Peace and Freedom articles from March 2005

Peace and Freedom archives from March 2005

Building the "table of peace" for 90 years.
March 22, 2005... What does it mean to be a peace-making and peace-seeking organization for 90 years? Will there ever be a year when we are able to rest? The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom has a wealth of history from which to mine concepts,...

2005-2008 campaigns selected.(Women's International League for Peace and Freedom)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... After in-depth discussion, WILPF's U.S. Section Board decided in April 2004 to have two program campaigns for the years 2005-2008 rather than four, as in previous years. We also decided to make the selection process as democratic as possible,...

Women challenge U.S. policy: building peace on justice in the Middle East.
March 22, 2005... Our campaign makes important interconnections with other WILPF concerns and past campaigns: Peace: We will pinpoint the role of U.S. policy in prolonging conflict in the Middle East, expose weapons sales and nuclear proliferation in the...

Save the Water.
March 22, 2005... Save the Water not only interconnects all three of WILPF's major themes but, because water is a critical issue for every community in the country, it has the potential of being an exciting outreach opportunity for WILPF. The idea for this...

WILPF, Iraq, Afghanistan and the push for empire.
March 22, 2005... The U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have brought into focus two starkly different visions for earth's future. These alternative visions have been with us since the beginning of human history: one nurturing and compassionate, the...

Profits of mass destruction: talking points for your discussions about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
March 22, 2005... Had any conversations about Iraq or Afghanistan lately? As a peace activist you probably have, and if your conversations were with people who rely on the mainstream corporate media for information, some may have been a little contentious....

Race, justice, and war.(Afghanistan-ethnic groups)
March 22, 2005... Our acronym, UFORJE, is used so often that what it stands for is sometimes forgotten: Uniting for Racial Justice: Truth, Reparations, Restoration, and Reconciliation. When the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq was announced as the...

Is Cuba next?(Bush's foreign policy)
March 22, 2005... What countries come to mind when considering President Bush's seeming intent to wage perpetual war through the doctrine of pre-emption? Iran, of course. Syria, maybe. North Korea? Could be. Add Cuba to the list. Ridiculous? We hope so....

Confronting U.S. policy on Israel/Palestine.(Around and about WILPF)
March 22, 2005... Libby Frank spoke before two WILPF groups in Michigan last December; the following are some of the key points of her talk. Her complete speech, footnotes and all, can be found on the WILPF website, www.wilpf.org. While public attention is...

Heterosexism: how does it affect our political work?(Around and about WILPF)
March 22, 2005... * Heterosexism: Discrimination based on the belief that only opposite-gender sexual relationships are legitimate; enforced by prejudice plus institutional power, as are racism, classism, and other oppressions * Homophobia: a fear or hatred...

CEDAW campaign goes local.(Around and about WILPF)(Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women)
March 22, 2005... The Women's Rights/CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) issues committee is joining local efforts to advance human rights and actively seeking WILPF members to work with us on campaigns that use...

Tsunami aid: give to the WILPF-Sri Lanka Fund.(Around and about WILPF)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Many WILPF members have asked what they can do to help tsunami survivors in South Asia. WILPF International is accepting donations to a WILPF-Sri Lanka Fund that will be used for the organizational work of WILPF in Sri Lanka, according to the...

Ending the U.S. war in Iraq: how to bring the troops home and internationalize the peace.
March 22, 2005... "There is an old military doctrine called the First Rule of Holes: If you find yourself stuck in one, stop digging." --the late Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Around the world the vast majority of people and governments...

Women, feminism, and peace: highlights from the 2005 World Social Forum.
March 22, 2005... The World Social Forum returned this year to Porto Alegre, Brazil, for its fifth incarnation. Between January 26-31, more than 200,000 people from 135 countries participated in the events designed to represent an alternative to the World...

Meet WILPF's new secretary general: Susi Snyder.(Women's International League for Peace and Freedom)(Interview)
March 22, 2005... On January 31, Susanne "Susi" Snyder embarked on her new role as International WILPF's secretary general, based in Geneva, Switzerland. At 28, she already has almost a decade of anti-nuclear and peace activism behind her. A native New Yorker,...

The WILPF 90th Anniversary Triennial Congress: leave your heart in San Francisco, but work for peace everywhere!
March 22, 2005... San Francisco State University (SFSU) is the site of the 90th Anniversary Triennial WILPF Congress on August 10-14, 2005. The cost for the entire Congress, including registration, all meals, a shared room, and all materials and events is only...

Wilpfers honored.(BranchAction News)(War Resisters League honors Ellen Barfield)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Ellen Barfield (Baltimore) was given a gala tribute in San Francisco by the War Resisters League for her work with the League, the School of the Americas Watch, Veterans for Peace, and WILPF. Sally Frank (Des Moines), a member of the Drake...

Repression.(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Santa Cruz's newsletter carried an article entitled "Fascism in Small-Town Oregon: An Eyewitness Account." Written by a lawyer, it reported that when President Bush came to Jacksonville, OR, to campaign on October 16, 2004, people carrying...

Elections.(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Most branches participated in the get-out-the-vote campaigns in their area. Delaware County joined the Campaign for Peace and Democracy and mobilized WILPF volunteers. Berkeley published a comprehensive list of contacts for election...

