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Peace Movement

How A Small Activist Sailing Ship Challenged The Nuclear Arms Race

May 21, 2023 George Lakey, Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
In today’s polarized context, progressive movements need their best strategic thinking. One source for inspiration should be the Golden Rule, a historic sailing ship that’s currently visiting ports along the Eastern U.S. Organized by Veterans for Peace, this national tour puts the 1958 Golden Rule voyage back in the news. Nearly 65 years ago, the Golden Rule defiantly sailed toward the Pacific Ocean site where U.S. nuclear weapons were being tested, sparking a movement that forced the U.S. government to sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. As a young activist, I got to know and learn from some of the original crew members and organizers. So, it was a delight to set foot on the Golden Rule last week for a sail in the Philadelphia harbor.

Renewed Peace Movement Lauded As Protesters Marched In Washington

March 23, 2023 Julie Varughese, Toward Freedom. , , , ,
Washington, D.C.—An estimated couple of thousand of people to “several thousand” marched on March 18 in downtown Washington D.C., calling for an end to the U.S. imperialist project that they hold responsible for 20 years of a “War on Terror” on millions of people. The weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. U.S. interference in the form of military invasions and other types of activities since 2001 have caused the global displacement of 38 million people and the death of at least 900,000 people, according to the Costs of War Project. Those are conservative estimates.

20 Years After Start Of The Iraq War, Peace Movement Protests Another War

March 19, 2023 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , ,
Today, some organizers are too young to remember the outbreak of the Iraq War, representing an entirely new generation of the anti-war movement. Delaney Leonard, a 19-year-old in her first year of college and a member of the Howard University Dissenters, an anti-war group at a historically Black university, cannot recall a time in her life when the US wasn’t at war. She will be part of the demonstration Saturday because “the effects of billions of dollars being taken away from crucial sectors of our country such as education, healthcare, or housing has been intrinsic to my youth.”

What Killed America’s Peace Movement?

September 5, 2022 Robert Scheer, Scheer Post. , , ,
The feminist anti-war group CODEPINK, with its mission to “educate, inspire, and activate” Americans about the need for peace and how it intersects with crises such as climate change, stands out as one of the few effective peace movements in the U.S. today. Its co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans join Scheer to offer their perspectives on the war in Ukraine and the reasons they still have hope for a peaceful future. Benjamin has reported from conflict zones and written a dozen books, with the most recent, “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict,” forthcoming from OR Books in October.

The Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Follows 1982’s Million-Person March

June 19, 2022 John Laforge, Counter Punch. , , ,
Hamburg, Germany - Last Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the June 12, 1982 million-person march in New York City for a “freeze” on nuclear weapons building, followed two days later by a mass nonviolent action at the consular offices of nuclear weapons states. Some 1,700 people, myself included, were arrested as we sat in the street blockading the nuclear-armed consulates, confronted by horse-mounted cops literally chomping at the bit while we nervously stared up at the menacing police singing We Shall Not be Moved. We were moved out of the street that day in 1982, but the movement wasn’t deterred. We’ve pushed on for decades in spite of ridicule, harassment, and imprisonment, seeing to the slashing of the U.S. nuclear arsenal from over 60,000 in those days, to today’s approximately 5,000 — an amount still grotesque enough to incinerate and contaminate most of the living beings on Earth.

Thousands Sign Petition Supporting Assange Release

January 20, 2022 the United National Antiwar Coalition, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Washington, DC - Led by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), more than 26 antiwar groups and 2,500 individual peace and justice advocates have cosponsored a statement calling for the immediate release of publisher Julian Assange and commending him for his contributions toward global peace. Assange is currently fighting extradition to the United States after the Trump administration indicted him on unprecedented Espionage Act charges. His indictment marked the first time in U.S. history that a journalist has been charged for publishing truthful information.  Since being removed from Ecuador's London embassy after a new Ecuadorian administration bowed to U.S. pressure to withdraw his asylum, Assange has been held for more than 1,000 days in Belmarsh Prison while his extradition case is being heard through UK courts.

Notes From National Peace And Justice Unity Meeting

October 19, 2021 Bruce K. Gagnon, Organizing Notes. , , ,
The meeting was attended by leaders from the US Peace Council, Black Alliance for Peace, United National Antiwar Coalition, United for Peace & Justice, Veterans For Peace, Answer Coalition, Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, WorldBeyondWar, Code Pink, Popular Resistance, Task Force on the Americas, and International Action Center.

Black Alliance For Peace Launches International Month Of Action

September 30, 2021 Black Alliance for Peace, Popular Resistance. , , ,
The Black Alliance for Peace's Africa Team and the U.S. Out of Africa Network are organizing an international month of action to raise the public's awareness as a contribution to the effort to build a popular movement for demilitarization and anti-imperialism on the African continent. This month’s events will focus on raising the public's awareness about the use of western military power to impose western control of African land, resources, and labor on behalf of the world’s corporations. AFRICOM continues to militarily occupy Africa, with thousands of U.S. troops now stationed in some 30 African countries with dozens of U.S. bases across the continent, while it carries out bombings in places like Somalia. 

