Thank goodness for the rain! It has been so refreshing to finally see a bit of rain in the bay area lately – and it looks like we’re in store for some more in the next coming weeks. We encourage everyone to stay safe as the roads get more slippery and flu/cold season makes its return. We’re going to need all the strength we can for this next year of organizing!
There are some exciting events coming up in the next couple weeks.
This Saturday, October 23rd – there will be a rally / teach-in in support of Julian Assange & the freedom of press/speech.
This teach-in will take place from 12PM to 1:30PM in front of the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. The event has been organized by Freedom for Julian Assange SF Bay Area and will feature special guest speakers, Nozomi Hayase, Mickey Huff (Project Censored), Cynthia Papermaster (CODEPINK), Rick Sterling (Syria Solidarity Movement/Mt Diablo Peace and Justice Center), Jeff Mackler, Shahid Buttar, and Tom Lacey – alongside taped greetings from Alice Walker, Daniel Ellsberg, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, and Boots Riley!
Come protest the corrupt system that uses secrecy to hide its crimes! A flyer with more information is attached below.
The Peace Center is also excited to announce a webinar we have co-organized with Veterans for Peace – set to take place Tuesday, October 26th from 7PM – 8:30PM via ZOOM – as a part of Walnut Creek Sustainability Week. The webinar will be focused specifically on the Veterans for Peace campaign around Climate Change and Militarism. We think that this perspective is extremely important and a highly under-looked issue.
The webinar will be led by Gary Butterfield from Veterans for Peace and focus on:
- The carbon bootprint of the US military, larger than that of many countries.
- The wars for oil and other resources – how they support the fossil fuel-based status quo.
- The unequal burden of both climate crisis and militarism on people of color, the poor, and future generations.
- The resources spent on militarism and war – redirect to respond to the existential threat of climate crisis.
For more information on Sustainability Week please visit this link: https://www.sustainablewalnutcreek.org/sustainability-week/ and use this link to register: https://forms.gle/rigAMGXuT1WYyEmp9
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out! In the past week, we have had some issues with our office phone – but it should be working properly now! Our office hours are 10-4PM (Monday-Friday). If I am not able to be reached by phone, please use my email: andrew@ourpeacecenter.org ! Thank you so much for your continued support of the Center!
best,
Andrew Kodama
Recommended Reading:
Notes from Nicaragua: Vaccine Solidarity vs. Vaccine Diplomacy by Becca Rhenk, Alliance for Global Justice https://afgj.org/nicanotes-10-14-2021?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=5f1e1261-c056-47b2-909d-1d6580def034
French Finance Minister Issues Declaration of Independence – From the US by John Walsh (Peace Center Advocacy Committee Member), https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2021/10/12/french-finance-minister-issues-declaration-of-independence-from-the-us/
Report Reveals Top Corporations Who Benefit From US Nuclear Modernization” https://progressivehub.net/report-reveals-top-corporations-who-benefit-from-us-nuclear-modernization/
“A short list of contractors that pour large sums of money into campaign contributions, lobbying, and industry-friendly think tanks benefits from the U.S. government’s ongoing, decadeslong “nuclear modernization” plan worth up to $2 trillion, according to a report out Tuesday. The issue brief—entitled Profiteers of Armageddon: Producers of the next generation of nuclear weapons—was authored by William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy, who also outlined his report in Inkstick”