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How much of Earth's atmosphere must we contaminate? How much of our lands and waters must we pollute? How much of our resources must we plunder, deplete? How many species must we ravage, despoil, extinguish? How many people must we degrade, deprive, destroy with toxic wastes and wars, before we learn to respect one another, to live in harmony on this planet, our Home? "All living beings are brothers and sisters, nourished from the same source of life.." -- Thich Nhat Hanh

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Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada

I was born in Eastern Europe during the height of the Stalinist regime's reign of terror. Thus, I know what it is like to live under a repressive, dictatorial regime. The fear and terror -- as dissident friends and family members were tortured, imprisoned and some were executed -- is indelibly etched in my memory. That is the reason I have always been an ardent advocate of freedom, social justice, civil liberties, human rights and a voice of peace. The way I see it, war is morally wrong, regardless of who wages it, for whatever reason. No piece of land or commodity is worth the sacrifice of one human life. We are all members of the same race - the "human race" - and must learn to coexist peacefully. Our planet cannot sustain us much longer if we do not stop our wars, nukes, polluting, deforestation, and the wasteful, gluttonous consumption and depletion of our natural resources.

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    Thursday, May 11, 2006

    UFPJ: Upcoming Events: Operation Refuse War, Mother's Day With CodePink & More

    United for Peace and Justice

    www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 | Click to subscribe


    ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
    www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
    To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace.org/email


    Dear Friends,

    Over the next several days, including this coming weekend, a number of exciting events and activities are taking place in Washington, DC, New York, and other cities, many of them organized by member groups of United for Peace and Justice. We know it will not be possible for many of you to attend, but we thought you'd like to know what's happening. Links to websites for all of the activities are included below, and we encourage you to take a look at the sites to see if there are other ways you can be supportive of these efforts.

    May 11: We Will Not Kill: International Conscientious Objectors Speak Out! (NYC)
    May 12-14: Operation Refuse War: An International Conference of Resisters to Global War (DC)

    May 13-14: Join CodePink for Mother's Day (DC)

    May 14: Eyes Wide Open Exhibit & Silent March Against the War in Iraq (DC)

    May 14-15: GI Rights Hotline Gathering (Oakland)

    May 15: Advisory Council Meeting (DC)

    May 16: Lobby Day on Capitol Hill for CO Recognition (DC)

    Find an upcoming peace and justice event near you on UFPJ's events calendar.

    Operation Refuse War: A Week of Action Uniting Resisters
    In Celebration of International Conscientious Objectors Day
    May 11-16 2006
    New York City and Washington DC
    www.operationrefusewar.org

    Through workshops, actions, and an international conference, Operation Refuse War will highlight the difficulties that current conscientious objectors face around the world, as well as help build relationships and connections between the various communities within the anti-war movement.

    We Will Not Kill: International Conscientious Objectors Speak Out!
    New York City, May 11 2006; 7pm-9pm
    Location: Friends Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place, Manhattan

    Bringing together conscientious objectors from South Korea, Colombia, Israel, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and the United States, this panel and discussion will explore the potential of conscientious objection as a strategy for building a global anti-war movement.

    Operation Refuse War: An International Conference of Resisters to Global War
    Washington DC, May 13-14 2006
    Location: Church of the Brethren, 337 North Carolina Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003

    Operation Refuse War will be an opportunity for conscientious objectors, anti-war activists, and military families from around the world to come together to share strategies and build community.
    Workshop Topics Include:
    Building Support for COs From the Outside | What Does an International CO Movement Look Like? | Connecting Resistance Within the Coalition of the Willing | All Wars or This War? Conscientious Objection as a Political or Moral Choice | Personal Stories of Conscientious Objection and Draft Resistance Building Bridges With Military Families

    Register now at www.operationrefusewar.org.

    Sponsoring organizations include: The War Resisters League, War Resisters International, American Friends Service Committee Youth and Militarism Program, the Center on Conscience & War, Iraq Veterans Against the War - NYC Chapter, the Washington Peace Center, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, Veterans For Peace, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, Fellowship of Reconciliation: Disarmament Program, Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), and Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) (list in formation).
    On the heels of the awesome April 29 march in New York City, you can keep the momentum going by joining UFPJ’s member group CODEPINK: Women for Peace in Washington DC on May 13-14 for Mother’s Day Weekend!

    Your favorite women in PINK are getting back to the heart of Mother’s Day with an all-night vigil, concert, celebration and strategizing session in front of the White House. On May 13-14, from 3pm on Saturday to 3pm on Sunday, celebrities and peace activists, concerned moms and kids, dads, families and more will vigil in front of the White House for a full 24 hours, demanding an end to the war in Iraq and an end of hostile talks with Iran.

    Join Gold Star parents Cindy Sheehan, Elaine Johnson and Fernando Suarez, as well as Susan Sarandon, Dolores Huerta, Randi Rhodes, Patch Adams, Reverend Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, and hundreds of moms and activists from around the country.

    Why Mother’s Day? Believe it or not, Mother’s Day wasn’t invented by Hallmark. Instead, the Original Mother’s Day Proclamation, written by Julia Ward Howe in 1970, was a rallying cry for mothers to take a break in their normal routine to gather together and figure out how to make their sons and husbands quit the business of warfare. ""Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience," Julia wrote. "We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. " Her solution? Women should gather together to "promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace."

    So Come Get Back to the Heart of Mother’s Day. Come to Lafayette for the whole night, or just attend for a few hours -- we’ll hold our own congress of women to create peace in a violent age. And we want you there!

    We will hold a concert, an aerial photograph, and a huge teach-in on grassroots organizing and national campaigns, with strategists like Phyllis Bennis and Medea Benjamin. We will stand in solidarity with military families, and hold an interfaith service. We’ll write letters to Laura Bush. Patch Adams will wear his best pink dress. You won’t want to sleep!

    Find out more information, read Julia Ward Howe’s proclamation and sign up to attend here.

    Better yet, we would love you to be involved for the planning, and to volunteer for the event yourself. Whether you’re an artist or a killer phone-banker, we’d love you to be a part of making this vigil happen. Please contact meredith@globalexchange.org if you’d like to volunteer.

    ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
    www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
    To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace.org/email

    posted by Annamarie at 12:58 AM

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