During the annual Peace and Economic Justice Action Conference; Jessica and Monce held a workshop about Truth in Recruitment and Militarism Awareness. The objectives of this workshop were too identify a shared definition of militarism and its impacts around the world, identify ways to talk about Truth in Recruitment with high school students and identify ways that the community can get involve with PJALS’ work on this topics.  The audience consisted of twelve people in which the majority were Veterans and educators. With the help of George Taylor from Veterans for Peace Spokane the facilitators gave information on the targeted populations for enlistees, lies that recruiters tell, statistics on life after the military. The audience were engage at all time; participating in the group discussions and asking questions. The most important thing that I take from this workshop was the information given by the audience as a facilitator it was powerful to see that this group of people seek peace and unity.

Actions

Call Today:
Sen. Murray: 624-9515
Sen. Cantwell: 353-2507
Rep. McMorris Rodgers: 353-2374

Tell them: We have to build a better world for all our kids, and it has to start with each of us. Elected leaders must hear our demands that our money be spent to create true peace with justice, not to send more missiles or drones around the world. End drone use. End US war, occupation, and military aid in Iraq & Afghanistan. End military aid to Israel. 

Special message for Senator Murray: “Please tell the senator to vote against the additional funding to Israel in TODAY’s Defense Appropriations bill, especially since Israel is massacring people in Gaza right now.” 

Jewish Voice for Peace: Join the 64,000 who’ve signed our Open Letter telling Israeli leaders to stop killing civilians.

Just Foreign Policy: Urge President Obama and your representatives in Congress to demand that Israel refrain from bombing Wafa Hospital and other medical facilities in Gaza protected by international humanitarian law by signing our petition at MoveOn.

Avaaz: As a new round of violence kicks off in Israel-Palestine and more children are killed, it’s time to take definitive non-violent action to end this nightmare. Our governments and companies have continued to aid, trade and invest in the status quo, but we can stop this cycle of violence if we call on key banks, pension funds and businesses to pull out their investments — add your voice now.

United for Peace & Justice:  Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Walter Jones (R-NC), and Barbara Lee (D-CA) have just introduced House Concurrent Resolution # 105, a privileged resolution under the War Powers Resolution that will force a debate and vote on U.S. military intervention in Iraq. It will come up for a debate and vote within fifteen days of the date in which it was filed. Call Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers now at 353-2374 to ask her to co-sponsor.

CREDO: Sign the petition: Demand transparency on U.S. drone strike targets: According to a number of civil and human rights groups, drone warfare has led to hundreds of civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia – and a possible violation of international law. We want the government to name who it has killed with U.S. drones, where, and why, including an explanation of the legal authority and evidence supporting each of those killings.

Information & Resources:

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by Shar Lichty

After a summer off, our Peace & Justice Action Committee (PJAC) will be resuming our meeting schedule on Sept. 19th with a new approach: leadership development and campaign-specific organizing. Read more »

With the support of 18 faith communities, businesses, and organizations, we delivered 1123 signatures to Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell, urging them to vote for “Money for People, Not for War!” Thank you for signing in support! You can still endorse this important campaign here: www.pjals.org/billions.

Col. Ann Wright

by Michelle Little, intern

I have often felt that many of the wars we are waging in foreign countries were wrong. I remember watching the initial bombing in our second war with Iraq played live on my television screen in a campaign we called “Shock and Awe.” I remember feeling scared, confused and borderline disgusted. I always feel a little disheartened when I watch crowds of Americans cheering about the death of “terrorists.” I never exactly understood why I was having those feelings or what it all meant, but after listening to Col. Ann Wright speak at the Unitarian Universalist Church on October 11, I no longer question whether those feelings are justifiable.

Col. Ann Wright told those who gathered at the church about her journey in the military. Read more »

by David Smith-Ferri, traveling in Kabul with Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Haroon has recurring dreams. Haroon whose father was killed when he was a boy and who remembers a gnawing hunger during the long winter in every year of his childhood. At night, he dreams that someone drops him from a great height. He freefalls through the air, crashes to hard ground, and dies. During the day, he dreams of relief from the anger and confusion that pursue him, and of being a photographer, a traveler.

Faiz, who lost his parents when he was a boy, and whose brother was shot and killed in front of him, has nightmares, too. Each night at the Afghan Peace Volunteer (APV) House here in Kabul, as he sleeps against the wall a few feet away, his moans and cries wake me. By day, he dreams of being a journalist, of marrying and raising a family, of a world without borders and war.

In Afghanistan, with a child mortality rate of nearly twenty percent, many children never even have a chance to form dreams, yet alone to realize one. Life is especially hard on children whose families flee their homes, leaving behind not only their land and livelihoods, but their social networks. Across the country, four hundred people are displaced every day by violence and poverty, and many of them choose to come to Kabul, carrying their shattered dreams with them. Kabul, a city built to support 300,000 people, is now home to over five million.

Last winter, particularly fierce, dozens of very young children froze to death in squalid, “refugee” camps on the outskirts of the city. An estimated thirty-five thousand people live in these camps….

Read the full article at http://vcnv.org/dreaming-of-duvets-in-afghanistan

URGENT ACTION NEEDED! Sign the petition here for a full Senate vote!

A Washington State Senate committee passed SJM 8014, calling upon Congress to stop the Afghanistan war, bring the troops home to their families, cut the military budget, and shift spending to job creation, education, healthcare, environmental protections, and lifeline programs for struggling families! Now we need your help to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote!

SJM 8014 is now in the Senate Rules Committee, where it will languish unless a member of the Senate Rules Committee pulls it by Tuesday Feb 15 at 5pm to send it to the floor for a vote by the entire Washington State Senate. Fortunately, Spokane 3rd LD State Senator Lisa Brown serves on the Rules Committee and is the powerful Senate Majority Leader. Please contact her IMMEDIATELY and ask her to send SJM 8014 to the floor. TIME IS SHORT, SO PLEASE ACT NOW.
Phone: 360-786-7604 or (509) 456-2760
Email: Lisa.Brown@leg.wa.gov

(sample message below)
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by Shar Lichty, Organizer

On Saturday, October 8 PJALS held what has sadly become a yearly event, a march against US war and occupation to commemorate the 10th anniversary of US war in Afghanistan, now the longest war in US history. As part of our Bring Our Billion$ Home campaign this year’s theme was “Work Not War.”

We kicked off the event with a community speak-out, hearing from veterans and community members on the human and economic costs of war. Speakers included Rusty Nelson and Mike Edwards from Veterans for Peace, service providers David Brookbank and Reese McMullin-Holford and Pastor Liv Larson-Andrews from Salem Lutheran Church. The speak-out was followed by a march through the Garland District in a show of support for our local, small businesses. (Pictures after the jump!) Read more »