June Peacework

The June issue of Peacework magazine is up, at www.peaceworkmagazine.org. Please check it out and let us know if you could use extra copies for your mailings, conferences, demonstrations, organizing events. If you participate in blogs and listservs, post Peacework articles you think others would find useful — and as always, please send us your comments, article ideas, & photos!

Peace,

Sara Burke, Peacework Co-Editor, NERO

From the Editor’s Desk

Rights are Not in Limited Supply
As lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people of color, we support the current immigrant rights marches and rallies happening across the country, and we march too.

Exploitation without Borders
by Eisha Mason
I believe that if we look just under the surface, we can see that our Black and Brown fates are deeply intertwined.

No Immigration Bill Is Better
by David Bacon
The Senate bill expands current guest worker programs and establishes new ones, allowing employers to recruit workers outside the country on temporary visas.

A Resolution from the City of El Paso
BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Council of the City of El Paso oppose President Bush’s proposal and any other proposal that militarizes the border.

Illusions of Security in the US and Israel

by Allan Solomonow
Israel’s experience with terrorism – and its longtime exploitation of fear for political ends – helps shed some light on our own government’s deceptions and their troubling implications.

The US and Iran: Time to Talk
by John Burroughs
Are the issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program capable of resolution? It certainly seems possible.

“We are the Hope”: Voices from the Secular Resistance Movement in Iraq
“Our aim is to end the occupation, rebuild civil society, and establish a secular and non-nationalist government in Iraq.” – Samir Adil
“In the Iraq Freedom Congress, we start from this point: that the presence of women in our movement is a precondition for achieving equality and freedom.” – Houzan Mahmoud

The Weapon of Mass Destruction In Our Neighborhood

by Hattie Nestel
Affinity groups have gone to the headquarters of Entergy, the company that owns the plant, each month since November with different creative actions that send a clear message that we do not want Vermont Yankee providing our electricity.

Time to Dust Off that No Nukes Button

by Peter Montague
In sum, none of the available alternative energy sources can match nuclear power’s ability to thwart the nation’s inherent democratic tendencies and stop the nation’s slide toward local control.

Promoting Peace and Progress at the Local Level
by Dave Taber
Communities for Progress has created a web site which provides comprehensive toolkits for community groups interested in getting anti-war ordinances passed, as well as the space to construct a national network of activists working on passing initiatives and getting referendum questions on state ballots.

“You Must Arrest Us Too”: William Sloane Coffin, 1925-2006
And if we are correct, if the war is a crime, then is it criminal to refuse to have anything to do with it?

Honoring Damu Smith and His Work to Unify the Peace Movement
by Darryl Jordan
Damu understood better that most that the struggle to end war and poverty in the world could only happen with the inclusion and participation of people of color.

Conscientious Objectors Building Transnational Nonviolent Community
by Sam Diener
Meeting and talking with resisters from Latin America, Europe, and Israel, I was startled by just how parallel our struggles are.

Short Takes:
The Line Between Us: Teaching about the Border
MA Action Alert: “End the War” Referendum
A Declaration of Peace

Vermont Walk for a Nuclear-free Future August 6-9

Pieces (Events, Opportunities, Resources, Campaigns)