As US Empire Declines, What Openings Exist For Progressive Movements?

August 19, 2021 George Lakey, Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
The fall of Kabul with, once again, the hurried and chaotic departure of surprised Americans, has led to an abundance of hand-wringing from the U.S. political center, as well as the right. Its larger meaning is important for people who want progressive change in the United States. For well over a decade I’ve noted to activist audiences that the U.S. empire is in decline. At the same time, I’ve encouraged activists to see this as good news — even if it means there will be challenges like increasing polarization. For one thing, the decline won’t be causing centrists to re-evaluate their support for empire. They don’t even use the word “empire,” of course — but running an empire has been a fact of life for U.S. governments since the late 1800s when the left lost the vigorous national debate about imperialism.

Why There Should Be A Pivot To Peace, Not War, With China

September 5, 2020 K. J. Noh, Pivot to Peace Inaugural Webinar. , , ,
A new international peace movement is being launched that opposes the new US military doctrine that is preparing this country for “major power conflict” with China. The doctrine of “major power conflict” will become a self-fulfilling prophecy unless the American people act to put the brakes on a doctrine/policy that is escalating global tensions, accelerating a new nuclear arms race, and eliminating accepted international arms treaties. While the Pentagon pivots toward preparations for major power conflict in Asia the non-stop demonization of China by the government and mainstream media has replaced an informed debate about the dangerous implications of the new US doctrine/policy

International Conference Building Solidarity To Stop The US War Machine

March 7, 2020 Bahman Azad, US Peace Council , ,
The Cyprus International Conference is jointly organized by the World Peace Council and the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases. t is the culmination of serval years of work by both organizations to create broad anti-imperialist unity aross continents and nations.  The unified and coordinated action of all forces opposing US/NATO militarist action is a fundamental requirement for a successful struggle to put an end to the military, economic, and environmental war that is being waged against all of humanity. The Cyprus International Conference Against Imperialism is a response to this historical necessity and a significant step toward creating a broad, unified international front against imperialism.

Golden Rule, The Peace Boat, In Hawaii And Going Beyond

February 23, 2020 By Ann Wright and Helen Jaccard, Popular Resistance
Sixty-one years ago in 1958 the Golden Rule and her intrepid crew sailed from Los Angeles to stop U.S. atmospheric nuclear weapons from being exploded in the Marshall Islands.  Under orders from the U.S. government, the Coast Guard stopped the boat in Honolulu and arrested the captain and crew, who spent 60 days in jail. Now, 61 years later in 2020, the Golden Rule, is back in Hawaii and is ready to sail to the Marshall Islands and beyond on her continuing mission to prevent a nuclear war.  With Veterans for Peace as her sponsor, the Golden Rule and crew are planning to leave Hawai’i in late-February and sail to the Marshall Islands and then on to Hiroshima, Japan for the 75th commemoration of the horrific U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Report On NoWar2019 Pathways To Peace Conference, Limerick, Ireland

October 12, 2019 Caroline Hurley, Worldbeyondwar.org , ,
An anti-war conference called ‘NoWar2019 Pathways to Peace’ took place last weekend at Limerick’s South Court Hotel, organised by WorldBeyondWar. Irish and international concerned parties met to consider the extent of militarism in Ireland and elsewhere, and to work towards preventing the war response everywhere with all its inhumane impacts. Speakers included seasoned Irish and American activists, contributors from Germany, Spain, Afghanistan, journalists and others. A video link enabled MEP Clare Daly to join from Brussels. Presenter and producer of RTÉ Global Affairs series What in the World...

From A Russian: Our Planet Is So Small That We Must Live In Peace

September 18, 2019 By Ann Wright, PopularResistance.org , ,
I was in the Russian Far East, in the city of Yakutsk as a part of the Center for Citizens Initiatives citizen to citizen diplomacy program. The 45-person delegation from the United States had completed five days of dialogue in Moscow with Russian economic, political and security specialists about their analyses of today’s Russia, formed into small teams and had disbursed to 20 cities all over Russia to meet people and learn about their lives, their hopes and their dreams.

Cooperatives And Peace: A Report On Cooperatives’ Contributions To Peacebuilding And Conflict Resolution

April 9, 2019 Staff, Coopseurope.coop ,
Presenting practical examples, the report looks at cooperatives contributing to the empowerment of minority groups affected by conflict, providing decent work and sustainable development in fragile contexts, as well as supporting mitigation of conflict through partnerships with other actors and the provision of humanitarian support. The report demonstrates that cooperatives can play an important role in peacebuilding worldwide, while also contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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