| Last week, on Wednesday, February 23rd – 903 antiwar activists across the country met via a united webinar to hear remarks from leaders of 13 of the nation’s antiwar organizations and then to participate in a broad ranging discussion about how to respond to the latest US war moves in Ukraine. Opening remarks from the webinar last week were heard from: Joe Lombardo, Coordinator, UNAC; Ajamu Baraka. Black Alliance for Peace; Leela Anand, ANSWER coalition; Medea Benjamin, CodePink; Sara Flounders, International Action Center; Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance; Bruce Gagnon, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space; Joe Jamison, US PeaceCouncil; Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report; Jeff Mackler, United National Antiwar Coalition West; Nancy Price, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (US); Susan Schnall, Veterans For Peace; and David Swanson, World Beyond War. A united international week of planned protest for March 1-7, was the unanimous result of this convening. Join us this week as we organize for peace action around the Bay Area and online: Thursday, March 3: 7-10 am: Bannering at I-80 Pedestrian Overpass, Berkeley (Parking at Seabreeze Market or Aquatic Park) Friday, March 4: 4-6 pm: Rally and mass flyering, Downtown Berkeley BART, Shattuck and Center – Saturday, March 5: Solidarity with Oakland teachers fighting school closures, March & Rally 10 am – 2pm, Gather at Roots, 1390 66th Ave., Oakland Protest US-Enabled Blockade of Yemen, 1-3 pm, Lake Merritt Amphitheater, Oakland contact: eleanorlevinee@gmail.com Sunday, March 6: Protest Congressional Complicity in the War. For details, time and place contact: djasik87.9@gmail.com Sunday, March 6: 4:30 pm Antiwar Webinar (stay tuned for link) In solidarity and unity, Jeff Mackler, United National Antiwar Coalition Judy Greenspan, International Action Center Cynthia Papermaster, CodePink Rick Sterling, Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center Jeremy Miller, Black Alliance for Peace David Paul, Task Force on the Americas David Welsh, delegate, SF and Alameda Labor Councils Tom Lacey, Peace and Freedom Party Alan Benjamin, Socialist Organizer Rhonda Ramiro, BAYAN USA Eugene Ruyle, Veterans for Peace, Easy Bay Chapter Paul Cox, Veterans for Peace, San Francisco Chapter Nancy Price, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Pierre LaBoissiere, Haiti Action Committee Phoebe Anne Sorgen, Social Justice Committee, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists United National Antiwar Coalition, International Action Center, ANSWER Coalition, Workers World Party, Socialist Action, Peace and Freedom Party, CodePink, Socialist Organizer SPONSOR: No to US/NATO War in Ukraine Emergency Coalition For more information on any of the above events, please contact: Jeff Mackler jmackler@lmi.net [Background: The US aggressively expanded NATO membership to the borders of Russia and armed 30 NATO countries with military equipment while organizing for years war maneuvers on borders and coastlines of Russia. The US has imposed over 100 sanctions on Russia before this month. The US backed the 2014 fascist-led coup that overthrow the elected government of Ukraine. This rump coup government banned the Russian language and established fascist militias that marched on Eastern Ukraine, attacking Russian speaking regions. Violating some 100 cease fire agreements, they have armed the Ukrainian military to relentlessly shell the two small self-proclaimed republics.] |
Recommended Reading:
- “WWII redux: The endpoint of US policy” by John Walsh (Peace Center Advocacy Committee Member), AsiaTimes https://asiatimes.com/2022/02/wwii-redux-the-endpoint-of-us-policy/
- “How the U.S. Started a Cold War with Russia and Left Ukraine to Fight It” by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas J.S Davies, CODEPINK, https://www.codepink.org/how_the_us_started_a_cold_war_with_russia_and_left_ukraine_to_fight_ithttps://www.codepink.org/how_the_us_started_a_cold_war_with_russia_and_left_ukraine_to_fight_it
- “Chronicle of a War Foretold” by Chris Hedges, Consortium News https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/25/chris-hedges-chronicle-of-a-war-foretold/
Join CODEPINK in their Global Day of Action: Sunday, March 6th!
UPCOMING WEBINAR:
 “Diplomatic Paths to Resolution of the Ukraine/European Security Crisis” Wednesday, March 2 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am EST (due to the time zone, the webinar will begin at 7AM PST) Registration Link A Webinar by MassPeaceAction “Our peace movements have been urging diplomacy, not war, midst the tensions of the bellicose political rhetoric of the Ukraine/European security crisis. Diplomacy is the only way to untie the Gordian knot of war. Former government officials, advisors and peace advocates have been developing and pressing for a wide range of diplomatic paths to a just and enduring peace for Ukrainian and Europe as a whole: immediate risk reduction, Ukraine’s identity and sovereignty, nuclear weapons and conventional military treaty negotiations, and respect for post-Cold War commitments that no nation will seek security at the expense of others. With speakers from Moscow, Finland and Russia, the webinar will be held at 10 a.m. U.S. East Coast time, 4 p.m. in Berlin, and 6 p.m. in Moscow” Sponsored by Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security and co-sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action. Registration Link |