode at home. They destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America.
War is good business for the big banks, oil companies and military-industrial corporations, who have also benefited from huge bailouts, subsidies and tax breaks at our expense. But while a tiny fraction of the popu­lation, the one-tenth of the top 1%, has grown obscenely rich in recent years, the vast majority of people are going backwards.
Real hope lies in building a new and powerful people’s movement. The ANSWER Coalition has been dedicated since its founding in September 2001 to building, strengthen­ing and uniting the struggles against war, racism and all forms of bigotry and oppression.
October 6-7 will be an important opportunity to show opposition to the war against working people here and around the world.
Volunteers in cities across the country are hard at work to organize the Oct. 6 and 7 demonstrations – but your support is critical to the success of these actions. Please make an urgently needed tax-deductible donation to help pay for leaflets, posters, sound equipment and other costs, and help make Oct. 6 and 7 a success.
Donate
Find a protest near you to mark the
11th anniversary of the Afghanistan war:
Saturday, October 6

Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 6, 12 noon
March & Rally to shut down Army recruitment center
Hollywood & Highland
More info: www.AnswerLA.org - 213-251-1025
San Francisco, CA
Oct. 6, 12 noon
March & Rally
Powell & Market Sts.
More info: www.AnswerSF.org - 415-821-6545
Albuquerque, NM
Oct. 6, 2pm
UNM Bookstore
Central & Cornell
More info: abq@answercoalition.org
Seattle, WA
Oct. 6, 11 am
Military recruiting center on 5th Ave NE near Northgate
More info: 206-568-1661 or answer@answerseattle.org
Portland, OR
There is also an event in Portland on Oct. 7.
Oct. 6, 12noon-5pm
Rally and march
Shemanski Park (South Park Blocks at Salmon)
More info: 503-236-3065

Tulsa, AZ
Oct. 6, 12noon
Action
Corner of 41st and Yale Ave.
More info: Sponsored by Tulsa Peace Fellowship
New York City, NY
There is also an event in NYC on Oct. 7.
Oct. 6, 12noon
Times Square, Military Recruiting Center
March to Union Square
More info: World Can't Wait at 866-973-4463
Buffalo, NY
Oct. 6, 11am-12noon
Protest and leafleting
Elmwood & Bidwell
More info: IACBuffalo@peoplesmail.net
Boston, MA
Oct 6, 1:30pm
Park St.
Info: BostonUNAC@gmail.com
Philadelphia, PA
There is also an event in Philadelphia on Oct. 7.
Oct. 6
Details TBA
More info: Sponsored by Philadelphia Against War
Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 6, 1pm-4pm
Forum
East Liberty Presbytarian Church
116 South Highland Ave
More info: PittsburghEndTheWar.org
Lewisburgh, PA
Oct. 6, 12noon-1pm
Peace Vigil
Corner of Market and S 3rd St. Post Office sidewalk
More info: jcooper@bucknell.edu
Tampa, FL
There is also an event in Tampa on Oct. 7.
Oct. 6, 11:30am-2:30pm
Vigil, possible march to main gate of MacDill
Crosstown Mobil
3699 W. Gandy Blvd.
More info: 727-525-8769, jayalexus@yahoo.com
Vancouver, Canada
Oct. 6, 1pm
Vancouver Art Gallery
Robson & Howe St
More info: 604-322-1764 or info@mawovancouver.org
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Oct. 6, 1pm
Federal Building: 55 Bay Street North
More info: hcsw@cogeco.ca or 905-383-7693
Sunday, October 7
Portland, OR
There is also an event in Portland on Oct. 6.
Teach-in
Oct. 7, 12noon-5pm
PCC Cascade (N Albina and Killingsworth)
More info: 503-236-3065
Olympia, WA
Oct. 7, 1pm-6pm
Sylvester Park
Sponsored By: Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation and others
Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 7, 3pm-5pm
Rally
Salt Lake City & County Building
451 south State Street
More info: wk_wulle@yahoo.com
New York City, NY
There is also an event in NYC on Oct. 6.
Oct. 7, 4pm
125th St and Adam Clayton Powel Jr. Blvd in Harlem
More info: Sponsored by UNAC and others
Philadelphia, PA
There is also an event in Philadelphia on Oct. 6.
Oct. 7, 1pm
Vigil/Demonstration/Kite Flying
University of Pennsylvania
34th & Walnut Streets
More info: brandywine_staff@brandywinepeace.com
Columbus, OH
Oct. 7, 5pm
Vigil & Rally
OSU Main Entrance
15th Avenue and N. High St.
More info: walk@igc.org
Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 7, 1pm
March & Rally
Gather along the sidewalks at Hennepin and Lagoon Avenues in Uptown
March at 1:30pm to closing rally
More info: 612-522-1861 or 612-827-5364
Chicago, IL
Oct. 7, 3pm
Gather at Tribune Tower: 435 N. Michigan Ave.
March to Boeing headquarters
More info: answer@chicagoanswer.net
Richmond, VA
Oct. 7, 6:30pm
Public forum at William Byrd Community House: 224 So. Cherry St.
Info: 804-644-5834, DefendersFJE@hotmail.com
Talahassee, FL
Oct. 7, 12:30pm-2:30pm
400 Monroe St.
More info: Sponsored by Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace and others
Tampa, FL
There is also an event in Tampa on Oct. 6.
Oct. 7, 11:30am-2:30pm
Vigil, possible march to main gate of MacDill
Crosstown Mobil
3699 W. Gandy Blvd.
More info: 727-525-8769, jayalexus@yahoo.com
Hilton Head, SC
Oct. 7, 10:30am
Vigil
Rt. 278 and Beach City Rd.
More info: Sponsored by Hilton Head For Peace
London, England
Oct. 7
Details TBA
Info: office@stopwar.org.uk, 0207 561 9311
Islamabad, Pakistan
Oct. 7
Rally opposing drone attacks
El Volcan, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Oct. 7, 10am
Jesus Mediador Church
More info: madreacontralaguerra@yahoo.com or 787-619-5175
Before October 6-7
Albany, NY
Oct. 3, 6pm-7pm
Vigil & Speak-Out
Dana Park at the intersection of Delaware Ave, Lark Street and Madison Ave
More info: 518-466-1192 or BethlehemNeighborsforPeace@yahoo.com
Teaneck, NJ
Oct. 3, 4:30pm-6pm
5pm rally/press conference
National Gaurd Armory
Teaneck Road and Liberty Road
Info: paula.rogovin@verizon.net
Sacramento, CA
Oct. 4, 11am
Protest and Rally
Quad Area, Sacramento State University (6000 J St)
Info: 707-227-9803, answer@answersf.org
Detroit, MI
Oct. 5, 4pm-5:30pm
Entrance of Hart Plaza on Jefferson at Woodward Ave.
Info: panafnewswire@yahoo.com
Duluth, MN
Oct. 5, 6pm
Protest
Lake Ave. & Superior St, Downtown Duluth
More info: wainosunrise@yahoo.com
Monterey, CA
Oct. 5, 5pm-6pm
Window on the Bay, Del Monte Ave near Camino El Estero
more info: 831-372-5762 or judithkaras21@gmail.com
After October 6-7
Mankato, MN
Oct. 8, 11am-12:30pm
Outside of the Centennial Student Union at Minnesota State College
Info: Heather.Bradford@mnsu.edu
Rochester, NY
Oct. 10, 4-5:30pm
Federal Building
More info: sfessler@rochester.rr.com

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