Where do we go from here?(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Many branches addressed the issue of post-election planning. Monterey County held a three-hour workshop on the topic. Santa Cruz invited women from diverse communities to discuss this question in light of their cultures and interests.

Iraq.(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Portland published Iraq Watch's October highlights of "A Failed Transition: The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War," a report from the Institute for Policy Studies. Among the findings: As of last fall, between 12,800 and 14,843 Iraqi civilians had...

Militarism.(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Los Angeles presented a speaker from the Coalition Against Militarism in the Schools, part of the Human Rights Committee of the United Teachers of Los Angeles. Palo Alto has mounted a campaign called Think First that provides anti-military...

Nuclear weapons.(BranchAction News)
March 22, 2005... Detroit, Portland, and St. Louis urged action on the draft environmental impact statement for the ballistic missile defense system ("Star Wars") that was due November 17, 2004. Delaware County and Detroit both showed the new documentary "A...

Environment.(BranchAction NewsPeace and Environment Committee in Minnesota Metro )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Minnesota Metro has a new Peace and Environment Committee that will focus on how the American lifestyle impacts the environment and promotes injustice around the world, as well as on nuclear waste/production pollution. St. Louis highlighted the...

Water issues.(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Berkeley and Cape Cod formed water-issues groups, and proposed the new national campaign Save the Water. Santa Cruz is reactivating its Challenging Corporate Power group to help fight for a local community's right to regain control over its...

Racial justice.(BranchAction News)(human rights programs)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Catonsville invited Sheila Shafiq from the Islamic Society of Baltimore to present a program on "Understanding Islam." Cape Cod is working with others to get a Human Rights Commission for their county. Chapel Hill urged support for the March...

A WILPF woman remembered.(BranchAction News)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 22, 2005... Marcia McLane (1919-2005) did not consider herself a radical, just a woman who worked for change in whatever way she could. Marcia joined the Fresno branch in 1966, and her WILPF work became the main focus of her political activity. She served...

WILPF's advice and dissent.(WILPF In Washington)(Women's International League for Peace and Freedom)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... An important part of WILPF's advocacy in the 109th U.S. Congress will be grounded in the Senate's "advise and consent" power granted by the Constitution. With Republican majorities in both chambers, legislative victories to change the course...

Enduring appointments: the federal judiciary.(WILPF In Washington)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... The federal courts decide issues of executive power, and international and constitutional law. Unless citizens can stop the worst of Bush's judicial appointments during his second term, the courts will not be an arena where we can undo the...

Save the filibuster.(WILPF In Washington)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and former Judiciary Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have laid the groundwork for a Senate putsch to eliminate the filibuster rule for judicial nominations, in order to force floor votes that would...

Congress and Iraq: more co-sponsors for H. Con. Res. 35 needed.(WILPF In Washington)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... With trenchant "Whereas" clauses baring the facts and falsehoods of the war on Iraq, a resolution introduced by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-6th CA) on January 26, 2005, with 24 co-sponsors, calls on the president to: "(1) develop and...

Brighter vision: SMART security and support for NPT.(WILPF In Washington)(Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... DISARM! Campaign members Carol Reilley Urner, Ellen Barfield, and Vicki Ferguson visited the House office buildings on Capitol Hill in February to press for early reintroduction of two other Woolsey-sponsored resolutions from the 108th...

90th anniversary make peace a reality write now postcards.(WILPF In Washington)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... Our goal = 10,000 postcards bundled to deliver to Washington, DC in 2005 Handsome new "Make Peace a Reality" postcards should by now have arrived for your branch, along with alert information for writing the first messages. Please write...

WILPF branches strengthen connection to JAPA Children's Books.(PeaceEducation)(Women's International League for Peace and Freedom )(Jane Addams Children's Book Award)
March 22, 2005... In October 2001, WILPF Milwaukee branch leaders Sandra Brown and Jean Woodmansee sent a letter to their membership and friends telling them about their plans to distribute the winning volumes of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. Their...

Children's Book Award ordering information.(PeaceEducation)
March 22, 2005... WILPF branches may purchase sets of 2004 Jane Addams Children's Book Awards books for donation to schools and libraries at a special price. The nine volumes (the winner in each category, two honor books in each category, plus three Special...

Cape Cod WILPF starts Joan Patchen fund.(PeaceEducation)(Women's International League for Peace and Freedom)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... The Cape Cod Branch is pleased to announce its intention to accept applications for funds in the name of longtime WILPF member, activist, and artist Joan Patchen. This fund, set up with the Jane Addams Peace Association, will award grants...

Only When Women Sing.(Brief Article)(Poem)
March 22, 2005... Editor's Note: This poem was written in honor of the women of Afghanistan and Iraq and offered as testimony at the Women's World Court War Crimes Tribunal in 2003. Do not show me tiny crowds of handpicked men; do not regale me with films...

The 2004 presidential election: what happened in Ohio?
March 22, 2005... Some election activists in Ohio, the state whose electoral votes handed President G.W. Bush a second term, will tell you that the November 2004 election was stolen. Bush is not a legitimately elected president, in their opinion, and should be...